Sportster front suspension beginner's questions

[ChrisS]

I have just started working on the front end of my Sportster and have a couple of beginners questions.
The ball joints for the lower wishbones and modified struts seem excessively tight in their threads. I haven't really tried to force them yet but have cleaned treads etc. How tight should these be? It almost feels like a thread mismatch to me.
Secondly, when I offered up the lower wishbones to the chassis the mounts don't seem to line up, see photo attached and on my Flickr album. If I line up the front mount then the leading edge of the rear mount is against the metal of the wishbone eye. It isn't as if it looks as though the bush just needs to be compressed to squeeze it in, it is metal to metal. Any ideas? Can someone check the dimensions of theirs to see if I have a manufacturing issue. A quick look doesn't seem to show any bend brackets.
Thanks