Here she is with the factory solo seat and the rear pillion and sissy bar the previous owner had installed by H-D.

This one was taken without the flash, but I really needed more light. Sorry about the blur. The black and silver look is great. I have to admit, I just stare at it sometimes.

Folks will be thinking I'm some kind of one-armed mechanic. I'm not much of a mechanic and that second arm is needed for taking pictures. Next time maybe the tripod and a timer. At any rate, we start with a T40 torx bit and a 1/2 wrench for the nut inside the rear fender. This is the front bolt in the fender strut.

The rear strut bolt was a little tougher. No nut on the backside, but there isn't enough room to get a ratchet in there due to the rear blinker. I am using OTC torx bits. They are a 2 piece design. You can use a wrench on the flats of the bit itself (shudder . . . 8mm, actually perhaps it was a 5/16" but the 8mm worked), but leaving the bit inside the socket adapter makes this easier. By applying pressure with the thumb, it is a little easier to keep the wrench on the flats of the bit.

All ready to remove that rear fender strut bolt, but I'm worried about scratching that lens.

A standard screwdriver blade, a little twist and she pops off easily.

MUCH easier now. Of course that bulb is fragile and unprotected so be careful. They probably have that bulb at the Autozone (or whoever owns those things now) up the street so I'd rather risk IT rather than the lens. HOLD IT HERE THOUGH! DON'T REMOVE THAT BOLT YET!

I had already removed the front bolt on both sides and I was loosening the second rear bolt when I realized that the fender might do something rather interesting with NO bolts holding it to the struts. So I decided I should go ahead and pull the sissy bar from the bracket so I could handle each side independently.

No more pictures here probably because this is where I really ran into a booger. I removed the sissy bar from the bracket. That WAS the right thing to do, but I didn't actually do it before I realized it. Getting the rear strut bolts lined up was nothing short of an epic struggle. Here is a summary of a smarter way to do this:
Remove that sissy bar from the bracket (T27 torx I think). Take the front bolt out of one side, swing the bracket up and put that front bolt right back in (after applying Loc-tite). Remove the rear bolt and then the bracket is free! But get that bolt back in there right away. Repeat on the other side.

Should you encounter this rear bolt alignment challenge even doing it one bolt at a time, I used a screwdriver with a round shaft that was just the right size for the hole. It enabled me to work the fender back into alignment and then I put the bolt back in place with no trouble.

I thought I'd sing the praises of this chapstick style Loc-tite that is supposedly the same as the blue liquid formula. Get both the red and the blue, they are easier to use I think.

Was I supposed to torque these to some spec? I tightened them up about like they were using the ol' wrist-o-meter. A Japanese wrench made its way into this shot somehow. I didn't even know I owned that thing. I must have "borrowed" it from someone accidentally. Probably Dad, I'll right that wrong as soon as I can.

The lens snaps right back in place on the blinkers.

Removing the rear pillion was easy. A #2 phillips did the job just fine (perhaps a bigger screwdriver would fit better).

The rear pillion was screwed into a nut held in place by a plastic locking ring. With a seat installed, that plastic ring isn't relied on. Even though I'll be putting that rear pillion on from time to time, I figured I should pull it rather than trust that ring to keep it in place.

This is a better picture of that nut with the plastic (black) locking ring partially installed.

The rear grab strap and the solo seat are held in place by the same screw. This machine screw was a torx or allen (I can't remember) for some reason instead of matching the rear pillion one which was a philips. Remove and lift the rear of the solo seat and pull towards the rear of the bike.

Factory solo on the left, Lepera Bare Bones on the right.

You can see in the previous photo the Bare Bones is smaller. Some perspective makes it look bigger than it is here, but I was hoping to show the profile difference. The Bare Bones is quite a bit lower profile.

Two brackets came with the seat. The shorter of the two was correct for a 2003 Sportster. Install this bracket on the rear, underside of the seat using the 5/32 allen screws provided.

I can't believe I didn't take a shot of the bike with the seat removed. There is a tab that sticks out near the tank, facing the rear of bike. The seats all have a slot of some kind. You just put the seat on the bike and slide it forward so the tab goes into the slot on the seat and then install the machine screw that holds the rear bracket to the nut in the top of the fender.

But here is a picture with the new seat. Of course part of the improved look is the removal of that rear pillion and sissy bar. I should have taken a picture of the bike with nothing but the stock solo seat on it, but I wasn't thinking. Without a doubt, the bike is so much nicer looking with this new seat. This seat looks like it belongs on this bike.

Here is a shot of the factory solo seat. It just sticks up too far in the back. I believe that was part of the reason for my discomfort on longer rides. It was kind of pushing me forward and up instead of just applying pressure straight up.

Another shot of the Bare Bones seat installed

Another shot of the Bare Bones seat installed

Another shot of the Bare Bones seat installed

Another shot of the Bare Bones seat installed