Again.. what I said about following a certain sequence... here the bars are removed.. tank is covered with a towel, console wrapped in a towel and hanging down.. uhmmm.. can't remove the risers after the bar is removed.. they just twist.... so I had to put the bars back on to remove the riser bolts:



Also.. I had to remove the rear portion of the nacelle to get to the riser bolts... your mileage may vary.. I used a 3/4 inch wrench on the riser bolts for more control.. could use a socket instead... here's a pic with the risers and stock bushings removed:



better shot of the console hanging to the side:

 

Thankfully, AJANDERSON told me last week that the RSD bars are too long in the 1" section.. so I knew ahead of time I'd have to cut them off.. I think if I had discovered it at this point I would have started throwing things!! lol...

Maybe I expect too much, but I think if you pay 300 bucks for a set of bars, you shouldn't have to cut on them to make them fit!! call me crazy I guess..

he said he needed to cut off 1 3/4" so I took measurements and that was spot on.. I taped them up and marked where I needed to cut:



AJ said he used a sawzall and I was planning on the same.... but after looking at the thickness of the metal I decided to try and use my tubing cutter... was a little tough and probably the max that tubing cutter can do but wasn't really difficult... took maybe 3-4 minutes per side to cut them off.. had to remove the tape... tape doesn't work well with a tubing cutter:



and here are the bars after cutting an inch and 3/4 off the ends:

 

Here are the new goodntite bushings installed.. they were a little tough to press in, but look SO much better quality than the stock bushings:



New RSD risers loosely installed:



Ready to start wiring the bars:

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Dude.....I was throwing things!!!!

Honestly all the parts guys at the stealership were floored that I had to cut these bars.

Honestly man after your experience and mine along with the countless other members in here we should make a rev 2.0 to these among other "how to's" with the bars as a step by step "dummy proof" version. I know it would have helped me calm my nerves!

Great idea!!!! Especially if you don't have a buddy to drink all your beer and hold the bars.

 

awesome write up... subscribing!!

 

Took a piece of masons line and attached a lead sinker to one end.... I started to use fishing line, but there is NO way fishing line would have worked... you'll see why... I dropped the weight in and it basically fell right through the bars and out the bottom.. super easy... was beginning to think this would be cake...



I tied the end of the string to the wiring harness way back on the shrink covering and then taped all the way from that point down past the plugs...

Yes.. the plugs...

Remember me opting for the NAMZ extensions?? no splicing, no soldering.. plug n play.. BUT... what that DOES mean is now, not only are you pulling a wiring harness through the bars.. but you're also pulling it through with the PLUGS still on them!! have you noticed the angles on those RSD bars?? yeah.. now the fun started..

I started pulling the wiring through... got the taped portion through the hole cut in the bar... got to the first bend.. and... NOTHING... would.... not..... BUDGE... I worked it back and forth...pulled.. pushed... it would even get started around the corner... about that time the string broke..

now I was starting to panic...

so I pulled the wires back out... you know.. just a few inches since it hadn't even started around the curve.. or bend.... or angle of doom....

had to come up with something different... pulled all the tape off and the broken string... then got a piece of 18 gauge wire and pulled IT through using another piece of string and weight.... attached the wire to the wiring harness and then wrapped it as tight as I possible could with electrical tape making sure that each section was as thin as possible.. but of course the plugs are hard..so I just wrapped them as tightly as I could with tape so as not to make them any bigger..

started pulling on the wire.... got to the first bend of the bars.. and.. nothing...

I think I threw something at this point.. I was pissed and I was cussing...

I went outside to calm down... came back in.. and it hit me..... if you can't get it through a hole.. you need lube.. lol....

So I got some hand soap and coated the whole damn thing and tried again... no, it wasn't easy.. but it did start moving... after about 5 minutes I got it through the first bend... then on to the last bend... almost had it completely through.. and the F'IN wire broke!!!

there are no words to illustrate the anger I was feeling at this point... BUT.. I looked in the exit hole and the wire broke.. right... there.. and I was able to stick some needle nose pliers in there and grab it enough to pull the rest out..

look near the top of the picture at the larger of the 2 plugs and you'll notice the small red pull wire where it broke.. but I got it through:



luckily, that first side was the hardest because there are TWO plugs in that harness... on the left side I switched to 12 gauge wire and used plenty of soap and finally got it through.. still, the whole process took FOREVER!!

here are the bars with the wires FINALLY through.. you'll notice that left #$&^%#@ mirror that I couldn't get off because without the housing mounted on the bars you have no leverage:



and with the NAMZ extensions plugged in... you see the size of those plugs?? you see why I had so much fun getting that through the bars..

yes, I'm still glad I got the extensions... well.. I think..

 

Here is a pic of the bars on the bike.. left everything loose for now.. you'll notice I had to sand the ends of the bars where I cut them off.. the tubing cutter left a raised ridge...



Next I installed the new clutch cable.. here it was easier to screw the cable in to the tranny cover most of the way with the cover OFF the bike.. with it on, I couldn't get the cable to thread into the hole.. I got it most of the way in, reattached the cable end to the clutch release assembly and then put the tranny cover back on... there is a tightening sequence to the cover bolts... again, I removed the large snap ring on the clutch release in the beginning and it wasn't much trouble getting it back in...

