First of all, I'm not finished... but I'm close... second, the estimated 6 hour install is a joke... at least if you're like me and run into problems.. and I always run into problems..

My first real issue was that I didn't think through the disassembly process.. some of you will probably think it's obvious, but it wasn't really obvious to me until after I took something off then realized I should have waited... I was just in full tear-down mode.. there IS a sequence you should follow and it probably would have saved me a half hour or more...

Lastly, the install wasn't hard.... but there were parts of it that were hard or I should say, a pain in the a$$..

I don't know what a shop would typically charge for doing the entire ape install, but they definitely earn it.. I still wouldn't pay someone to do it... but I'm kinda cheap and I also don't trust anyone to work on my scoot...

Here are the three main things that caused my install to go WAY overtime... I'll explain them further as I get to them in the tutorial...

stuck throttle tube - additional hour of frustration
running the wiring through the bars - OMG.. PITA.... two hours..
bleeding the brakes - a good 2 hours.. will explain later..

so right there was 5 hours for those 3 things...

I'll break this thread up into several posts to make it easier so let's keep the thread clean until I finish..

and forgive my messy garage and the poor picture quality....

EDIT!!! COVER EVERYTHING!!! get some towels... TRUST ME.... I'm very careful and I STILL ended up with some small scratches... cover the tank.. the fender... everything you can cover!

Here are the parts:

RSD 16" apes, RSD 1" risers, RSD grips, good n'tite bushings, Burly cable kit



I also opted for the NAMZ extensions since they were just plug-n-play

 

Here's how she looked stock.. I should have taken a pic from different angles:



If your pipes block your tranny cover you will need to remove your pipes.. my Big Radius pipes completely blocked it.. so they had to come off... unplug the O2 sensors, get a short 1/2" socket, 1/4" drive with long extension, preferably a wobble.. remove the nuts leaving one on loosely just to keep the pipe from falling.. remove the rear mounting bolts.. I used a 1/2" wrench for my pipes.. while supporting the rear of the pipe, take that last nut off at the heads.. I didn't have to remove the heat shields or loosen the floorboard.



Seat removed and disconnect the negative battery cable:

 

Subscribing.

This could be winter project for me.

 

Pull the rubber cover off of the bleeder valve... put a piece of rubber tubing on the nipple and put the end into a container... a beer bottle would work... I had a brake bleeder so I used the container that comes with it... more on that fiasco later... get a 3/8" wrench and loosen the bleeder valve about 1/4-1/2 turn... squeeze the brake lever until no more fluid comes out or pull it out with the brake bleeder vacuum:



Remove the brake line and stick the bolt back in for the time being:

 

Thanks, this will save me a lot of trouble!

 

Yeah. I just did that this weekend. Its a WAY bigger pain than I ever thought it would be.

 

Ok... first mistake was taking off the control housings before removing the cable, mirrors, etc... don't do this.... keep the housing on until the cables are removed... also, I think my mirror was attached with an impact wrench... no way to loosen that nut by just holding the housing in your hand..

loosen the clutch cable just like you would if you were adjusting the clutch.. a 9/16" and 1/2" wrench.. loosen the jam nut and turn the adjuster towards the nut till you have plenty of free play in the clutch lever.. you may have to go ahead and loosen it in the primary cover to have enough free.. I didn't have to... remove the small snap ring on the bottom of the housing and push the pin up and out.. pull the clutch lever out to the side and then you can disconnect the lever from the cable.. take off your mirror (I couldn't at this point so you don't HAVE to take it off) then finish removing the housing... you'll need a T25 and T27 torx if I remember correctly:



On to the other side... go ahead and fold up a piece of cardboard to shim the brake lever.. remove the switch housing and disconnect the throttle cable ferrules.. just push them out.. then remove the ferrules from the end of the cables... put a drop of oil where each throttle tube comes up inside the housing.. put the housing back on.. then pull with all your freaking might on the throttle tube while you rock it back and forth... no ****... other than telling you to pull with every ounce of your strength that's how you remove them according to the factory service manual.. again, a T25 and T27 for the housing

This was where I ran into the first big problem.. one of the throttle tubes popped right out in about 20 seconds... the other one?? no way.... I pulled, pushed, rocked, cussed, etc.. for about 30 minutes before I got it out... I think it was a casting defect... you'll understand when you see yours... the tubes slide up through a hole in the housing and they have a tiny spring clip in a groove that holds it inside the housing.. you don't remove this clip... it's just a spring clip.. and that one just did NOT want to come out... and if the housing isn't attached to the bar there is no way in hell to get enough leverage to pull it out...

