As promised, I’m going to quickly go over a couple of stopping scenarios. Make sure your bike is in good shape and you have all the proper safety gear on before you start practicing this stuff.

The front brake on a motorcycle typically provides 70% to 100% of stopping power. Bringing the back tire off the ground while stopping (called a stoppie), is an example of 100% of braking power.

Locking the tires is not good, but it’s worse if you lock the front tire. Locking the front tire on a good surface while straight up and looking forward is very difficult; the back tire will often come off the ground first.

Don’t worry too much if it happens. It usually happens slowly at first, and you’ll know that it’s happening.

Straight Line
Stopping in a straight line is the most preferred way, and doing it on a good surface is quite easy. Use both brakes along with the clutch to stop. Pull in the clutch to keep from stalling the engine if you lock up the back tire.

Lean backwards and stay vertical to prevent the bike from leaning or bringing the back tire off the ground. Attempting to turn sharply while hard on the brakes will likely result in a crash. If you have to turn, slow down as hard and fast as you can before you initiate the turn, and let up on the brakes before leaning over.

On Dirty or Wet Surfaces
Braking hard on dirt, oil, water, steel (RR tracks or manholes), or on paint (the paint they use to make the lines on the streets) can be dangerous. A significant loss of traction means you must use more back brake than front.

Excessive front braking on slippery surfaces will result in the tire skidding and likely cause a crash. Use the back brakes more when traction is at a minimum.

Braking While Turning
Braking hard in a turn can cause a “low-side”, where the tires lose traction and you fall over in the direction you are leaning.

If you’re in a turn and have to brake hard, you need to be mindful of losing traction and be aware that the bike will want to stand up straight when you apply the brakes, sending you off your preferred course.

Sometimes Many times when riding your Sportster you have to stop quickly, or at least slow down considerably in a short amount of time because the lady that just turned in front of you while chatting it up with her girlfriend didn’t see you. Doing this incorrectly can be dangerous or even deadly. (Stopping, I mean, not chatting up your girlfriend) .

A big misconception is that motorcycles can stop exponentially quicker than a car. It’s not really true unless you’re willing to go the extra mile, so to speak.

There are several scenarios where you might have to stop or slow down quickly. Each one requires a different set of actions to be performed safely and effectively. I’ve covered some individual scenarios like straight line stopping and curve or slippery surface stopping here.

You should practice those techniques until they become second nature to you. If you have to think about how you’re going to stop for any given situation, it may be too late. You want it to be second nature. You know, like punching that guy in the face for sitting on your bike without asking.

Installing Nightster Side-Mount License Plate Assembly on 2004-Up Sportsters
By Stephan, aka NitroNutcase

This article shows you how to mount a Nightster side-mount license plate assembly on a 2004-up Sportster, in this case a 2005 XL1200R.

1. Gather the following parts:

60318-07 Nightster Left-Mount License Plate Mount Assembly
69463-06 Run, Brake, Turn Signal Module Kit
73102-96BK Tab Housing, 2-Position (Quantity 3)
73106-96BK Tab Housing, 6-Position
73190-96 Tab Terminal (Quantity 10 minimum, get more just in case you break one)
5/16-18 Bolt, 1 1/2” Long

2. Remove seat. Remove left side cover. Remove Maxi-Fuse. In the photo below, note the three fasteners attaching the chrome strut cover to the rear frame: from left to right, they are the front chrome strut cover screw; the turn signal stud inside the bullet-style turn signal; and the rear chrome strut cover screw.

3. Remove chrome strut cover.

4. Remove wire retention bracket. It is riveted on to inside of the fender. One way to remove it is to bend the tabs back and forth to introduce metal fatigue, so the part will fall away from the fender, leaving just the rivet attached to the fender. Remove the rivet with a hacksaw. Be careful not to damage the fender’s finish.

5. Get the Nightster side-mount assembly; it should look like the photo below. Note the two running light lamps that illuminate the license plate to ensure DOT compliance. The lights are attached to a cable which ends in a 2-pin AMP connector, as shown in the photo.

