Tour DCT accessory installation tips

[WingVetteGSXR]

Repeating my post here that was buried in another post as I want to share my trials and tribulations with this process to save anyone else some time.
________________________________
A couple observations while I'm in the midst of Homelink, Fog Lights, Acc socket, Acc Cord, USB cord, Armrests, Trunk Rack, radar detector hardwire, and LED Stop. Probably should have done the CB and passenger audio while I had it all apart, but I don't use CB and my wife couldn't care less about playing music while riding, (That's what bluetooth is for.)

-- I was astonished at how many fasteners for bodywork that I removed that were only about finger tight right from the factory. (I don't know how many of these were dealer installed during set up.) I'm going to check every fastener I can reach before I start buttoning things up. I'm not an "over torque it" kind of guy, but many were extremely loose.

-- I highly recommend picking up a set of auto body trim tools from your local auto parts store to separate panels. I broke off a tab on the R fog light cover and had to order a new one. I used PAM when I snapped them back together. I worked well.

-- Other than my comments below, the instruction drawings are actually pretty good. Very detailed, and that's for a reason, look at them closely before you proceed, e.g. in my para. 5 below. However as stated in another post above, they tell you what to do, not how to do it.

1. Unless you're REALLY good, give yourself a LOT of time for this project. I consider myself fairly competent, have stripped apart an 1100, 1500, and 1800 to install tons of farkles. Nothing even approaches this. I've been at this 5 days and still have to button everything u. If I knew what this was going to take, I would have gladly paid 15 hours or even more to have a dealer do it, however I'd hate the be poor mechanic that takes this on for the first time. :-O And I'm a DIY guy. Really think about what you're getting into before you take this on.

2. The instructions picture for the top shelter removal are correct in that the right side black fairing stays with the shelter and the left side doesn't. Do NOT remove the phillips screws that hold the fairings together.

3. The instructions for the top shelter omit an allen head at the very bottom of the right side side black fairing, below and behind the fairing pocket.

4.. I AM NOT recommending this, but I absolutely could not get the two acc. dampers that replace the OEM ones holes to line up to reinsert the metal pins. Tried everything I could think of: levering the rod end from the other side with a small flat tip screwdriver, compressing the dampers, etc. I ended up filing off only about 1-2 millimeters of plastic hinges where they meet when the trunk lid is open.

5. When you use the supplied tape to secure the sub harness in place onto the trunk liner, make sure you follow the picture exactly! If you run the sub harness against the trunk liner's lip (below where the picture shows by about an inch), you will not be able to reseat the trunk liner. And when you remove and reinstall the trunk liner, be careful with the latch bosses. They will make a loud popping noise when they come off, and when you reinstall the liner, line up the phillips head bosses on first, before you push the trunk liner holes for the latch bosses onto the trunk lid bosses.

6. Believe it or not, the instructions don't tell you to slide the LED stop over the rear two trunk rack rods before you install the trunk rack. Had to redo.

7. I could not get the grommet from the LED stop harness where it routes through the 10mm hole that you drill in the trunk lid to stay in place, even with the usual dish soap. Tired rat-tailing out the hole slightly larger but no go. Siliconed it in place and let it dry until the next day before I continued. It's basically totally hidden by the rack so NBD.

8. As mentioned by others, a step drill beats a hole saw. I used both and the step drill is a much cleaner way to go.

9. When you are removing the rear inside allen bolt to loosen up the saddlebags for homelink/R saddlebag, and USB/L saddlebag installation, don't use a long extension to remove them as it will be at a slight angle. I stripped one. Only by grace from above was I able to drill it and use an extractor to get it out. Didn't want to wait to order a new one so cut a slot in it with a hacksaw so I could get a large flat tip screwdriver on it to reinstall. Better to use a standard 90 deg allen wrench so you can get at it straight on.

10. The R side saddlebag Catch (mechanical/electrical unit at the TOP/instructions are confusing, of the R saddlebag) that you install the Homelink module into, only comes off with a sharp LOUD tug at its rear. Do not attempt to reinstall until you have the R saddlebag bolted back into place, as there won't be enough slack in the emergency opening cable. I ran a string through the cable's head hole and ran the string through the proper slot in the Catch so I could pull on the string to pull the emergency cable through the Catch slot when reinstalling the Catch.

11. As an aside, I'm mounting a radar detector under the front fairing, and bought a long ethernet cord (avail on Escort's site if you're using an Escort/Passport) that I ran to the accessory fuse block (next to the battery) upper L acc screw terminal. For some reason the screw just below that isn't hot, although on the diagram of the fuse panel cover it appears that it should be. This upper L screw is switched, so no need to put in a switched aux fuse block, although with a CAN Bus, you'd have to be careful where you hook it up to. The days of finding any old hot wire are gone. I did install an Admore brake flasher on another CanBus bike that splices into the turn and brake and tail light wires with no electrical gremlin problems though, including running the switched aux fuse block wire to the taillight.

12. Be careful of the cable routing tabs on the trunk lid as mentioned in another post. If you rest the trunk lid on a hard surface they will break. (As per the instructions that state this a little too late in the process.)

13. When reinstalling the saddlebags, be careful. What happened to me was one of the three collars for each saddlebag, the metal collars that fit behind the three allen bolts with the big washers, that reside underneath (2), and behind the inside rear (1) of the saddlebags that fit inside same size diameter rubber washers somehow got knocked loose during reinstallation of the right saddlebag. Of course, it was the right saddlebag that includes the Catch assy. in it. Meaning when I thought the whole right saddlebag and Catch assy. were reinstalled, I had to take it all apart again to reinsert the wayward metal collar.

Will add to this as I run into "this and that".

[kiptap]

I just cut and pasted it to a text file on my HD for future reference, but it would be nice to see a How-to-Articles section on the 2018 started up.

[WingVetteGSXR]

I just cut and pasted it to a text file on my HD for future reference, but it would be nice to see a How-to-Articles section on the 2018 started up.

MattC has posted a spreadsheet of all the steps necessary to do multiple installations stalls. My post was just some tip/tricks/and oopsies. Maybe inquire to WingAdmin about your idea. Also, Cruiseman and FredH have good videos on how to do some of the accessories installs.
Best of luck,
Joe