I finally took the plunge and decided to install Yaffe Monkey Bagger bars on my 13 Street Glide. I did a TON of research here on the forum and truly could not have made it this far without it, but I have learned some things the hard way that may help others.

1. If you're using electrical tape to help pull your wires through the bars (or any tape most likely), do not use WD40 as a lube. WD40 is a solvent and will eat away at the tape and the adhesive in the tape, leaving black gunk on the wires, inside your bars, and ultimately all over your hands. Its a pain. Do yourself a favor and buy actual wiring/electrical lubricant or something (Ive read about people using baby powder and bearing grease).

2. I read on here that putting the bike on a 2x4 and then sitting on the kickstand will allow you to remove the clutch plate and change the clutch cable without losing any trans fluid. That is a lie. I lost about half my fluid, all over my garage floor. Lesson learned for me. Don't make the same mistake yourself. Drain the fluids before hand. If you're really brave, I have read here that you can lay the bike down on the crash guard and that is enough to keep fluid away from the plate. Don't know, not gonna try.

3. Pulling the wires through the bars isn't that challenging. In total it took me about 30-40 minutes with some quick breaks and reassessing the situation. Run the TBW before you run the control wiring. It is a pain, but some elbow grease will get it through no problem. I ended up using parachute cord (550 cord) because I had a lot around. Push more than pull is solid advice, but you will have to pull the hell outta the wiring at some point. Be ready.

4. I used a reverse method for bleeding the brakes (back bleed). It worked amazingly quick and effective. There are videos on youtube and some threads on here about it. If you have questions I can point you in the right direction. This was my first time EVER bleeding brakes and it took me 5 minutes. Amazing.

5. Pay attention to where you order from, and the season apparently. I ordered Namz extensions for wiring and TBW. Namz is an American product made in the good ol USA, but they ship from PA. PA happens to be having a lovely blizzard so my wires are trapped there until USPS gets off their rear end and starts shipping again. Just my luck.

6. Cables. I used +8 clutch and +6 brake after reading many different opinions on the forum. The brake fits just fine with a little bit extra, which makes it easy to run through stock locations. The clutch is probably too long and I could easily get away with a +6 there.

7. Finally received my NAMZ extensions. Pretty good set up for those that fear solder. My only issue with the package was the shrink wrap, which is not the correct sizes. I would recommend, for anyone that decides to buy these, go out and purchase some 1/8" shrink tube for the individual connections. The stuff they send doesn't shrink enough to me. They also send 1/2" tube to cover everything, which won't fit over your connections once they are done. So you need something a little larger. Again, good deal, but could be better. All in all, it was quick and painless for me. Buttoned up just fine and everything worked like it was supposed to.

8. If you have windshield pouches, like the harley 3 pouch one I have, you may find these bars restrict your access to the outside pouches. I had my pushed a little too forward and couldn't get into the pouches at all. I pulled the bars back some and it made it better, but your riding position may dictate otherwise. Keep that in mind if you decide to go this route. I will end up pulling my bars back a little further which should clear this problem up for me.

One pic posted tonight. Took a quick one before testing out the bars. Then KS decided it was time for cold again. Ill get more in later after some further adjusting.

 

Good work!!! Congrats

 

Thanks a lot man. Its a real challenge, but I'm happy I did the work myself.

 

A 2x4 is not tall enough. Leaning it over so the crash bar is close to the ground works (I have done it quite a few times). Pulling the TBW first is a good method and worked for me. I found it easiest to pull the TBW until the green plug was in the bar just short of where the switch wires are fed in. Once the TBW is in that position, I then pulled the switch wires until both the TBW and switch wires are 2 to 3 inches from being in their completely pulled positions. I then pull both sets to finish the job.

 

I tried that. Wasn't working quite as planned so I ended up just pulling the TBW all the way through first. In the ends it still worked, just took a lot of muscle. Suppose thats normal with this job.

 

I used poly YoYo strings, 3 per side, fed them through with a nut then unwound them to hook onto the wiring, rewound them and then stagger the wires so they wouldn't jam. Throttle side fed through the bottom, clutch side fed through the bottom. Pulled all 3 strings at once, pushed the wires at the same time. Easy. No lube, no issues w the green plug. Took about 30 min for both sides. Throttle side, pulled green plug out, attached TBW and then getting all that BACK in there was the hard part, but only took a little more time.

 

I try not to ever use any electrical tape.
When I need to apply tape, I use...
Self-Fusing Tape (look it up on McMaster-Carr).
Much better alternative and you will not have to worry about the glue running from electrical tape after a couple years of exposure to the elements.

 

As said above, 2x4 isn't tall enough. I used 4x4's and barely lost anything. WD-40 worked for me, but I used heat shrink around the tips of the wires only. Once they were fed, I cut it off and proceeded to put the plugs back together. It's pretty cool doing it yourself. You learn quite a bit about your own bike.....AND it adds to the "bragging rights" at the local watering hole! ;-)

 

One key element that should be mentioned for your install method is this is for 2014 and newer models. 2013 and older models aren't quite as easy due to the number of wires involved.

2010 Limited with some stuff!!

 

As far as the clutch cover, I just changed my cable and my 09 ultra was on its jiffy, took the cover off and maybe 4oz came out. The way everyone sounds, it's like it started gushing out. The tranny only holds 32 to 38oz's and it won't all come out on that side anyway.