Hi everyone! I'm changing the handlebars on my 2011 Blackline and i need to add extensions to the handlebar control cables. I need to get to the wire harnesses under the from of the tank. My question is do i need to disconnect any on the lines to the tank and drain it or just unbolt it and slide it back? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

Most times if you unbolt the tank front & rear and disconnect the FI hose on the rear left of the tank, you can slide the tank back far enough to access the connectors. On my 2001 that was all that was needed. YMMV.

 

When you slide it back, be careful you don't pull the crossover hose out of one side. Unhook the fuel line at the tank like mentioned, works just like an air line. Just pull the collar up and hose pops right out. Make sure you purge the line before you disconnect it or the residual will spill out. Pull the fuse for the fuel pump and hit the starter. I pulled my tank when I switched bars, but I was also doing other work and it gave me the chance to clean what was under the tank as well as the underside of the tank.

 

see the blackline is different from my FatBoy.. when I had to get at those harnesses, just unbolting the tank front and rear was good enough.. the cross-over line got tight, but it wasn't pulling or breaking or anything.. if you get the tank low-enough on fuel, unbolt the front and rear, tilt it backwards so the fuel moves to the rear of the tank, then un-do the crossover line and that should be good enough

 

I wish I could have done with just sliding the tank back. It was enough to get to the turn signal plug and head light plug but not the control wire on my 2008 Crossbones.

The good thing is that the only other thing that you have to do besides what has been described above is to unplug the wire to the fuel gauge and remove the crossover line and you can lift the tank right off. The bad thing is if there is fuel in your tank it is hard to keep from making a mess.

Also, if you do just slide the tank back make sure that the clamp on the cross over line doesn't scratch the top of your front rocker box. I was warned about this by several other's who did that very thing to their bikes. Despite my precautions of covering the rocker box with some cloth and trying to lift the tank while pulling it back I still managed to scratch my rocker box up pretty good. Fortunately it won't be visible once the tank is back on but I guess I got lucky in that respect as others have had to somehow fix the scratches on theirs.

If you remove the tank you should manage to lift it right up thus the better the chance of not scratching the rocker box. I am near complete with my bar install and will be reinstalling my tank soon. I bought a braided crossover line that does not use clamps in the hopes of making this job easier in the future.

Good luck.