Don't. Plain and simple. I was quoted 10 hours labour to change mine out, and was pretty intimidated that there was a whole lot to it. It ended up taking me about an hour and a half, and that was with road 6 customs, which arent all that easy to run the cables back through. If you are going with a larger diameter bar, or something a bit better quality, even easier. Read the step by step posted in this forum and you are set. The only thing I would change would be to lubricate the cables with a non conductive lubricant before trying to slide them through. Snow is almost gone here! Have a great season everyone!

 

Good for you. It's always nice to save money while learning something new.

10 hours is a lot. Keep an eye on these guys if you have other stuff done there.

Did you have to replace cables and hoses, or just swap bars and deal with wiring?

 

Couldnt agree more. I don't see giving money away for stuff like that. I am about to install my new bars on my next days off. Totally looking forward to enjoying working on the bike and the accomplishment of doing it myself and saving the dough. I have a few buds that won't touch a bolt on their bike. Always taking it to the dealer and Indy shops to do routine stuff. I offer to help them out, but they insist. I just shake my head...

 

I just don't understand owning a bike and not working on it yourself. To me that is what a bike is all about. Part of the fun is tearing something apart on it and changing it up to suit your personality or taste.

 

yeah its not the bar change that people are usually stopped by, its those who have to change cables as well who stop and usually get someone else to do it for them. The less mechanical freak out at the idea of cracking open the trans cover and that whole ball of wax there.

I know a few guys who will bolt on and mess with forks shocks etc... but mention change out bars for taller and oh no not going to touch that, simply because the tranny cable. I thought it was funny myself to see a guy with a lift, and manual, etc... take the bike to get the bars changed out as well but if your scared of spiders then your scared of spiders.

On a related note I did hear a sales guy tell a customer at the local hd dealer he had to bring his bike in to get bars switched out if he tried to change himself and cracked the tranny case open it would void his warranty. Naturally i had to be a *** and laugh and butt into their chat, and ask him where the tamper proof seal was on the case to prove "I" had opened the tranny case, or did the dealer start to use serialized gaskets now, then turned and walked away as the sales guy turned red.

 

if i didn't wanna work on my bike id own a jap bike. we sent my buddys bike to a shop cause it was a brand new street glide he had 1 off bars made there like a 2 bar but it so u dont half to cut the console dude called back asked if he could take his time and do some mock ups on the bike for possibly making the bars for production including bars he paid like 600 which i thought was legit.

 

Did all of the work on my bike myself, the odd buddy over for a beer to play foreman.
Bars were not hard, only took a few beers to get it done.
Having a manual helps with most things. I lift you say, I got 3. Man since having the Harley, my tool inventory has more than trippled!

 

Agreed, but there are folks who have the money to pay someone to do it for them and/or are not mechanically inclined to turn a wrench or simply lack the time to spend wrenching whereas they could be out riding. Of course there is always that one person who thinks wrenching on their own stuff is beneath them, for whatever reason.

 

Agree with working on your bike, it gives you self satisfaction. I thought the reflector removal was more tedious than the bars and exhaust!

 

Man, it snowed here a few days ago so I ripped out my battery box, built a bracket, and wired an external switch to my garage door opener and installed it that day and changed out my exhaust covers for chrome ones. I'm sure that next time it rains I'll have something else to tear into as well.

That's what bad weather days are for.