Harley TLE/RLE seat back lock question

Hope this helps.

Thanks so much for the photos! They really gave me some insight into the mounting. I see the seat hinges in the last photo and I had wondered about the placement of those as well. If I may ask, what year is your sidecar? Is it an Ultra? I'm looking at the upholstery and it looks a lot nicer than mine.

One last question. It may seem goofy, but...

Is your sidecar seat lock key the same key as is used for your saddlebags and tour-pack? The hundred-dollar store says they can't match my lock to my existing key (even with the key code) because of the age of the bike (1992). So, if I want everything to work off of one key, I'm into it for another $35 to have the new lock re-keyed.

dunesie - 6/11/2010 9:41 PM

Thanks so much for the photos! They really gave me some insight into the mounting. I see the seat hinges in the last photo and I had wondered about the placement of those as well. If I may ask, what year is your sidecar? Is it an Ultra? I'm looking at the upholstery and it looks a lot nicer than mine.

One last question. It may seem goofy, but...

Is your sidecar seat lock key the same key as is used for your saddlebags and tour-pack? The hundred-dollar store says they can't match my lock to my existing key (even with the key code) because of the age of the bike (1992). So, if I want everything to work off of one key, I'm into it for another $35 to have the new lock re-keyed.

When the later TLE's are built, they are now all fitted with a seat back lock. Mine came with two Harley barrel-type keys that are marked "SIDECAR" in raised letters on the black plastic handle of the key. The sidecars typically have a separate key since they are built in a separate factory at Tomhawk, WI.

I suppose that if you ordered a sidecar with the machine, there might be an opportunity to have one key for ignition, bags and seat, but I still doubt they would handle it that way due to the logistics of where the various products are built.

In any case, I keep my Harley Keys on a separate ring with the bike and sidecar keys.

With the pictures from 46u, you can drill one hole in the tub and also fit the lock plate to the seat back. Measure twice and drill once.

Some of the police TLE's had very sparse ulholstery. Is your sidecar a police model?

My sidecar is a 2006. As GNM109 said all the later sidecars come with the latch and lock set up. Mine all so came with two keys marked sidecar.

I forgot to add, the TLE's from the 1980's didn't have a trunk lock. Rather they were fitted with a sping latch, much like a kitchen cabinet latch. They worked but they weren't a lock.

There was a complete NOS TLE lock setup on eBay a while back. I would have liked to have a spare but the bidding went wild. I don't recall what it sold for but it was more than I wanted to pay.

I can tell you the prices from Harley...$22 for the complete lock, $20 for the cam hook, $20 for the seat back lock plate, and there is a washer plate for the lock that I forgot to order, but figure that will be a couple of dollars.

Ok, since the consensus is that even from the factory the sidecar key was different from the tour-pack/saddlebag key, I see no point to investing in getting my lock re-keyed. At least not until the irritation level of dealing with one more key drives me to spend the $35.

Is my hack a police unit? Does anybody have a secret decoder ring for pre-1990 sidecars? My VIN is 1HD8SLX14HTxxxxxx. If I interpret my 1990-2000 sidecar book (I was told it was a '97 model), it was bought with an FLH, and I'm guessing now an '88 or '89 model. It has tannish-white upholstery and arm rest pads, the back of the seat back is the exposed wooden frame, and the seat shows no evidence of ever having the hinges installed. There is also no evidence of carpeting in the boot area.

And, based on the previously-posted photos, I will need to move my back row of tonneau snaps rear-ward about an inch to get things to line up correctly.

dunesie - 6/12/2010 11:15 AM

I can tell you the prices from Harley...$22 for the complete lock, $20 for the cam hook, $20 for the seat back lock plate, and there is a washer plate for the lock that I forgot to order, but figure that will be a couple of dollars.

Ok, since the consensus is that even from the factory the sidecar key was different from the tour-pack/saddlebag key, I see no point to investing in getting my lock re-keyed. At least not until the irritation level of dealing with one more key drives me to spend the $35.

