Just picked up my Performance Orange Freewheeler a few weeks ago and am already off to the races taking stuff off of it. I just prefer a minimal look .. well, except for the pipes .. and probably a massive chrome light package off the nacelle like my Road King has. But anyway, I'll be going down to a solo seat and wanted to get rid of the grab handles while I was at it.
Question was, how do I delete the grab handles with the cleanest possible, factory look, also while providing weather protection for the screw holes that mounted the grab handles?
So here's the step by step.
1. Remove the seat.
2. Remove the left and right side covers.
3. I have big hands, and even I was able to jam them under and around the body panels to feel the two screws on each side that hold in the grab handles. Those screws are REALLY in there! They are Torx T27s. I used a small hand ratchet and a medium amount of patience to remove all four.
4. Note that the handles don't just slide off once the four screws are out. CAREFUL or else you'll scratch the body work, and/or take paint off with the handle (I did, a little bit, learn from my mistake). You basically want to pull straight out without any sort of rocking .. the top and bottom of each handle have small extensions that insert into each hole .. so don't wiggle .. a firm straight-out pull will free the handle.
All done! Handles are out! But now you have four ugly holes in your beautiful new trike. Back to work ...
I went to Home Depot and picked up the following
- 2 pkgs 462 606 Everbilt Pan Head Combo Machine Screws #10-24 x 1in, 3 screws per pack
- 2 pkgs Everbilt Screw Cover, flip top, in black, fits #10 screws, 3 per pack. 479 400, or 479 532, not sure
- 2 pkgs 320 774 Everbilt Nylon Lock Nuts, #10-24, 2 per pack
Simply thread the screw through the bottom of the cover, carefully use the same small ratchet with a 10mm socket to hold the nut in place underneath while you use a Phillips head to screw it in from the top. Get it to a good hand-tightness (do NOT ratchet or over-tighten lest you deform the screw cover, or worse, crack the body panel) .. then simply close the screw cap and you have a really nice clean delete that matches the factory covers for the sissy bar mount.
See pics! Best of luck.
Mud