Don't forget to re-install your tranny drain plug and refill with fluid...



I forgot to mention earlier about disconnecting the throttle cables at the intake... the service manual says to remove the entire a/c assembly... if yours is stock you will probably have to... with the SE style backing plate I had enough room to reach behind it and disconnect the cables...

running the new throttle cables under the tank would have been easier with the tank off, but I didn't.. I lived.. would have been easier with someone to help me as I had to use my left hand to raise the rear of the tank and use my right hand to route the cable under the tank and to the intake.. make sure to take note of which throttle cable goes where... they are slightly different.. the one to the outside of the bike has a small spring at the end of the cable ferrule and it attaches at the throttle grip housing nearest to you if you're sitting on the bike:

 

sorry but I skipped taking a few pics of the next steps.... on the throttle, just like disassembly, putting the new throttle cables back on was a bitch! the one that was easy to remove the old throttle cable was just as easy to install the new one... but the other one... #$%^&^ %&*(*&^% took me just as long to get the new one in the hole.. I really think the problem was the hole itself where the throttle cable tube gets pushed into.. it must have had some bad places in the hole.. what I should have done was run a drill bit of the exact size the hole is suppose to be through the hole to clean it out before trying to push the new tube back in... between getting the old one out and the new one in, that tube is VERY loose.. I don't like it, but it won't fall out.. obviously.. I probably couldn't pull the damn thing out again if I tried.. I'll live with it..

also, I smeared anti-sieze around the last few inches of the bar under the throttle grip.

the new brake line doesn't really need explanation.. it goes back on like the old one came off.. easy..



on the clutch side, I went ahead and pulled the primary cover off (T27 torx iirc) and loosened the lock nut and adjusting screw to give me plenty of slack... attached the clutch cable eye through the new plastic bushing that came with the Burly kit and into the clutch lever.. slid it in the housing, popped the rod through the housing and lever.. put the snap ring back on.. on a related note, my snap ring pliers were pretty good.. for the price they can't be beat.. they are made by channel lok and do internal/external and have about 4 pin sizes.. I think I paid about 18 bucks for them..

I finished adjusting the clutch and put the primary cover back on (there is a tightening sequence here too and yes I reused the primary gasket.. it's fine.. I promise) it's kinda hard for me to hold the adjustment screw while tightening the lock nut.. i need to come up with a better tool for the job.. you can't use a socket on the lock nut because then you can't hold the adjustment screw.. and the lock nut is too deep in the primary to use a regular wrench...

using a 9/16 and 1/2" wrench I completed the clutch adjustment on the cable side giving me about 1/16" free play at the end of the clutch cable ferrule..

here's a pic with all cables reattached and housings/grips on...



I then made sure all the wires and cables were where they needed to be coming from under the tank and re installed the rubber tank grommet at the front of the tank (didn't mention taking it off earlier) slid the tank back up and re attached the front and rear bolts..

cleaned off the tank and put the bib back on... then unwrapped the console from its towel cocoon and plugged the one connector back in... lined up the console and tightened it back down with the acorn nut...

I walked around the side of the bike and then realized I forgot to reattach the damn tank vent hose to the top of the tank! #$%^&)(* that could have been the beers fault and not mine.. so I had to take the console BACK off to reattach the vent hose..

so here it is with the tank and console reattached:

 

No pictures really needed here... I have a vacuum style brake bleeder.. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY...

You know that point where you're exhausted... you're aggravated and damn near delirious?? I failed to mention that this whole process (with the exception of cutting the bars and wiring them) was done in 100 degree weather..

I started bleeding the brakes with the vacuum bleeder.. after an hour, hour and a half, I forget. and half a bottle of brake fluid I still had NO brakes.. I knew I was doing it right.. but I was getting nowhere.. so at this point I was at the end of my patience.. and went inside to cool off and google... you know when you second guess yourself and google to see if 2+2 really equals 4?? I was trying to find out if I was doing something wrong even though I knew I was doing it the right way...

I then ran across an article where this guy was talking about bleeding brakes and how vacuum bleeders are "ok" but sometimes they just don't work and you should ALWAYS finish bleeding them the old fashioned way even if the vacuum bleeder works..

Well, 20 minutes later doing it the old fashioned way... by myself no less.. one hand on the brake lever, the other wrenching the bleeder valve... I had good brakes...

Do yourself a favor.. bleed them the old fashioned tried and true way...

Vacuum bleeder = POS!!!

So all that's left now is to figure out the angle I want the bars to be and tighten up the risers/riser clamps and the controls..

I'm going to take the left grip back off and drill 2 shallow detents where the allen set screws go in to make damn sure the grip can't slide off..

and I have to re-install the pipes for the millionth time...

 

+100000000 bro..

Thanks to Drew and Shawn@DRVTWIN, AjAnd3rson and DrWalkinboner..

Once I'm completely done I'll post some better quality after pics..