I have a 2010 SB with stock 10.5 apes. I just bought 12" burley narrow apes. I want to change them myself but worried about the internal wiring and disconnecting the pins. First how difficult is it and any helpful advice you may have.

 

There's a lot of discussion on this and someone even made a diagram showing how to deal with the pins. I tried to do mine without cutting wires but the bars I have it was near impossible so I just cut/soldered and got'r done.



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I went from stock FXDWG bars to 12" Death Squad Bars. Running the internal wiring wasn't too difficult it took a while for me to figure out how to remove the pins. youtube was a huge help. I also had to make the holes where the wires came out on the top of the bars larger. The control housing wasn't quite lining up and the wires were in the way. Once I did that it was smooth sailing but I can see why they charge an arm and a leg to change out the bars at the dealership.

 

There is a Video on how to change the bars and a complete wiring un ppinning and pinning lession in the video. I think it is in the "How to" section. I used this when I did the bard on my S/B. Worked perfectly.

 

Finished my bars. A lot easier then I thought. I will post pictures later.

 

Good on you and changing bars w/internal wiring can be intimidating. With my recent upgrade, for future enthusiasts, my tips/tricks are:

1. PE PATIENT and TAKE YOUR TIME. Yanking on those wires doesn't make them pull faster.
2. Make a paper diagram of every connector and take some pics BEFORE tearing apart.
3. Lube the sh@t out of those cables.
4. Secure your pull wire well...I used small chain fm Lowe's & black tape.
5. For a home made pin removal tool, get a solid push pin (i.e. long w/pearl end), cut the point back ~1/4" (so its flat) and it works just as good as $35 pin tool fm HD.
6. Test everything before tightening

I'm sure more have added aids, but this was the best of my list. Love the new bars tho...show off some pics of yours.

 

I went the cut/solder route. If it is done CORRECTLY, there is nothing wrong with doing it this way. I looked into un-pinning the connectors, but decided to just cut the wires about 5" from the handlebar controls. Cut, soldered, shrink-wrapped, sheathed the wiring from the frame neck up into the bars, and then all the way out to the hand controls. 45 minute job.

 

I unpinned my. Wasn't hard at all. I'm only somewhat mechanically inclined.