EDIT!!! Here is the first time I got a scratch.. it was HOT.. my hands were sweaty and oily... the damn housing clamshell slipped from my hand.. hit the gas tank THEN hit the F'in fender!! COVER EVERYTHING.... lol...

 

Pull the tranny drain plug... can't remember but it's either a 1/4" or 5/16" allen.. there was MUCH less debris on the plug than at the 1000 mile service.. and I was happy to see that the Royal Purple gear oil looked almost identical to what it did when I poured it in..



Pull the tranny cover.. again, can't remember the size.. maybe a 7/32" allen... quick note.. have a full set of allen and torx! lol...



I was really pleased with how everything looked under the tranny cover... the royal purple gear oil still looked the same and everything was slick as snot in there.. I did pull the big snap ring and it wasn't too hard... but I think you can remove the cable end without doing it... either way, get the clutch cable end disconnected... now.. trust me.. put the tranny cover BACK on... otherwise you won't be able to unscrew the clutch cable from the tranny cover.. just stick one or two bolts back in the cover... I think here I ran into the first time where I had to use a metric wrench.. the clutch cable housing where it screws in to the tranny cover... think I ended up using a 15mm wrench.. and obviously if you haven't disconnected the clutch on the lever end.. there's no way you're gonna be able to unscrew it at the tranny cover.. because the entire cable twists when you unscrew it..

the clutch cable unscrewed:

 

No wonder it took so long, you took time to take pics. j/k

 

For the gas tank.. I opted not to remove it.. I still think it was the right decision... remember what I said about following a certain order during disassembly? well, I hadn't disconnected the fuel pump relay to run it till it died... and at this point too much was disconnected to try and crank the bike.. so I fully expected to end up with gas all over me, the bike and the garage... I had ran it down to what I guessed to be about 1/2 gallon of gas.. there were 20 miles remaining on the display..

Also, by now I had discovered the importance of covering everything with a towel.. DO IT.. you'll thank me later.. no matter how careful you are.. you'll bang your tank, fender or something else expensive..

so.. I wrapped a heavy cloth around the fuel line and coupler... had a bucket ready to catch the half gallon or so of gas.. held my breath... and slowly pulled up on the chrome sleeve and down on the fuel line.. it popped off easily... and.....

NOTHING... not one drop of gas sprayed out.. leaked... nothing... and it never leaked the entire time it was disconnected... there is gas in the tank.. you can hear it sloshing around... my only theory is that fuel line connector only allows fuel to flow when the line is connected... I don't know... your mileage may vary.. but I still have gas in the tank and never spilled a drop..

remove the tank bib.. it's a small torx screw.. lift up the bib... then the rear tank mounting bolt with a T40 torx... on to the front of the tank... what was easiest for me was a 9/16 deep socket with extension on the acorn nut side and a regular 9/16 socket and extension on the other... straddle the fender... loosen without having a hernia.. that nut was on TIGHT...

so I then tried sliding the tank up and back.. and it moved... about an inch.. not nearly far enough to get to the wiring connectors... then I saw what the problem was.. the wiring/hose running under the console... nobody told me I had to remove the console!! I think I used a 1/2" deep socket on the acorn nut.. then lifted the console off.. I disconnected the one plug that attaches at the top of the tank.. and the fuel vent hose.. the console isn't very heavy and the wiring harness is huge.. so instead of disconnecting all the plugs, I wrapped the whole thing in a small towel and just let it hang to the side...

tank slid back.. wires disconnected.. the larger connector with the blue wires is.. hell, I don't know what it's for.. it's not used.. the smaller one behind it was one plug for the wiring.. then I had to slide it a little farther back to get the next plug.. it's right behind the smaller one..



other side..