Is my hack a police unit? Does anybody have a secret decoder ring for pre-1990 sidecars? My VIN is 1HD8SLX14HTxxxxxx. If I interpret my 1990-2000 sidecar book (I was told it was a '97 model), it was bought with an FLH, and I'm guessing now an '88 or '89 model. It has tannish-white upholstery and arm rest pads, the back of the seat back is the exposed wooden frame, and the seat shows no evidence of ever having the hinges installed. There is also no evidence of carpeting in the boot area.

And, based on the previously-posted photos, I will need to move my back row of tonneau snaps rear-ward about an inch to get things to line up correctly.

I don't have a book that shows VIN's for sidecars. The only thing I know for sure is that the "S" in the VIN definitely stands for sidecar. The white upholstery and the lack of floor carpetng may indicate that it was originally a police sidecar from the ones I've seen. Police sidecars are also sometimes white as are some of the police FL's and former FXRP's. This will vary from department to department, however. I've not seen even a white civilian sidecar with white upholstery. Most have black upholstery, like the seats on the bikes. This may not be a hard and fast rule, however since HD constantly amazes me with the way that they do things.

I'm thinking after looking at your VIN, that your sidecar may be a 1994. My VIN is 1HD8SGX137Txxxxxx. The 7 indicates that my sidecar is a 2007 model. (ORdered October, 2006, received January 2007) The T stands for TLE, otherwise, AFAIK, the Ultra TLE has a "U" in place of the "T" That last digit, in your case a "4", is usually the year of manufacture. I don't know how they handle the decades since mine is obviously newer yet still has only one number. Go figure.

I would counsel you against drilling anymore holes and moving any snaps. Why are you cotemplating that? The tonneaus for TLEs are all the same, as are the ones for the. TLE Ultras. The Ultras have a few more snaps in different places due to the handholds and the seat is higher, thus the different toneau. If it's for the tonneau fit, it may have shrunk. New ones are on eBay all of the time. JMO.

I need to move the snaps as 1) my tonneau cover has always been loose front-to-back, and 2) if you look at the photo showing the top of the sidecar boot, the seat-back lock is between the snap and the edge of the tub, making the snap about 2 inches back from the edge. My snaps are only about an inch back from the edge of the tub and there is no way to get the lock properly positioned without moving the snaps. The fact that my snaps are so close to the edge of the tub explains why my tonneau cover has been loose. The holes are only about 3/16 diameter, and I can fill 'em with either a black epoxy or even (ugh) bondo and put some touch-up paint on the spots.

I need to have the entire top of the hack re-painted (a couple of spider web cracks and some damage from the previous owner) so dealing with a couple of other blemishes for a little while is no big deal. I've actually got other glass work to do on the bottom of the hack to close up some other holes (again from the previous owner) so maybe a little fiber-reinforced resin into the holes will do the trick.

dunesie - 6/12/2010 3:21 PM

I need to move the snaps as 1) my tonneau cover has always been loose front-to-back, and 2) if you look at the photo showing the top of the sidecar boot, the seat-back lock is between the snap and the edge of the tub, making the snap about 2 inches back from the edge. My snaps are only about an inch back from the edge of the tub and there is no way to get the lock properly positioned without moving the snaps. The fact that my snaps are so close to the edge of the tub explains why my tonneau cover has been loose. The holes are only about 3/16 diameter, and I can fill 'em with either a black epoxy or even (ugh) bondo and put some touch-up paint on the spots.

I need to have the entire top of the hack re-painted (a couple of spider web cracks and some damage from the previous owner) so dealing with a couple of other blemishes for a little while is no big deal. I've actually got other glass work to do on the bottom of the hack to close up some other holes (again from the previous owner) so maybe a little fiber-reinforced resin into the holes will do the trick.

If I were you, I'd try to get actual measurements from a typical TLE sidecar before re-drilling. If your tonneau is in bad shape, you might consider another one. I suspect that it would fit better, although I'm puzzled by the location of the snaps on your tub. Perhaps when they were in a period before the trunk locks (to the 1980's sometime), they may have placed the snaps in a slightly different location.

If you are painting anyway, I would use either fiberglass chips or some strands from a roll of fiberlasss cloth to fill those holes with epoxy. I have done extensive work on Harley tubs using marine glass cloth and epoxy and it comes out great.

Good luck.

The lock does not have to be in the center of the tub. Since you also have to mount the plate on the seat, you can put the lock between the snaps and mount the plate to match.