Josh, sorry to hear about your pain man...
It took me reinstalling the side "L" brackets (on the frame) 2-3 times to get them where they looked right... Mine is paralell to the ground (within about 3 degrees or so) but it took a lot of adjusting...
I noticed from the rear you cannot see the top "hoop" of the bar... you might try rototing the bar up wards so that it is just visible above the pumkin... mine fit better when I rotated it up a bit...
My finish was pretty good.. plack powder coat was pretty textured but complete... some guys have reported getting there's bare metal...
Anyway.. my Helwig goes to St. louis Harley when i get my Hotckis bars in June...
--My momma always said, opinions are just like Butt-holes everyone's entitled to one, but not always entitled to show it.