6. Machine the side-mount assembly so it fits between the rear fender and the tire. The Nightster rear fender is quite different from the other Sportster fenders, so the side-mount assembly will not fit as-is. The pencils point out the two areas requiring modification: the pencil on the left shows the slotted hole required to fit the turn signal stud (note that it is slotted diagonally up and to the left to provide a bit more clearance between the license plate and the left shock absorber when the license plate is folded toward the shock); the pencil on the right shows the grinding required to avoid interference with the thick steel rear fender brace under the fender. Just keep grinding material away and check periodically for fit. Caution: You are grinding magnesium, which is highly flammable. Have a fire extinguisher available.

7. Install the Run, Brake, Turn Signal module kit. The pencil shows it mounted under the ICM. The instructions supplied with the kit go into more detail.

8. Install the side-mount assembly on the left side of the bike, between the rear fender and the tire, as shown in the photo below. The photo is taken through the hole left by removing the stock rear tail lens assembly, looking at the underside of the rear fender. Insert the stock front chrome strut cover screw in its original location and secure it using the stock nut. Note the machined areas of the side-mount license plate assembly in the photo below: a slotted hole for the turn signal stud, and a ground-away area to provide clearance for the thick steel rear fender brace. The stock turn signal stud is not long enough to capture a nut behind it, so the rear portion of the side-mount license plate assembly will be secured using different means, as shown in the next step.

9. Install a 5/16-18 x 1 1/2” long bolt through the rear chrome strut cover screw hole. Secure it using the stock nut plate. Swing the nut plate around so it holds down the rear section of the side-mount license plate assembly, as shown in the photo below.

10. Check that the side-mount license plate assembly fits properly and does not rub against the tire. The photo below shows how it should look like.

11. Remove the stock license plate assembly and stock tail lamp assembly from the rear fender. To remove the stock tail lamp assembly, you will need to remove the plastic tail lens and disconnect the 6-pin AMP connector that connects the assembly to the rear lighting wiring harness. Also disconnect the two 2-pin AMP connectors that connect the two rear turn signals to the assembly. The stock tail lamp assembly contains a printed circuit board that distributes power to the brake light, running light (which also illuminates the license plate), and turn signals. Because you are removing the stock tail lamp and its PC board, you will need to build a small wiring harness to accomplish the same function.

As shown in the photo below, the wiring harness contains one large 6-pin AMP connector and three smaller 2-pin AMP connectors (get the connectors and their associated pins from the H-D dealer using the part numbers shown earlier). The large 6-pin AMP connector connects to the 6-pin AMP connector on the stock rear lighting wiring harness. The three 2-pin AMP connectors on the harness connect to the stock 2-pin AMP connectors for the left turn signal, the right turn signal, and the side-mount license plate assembly running lights. Each of the three 2-pin AMP connectors has two wires connected to it: a Hot lead and a Ground lead. The diagram below shows how to connect the wires from the 6-Pin AMP connector to the three 2-pin AMP connectors. Note that the Ground lead is connected to all three 2-pin AMP connectors. A suggestion is to build a simple version first, such as sticking stiff wires into the connectors, connecting everything together, and trying out to see if it works, then build a proper harness. Referto the service manual’s section on AMP Multilock Electrical Connectors if you have not worked with AMP connectors before.

6-Pin AMP Connector
Pin 1: (O/W)———- (Not Used)
Pin 2: (BN)——————————–Right Turn Signal: Hot
Pin 3: (BE)——————————–License Plate Assembly Running Light: Hot
Pin 4: (R/Y)———- (Not Used)
Pin 5: (V)———————————-Left Turn Signal: Hot
Pin 6: (BK)——————————–Ground: Connects to Ground Wires of all three 2-pin connectors

12. Attach the wire harness you just made to the 6-pin AMP connector that used to go to the stock tail lamp assembly, and the three 2-pin AMP connectors to the left turn signal, right turn signal, and side-mount license plate running lights, as shown in the photo below.

13. Prevent wires from dangling dangerously close to the rear tire by attaching them to the thick metal fender brace under the rear fender using zip-ties, as shown in the photo below.

14. Re-install the Maxi-Fuse and test the system to ensure that it is working properly. In the photo below, you can see that the running lights illuminate the left turn signal, the right turn signal, and the two lights in the side-mount license plate assembly, which is as it should be. Don’t forget to test the turn signals and brake light functions. Best of luck with the project!