I have a 2008 Street Bob & I am changing the handlebars from the mini apes to a riser & motocross type bars. I will have to replace the top triple tree. I have the clutch & throttle controls removed. What is the easiest way to remove the wiring from the controls so that I could drag it thru the small hole in the stock top triple tree. The relays/switches in the controls look to be too big to fit thru the hole in the top triple tree & I do not see any connection. I do not want to cut wires unless I absolutely have to so want to see if I am missing something.

 

No need to cut wires. Follow the wire bundles down to where they go into the sides of the frame just behind the neck. Those rubber fittings pop out of the frame, and then you can pull the wires out until you get to the connectors that can then be disconnected. There's also a plastic cover under the neck of the frame that can be removed to give you more access. I've done this a few times and every time I think I'm not going to get all the wiring back in to the frame, but always do in the end.

I highly recommend getting yourself a factory service manual as you're starting a pretty big project here. They're pretty expensive, but you can usually find cheaper used ones for sale.

 

+1

 

I'm not saying to follow what I did.

Three years ago after two strokes, diabetes, wasn't in a give a **** mood, and needed glasses - I cut mine.

I'm going back in now, with these new bars, and will solder it all up nicely again. I shall make it nice and neat. It's all a very solid connection that's for sure.

Please forgive me for I have sinned!

 

Did the same; cut them in 14. Now going with new bars and doing them correctly.

 

Having changed bars twice in 6 months, I'm pretty good at it now. Steps 1-3 are optional, but it helped for me.

1. Loosen, but do not remove front tank mount bolts
2. Disconnect fuel line from tank (quick connect fitting)
3. Remove rear tank bolt, lift tank, and place wood block between tank and frame to raise it out of the way
4. The bottom of the frame backbone, above the front head and behind the neck has a plastic insert to hold up the wiring. Remove this.
5. Feel around the inside of the area you just opened up. The turn signal wiring and switch wiring use 2 different style connectors. Pull the wiring down and start disconnecting the connections.
6. Remove the rubber grommets on each side of the neck that the wiring currently runs through. They should already have a cut in them to make them easier to remove.
7. Fish the wiring out of the holes on each side of the neck.
8. Fish the wiring out of the tree. I was able to keep my connectors on, as long as I was only pulling one connector through the tree at a time.

 

Exactly. Thanks for explaining it so much better than I could do.

 

Thanks for the detailed advice! I do have a factory manual. I must have missed the wiring diisconnection part! Before I remove the top triple tree I will pull the tank since I am swapping it out anway.

 

One thing I found is that most of the connectors that you unplug from inside the frame for the handlebar connections, can be removed from the wire harness once you get it into the open. This makes it easy to unsnake that back through the trees/handlebars/etc. Mud wrote up a nice how-to some time back on how to remove the connectors from the harness without mucking it up.

My personal experience says .....document the crap out of every connection you remove and more so every connector you disassemble. It will save you alot of time trying to figure it out by looking in the manual.

 

Got it - thanks. The clutch side come out easy. The throttle connectors were really tangled up in the backbone. It took half an hour of tugging, pushing, twisting, etc. the wires that were jammed in there.