When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
If you pull the radio out, you don't have to take the inner fairing off.
When I took the outer fairing off, the inner fairing lifted up and rotated around like in the picture. No need to remove my amp from the top of the radio and remove the 4 bolts that are hard to get to just to remove the radio. Lift up on the inner fairing and rotate it around out of the way. That allowed me the ability to install, adjust, and remove the bars as I tried them.
Originally Posted by Keithhu
Um... why?
Comfort and cable length are not related. If you truly want to ride for hours, to me the way to do that is to find the right bars, not to make keeping those hideous stock garden hoses.
I wasn't trying to say that if I didn't need to change the clutch cable and brake line I wouldn't, but it was a must for me that I didn't have bars above the fairing. Any 10" bars can reuse the stock cable and lines.
Originally Posted by Hate Work
I have done both. For me, it is easier to loosen the inner fairing than remove the radio as I have an amp mounted on top. Others have a cb unit. To each their own.
To me, removing the radio would have made the job a little harder and longer. The inner fairing lifts up about 1" and then will rotate around out of the way. I don't see any need in removing the radio to remove/install handlebars. I also didn't want to remove my amp mounted to the top of the radio.
great write up. was looking at changing mine out for some chubbies. not sure i want to take it on though, i'd probably mess it up.
I thought the same thing until I got started. After I got the removal going, the only concern I had was pulling the wires through the bars without damaging a wire, or even getting them through the bars. I will get frustrated if I can't get something done in the first couple of attempts. With the wiring, I let them sit for a day after getting pissed while I went after the new TBW sensor from HD. I had the wires pulled through in about 25 minutes the second day.
All in all, I've got about 3-4 hours in the swap. I'm not exactly sure why the dealers charge 8-10 hours labor to do a bar swap that doesn't include the clutch cable or brake line.
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.
