Installing Dakota Digital Gauges
We love using Dakota Digital gauges due to their ease of installation and good looks. But in the realm of custom bikes, sometimes things don’t always go so smoothly. Take for instance our project performance Road Glide we have dubbed the Performer. After installing the big-buck and badass Big Bear Performance Öhlins front end, we have gone absolutely haywire with upgrades—so many modifications and upgrades, in fact, that the level of component incompatibility hit a critical mass.

Dakota Digital Bagger Gauges
Jeff G. Holt
The combination of Hard Case Performance risers, Lucky Daves Riser Bars, and Kraus Motor Co. gauge mount worked pretty well together on our Road Glide. But the addition of the Dakota Digital gauges proved to be a bit of a challenge. Again, these gauges are a snap to install, but that is on the OEM bar mount. By using an aftermarket setup like we did, we ran into all sorts of issues common with doing things that have been done before. With that said, we had to call in our buddy Jimmy Todd at Quaid Harley-Davidson in Loma Linda, California, to make all of the components work together. Here’s how he did it.

Dakota Digital Road Glide setup
Jeff G. Holt
As you can see, the Dakota Digital Road Glide setup is well made, and believe us when we say it is easy to install under normal circumstances.

Access stock bar bolts
Jeff G. Holt
With the gauges removed you can access the four bolts that hold on the stock bars.

Solving compatibility issues
Jeff G. Holt
We found out when using the Kraus Motor Co. gauge bracket in combination with the Dakota Digital gauges that there were some clearance issues. Jimmy Todd solved that issue with a bit of machining where the connectors met the gauges.

Kraus bracket and Dakota Digital Gauge combo
Jeff G. Holt
The combo of the black-faced gauges and Kraus bracket looks downright sinister on the Hard Case Performance risers.

Wiring job
Jeff G. Holt
The wiring was still a pretty straightforward affair, but getting all those wires tidied up and hidden proved to be a chore. Jimmy Todd rose to the challenge and made it look even cleaner than the factory-wiring job.

Fully installed Dakota Digital Bagger Gauges
Jeff G. Holt
After all other gauges were installed into the inner fairing, Jimmy buttoned up everything under the outer fairing and gave the bike a proper test ride.