So you basically did what I described. I assume those 2 holes are between the risers and you can still see a little wire there? How close were you to NOT having enough wire?

 

Yeh basically

The short risers offset the longer bars so length was the same or maybe even a little extra. You shouldn't have to unwire anything. If you make the holes large enough to squeeze the connectors through. Unplug them under the tank then feed through from the switch end.

Yes wires are visible exiting the bars between the risers but its not really noticeable, I also went internal throttle so had to make slot a little longer to accommodate the cable.

 

If you're just talking about the internal wiring part then that's totally nuts. However, it sounds like maybe they were quoting you for the whole job.

I did my own beach bars (going from mini apes) and internally wiring them took all of 20 minutes. We recently did my brother's 2008 Rocker. He went from stock to 16 inch apes. Even though he had the style of bars with Z angles instead of curves, we still managed to internally wire them in about an hour. Getting the wire bundles through the near-90 degree angles was the hardest part.

From what I have read of your thread, it seems like there are a couple of things that you are doing which are adding significantly to the time. For starters you mention drilling holes in your bars. In both mine and my brother's case, our new bars both came pre-drilled for internal wiring. Then there is mention of cutting and soldering the extensions. I didn't need them for mine but for my brother's we went with an extension kit that costs way less than an hour of labor at a dealership and it takes about 20 minutes to install.

Maybe you can at least cut some of your time down by looking into an extension kit if you need it?

 

If you want to try to do it yourself, I suggest Hill Country Customs....

They will sell you the an entire kit to install new bars, includes the bars and all the extensions needed for your application.

Here's an example of what you can get

http://www.hillcountrycustomcycles.c...10-P2186.aspx#


A friend just used them for a bar swap. It was his 2n bar swap but 1st using a Hill Country Customs kit. He said it was easier with everything supplied, no guesswork....

Good luck

 

Yeah I would charge someone at least 8 hours. I'm not a mechanic but I've done internal wiring on friends bikes and my own. It's a full day job.

 

I changed from drag bars to narrow beach bars at the weekend. Took 2 to 3 hours including researching how to do it.

None of the wires/cables needed changing so just had to unclip them from under the front of the tank, feed them through the new bars then connect again. Bars were pre-drilled so already had the holes.

I didn't need to drain the tank (which I guess is the time consuming bit). Just unbolt the back and front, put some cloth on the head for protection then slide it back a few inches. It's a bit fiddly but you can get to the connector sockets with a long thin screwdriver to unclip them. To get them back in line them up then push back in with the screw driver.

 

Good input from several places. Thanks. If I use the unclip below the tank and pull through from the end technique a few of you have mentioned, does that still require adjusting the clutch and bleeding the brakes? Also, since you didn't mention it, is there any need for exhaust removal? Those are the parts that are throwing me off. I've never done any of those before, though I assume the service manual can walk me through them all.

 

As previously stated not hard just time consuming. My biggest issue when I did my old Road Glide a while back was all the diferent colors of wires on both those with and without colored stripes. I am just a bit color blind (ignorant) so I got the wife to help me label correctly. Like someone already said...LABEL EVERYTHING and take your time. Break the job up into segments so you can walk away for a bit and not get frustrated if you are so inclined (like I can be!),,,,

 

I can tell you mine and my brother's process and hopefully some of it will be relevant to your application.

On Mine:

I removed the tank to get to the plugs for the wiring. Some people said I could just slide the tank back but that never provided me the clearance. My original bars were not internally wired and the wires were just clipped along the underside of the bars so removing the switches and wires from the stock bars was a snap. The new bars were pre-drilled for internal wiring. I DID NOT need to extend my wires and cables so mine was relatively easier. I looked at a video online to learn how to remove the plastic plug from the end of my wires and running them through the new bars was a snap. Everything else went on rather painlessly.

On My Brother's:

Same as with mine but we DID need to extend his wires and cables. We DID NOT have to remove the exhaust to remove the trans side cover to switch the cable out. He has Vance and Hines Big Radius. We were able to get alen wrenches or low profile ratchet with alen bit behind the pipes to remove and re install the cover. Feeding the switch wires through the bars was a bit tough due to the sharp bends but still only took 20 minutes. Attaching the wire extensions was maybe another 20 or 30 just making sure all the wire colors matched up. We also had to remove the entire air cleaner assembly to install the new throttle and idle cables. Not hard at all to do. Same with the new break line. Remove the old line, install and route the new one, refill the reservoir and bleed. Bleeding the breaks in an easy process that seems to scare most people, probably because we're talking about the thing that can bring you to a stop besides the car in front of you!!! I can bleed either front or rear break line in 5 to 10 minutes tops.

His bars took twice as long as mine but still way less than 8-9 hours. Plus we also added chrome switch housings in the process. He did most of the work while I instructed him over the phone and then dropped by after work to double check everything and help him button things up.

I am confident I can do a full swap in roughly four hours. When I say that, I am referring to REAL time. When a shop quotes you a price you have to know that if it takes 20 minutes they'll call it 1/2 hour and if it takes 45 minutes they will call it 1 hour. With that formula it's real easy to run up the clock on any sort of job...

 

I think I now see where some of my confusion is coming from. In my world, I take everything off of my bars, switch the bars out, run my electrical wires inside the bars, put the brake and clutch handles back on the new bars, and go for a ride. I'm assuming, from what you said, that I have to open the brake system and change out the clutch cable (I assume that, unlike the electrical wires, the clutch and brake cables will now be too short and thus need replacing?) and thus may need to remove the exhaust to get to the transmission, and to bleed the brakes. Is that the deal?