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Decided to change out handlebars while I have my 2011 Road King torn down for repairs, and ordered 14" Flying Apes in 1.25" to replace HD Fat Mini Apes. Holes for wiring entry/exit are MUCH smaller on the Carlini bars, and the holes at switch housings don't appear to line up properly so as not to pinch wires where they exit switch housings... I'm a bit surprised as reviews/comments I've seen on Carlini generally seem very positive, and am wondering whether I should tear into these with a die grinder or maybe just find something else. The bars are a "blem" but I understood blemishes to be slight and cosmetic. I suppose canbus models wouldn't be (as much of) a problem but that doesn't help me and these are supposed to fit my 2011. Pictures below compare new Carlini bars (bottom) with the HD Fat Minis, with handlebar ends exactly aligned. Appreciate any comments/suggestions.
Hole at riser is much smaller, and other wasn't exactly roomy
Left side; offset looks like it will pinch wires exiting switch housing
For my gaster apes, the hole in the bottom was small. I opened it up the width of the hole in the clamp. Width and length. Why so it the hard way when you can get a little more playing room?
I don't know if you should use those bars or what, but dang, they sure didn't do you any favors with those tiny holes did they?
They sure as hell didn't. I can understand wanting them to look clean and not have holes any larger than necessary, but still... And the left side hole is going to be clear away from switch housing.
Originally Posted by DanHappy
For my gaster apes, the hole in the bottom was small. I opened it up the width of the hole in the clamp. Width and length. Why so it the hard way when you can get a little more playing room?
Did you have any problem with holes at switch housings? Looks like I'd need to roughly double the size on all 3 holes to make it work very well at all, and left side still wouldn't line up very well.
So I have it mocked up and the holes at switch housings should either work as is or with minor modification--about half the hole is under switch housing which is odd but enough it shouldn't pinch wires. The larger holes completely covered by switch housings on HD bars seems like a much better design, but I guess it's just a typical aftermarket snafu. Will definitely need to figure out some sort of grommet to keep wires from rubbing on edges though. Also gonna grind out bottom hole; don't know wtf they were thinking there. On the plus side they do look really sharp, and the increases in both height and pullback will be welcome.
I have done many, many, sets of bars over the years. Everything from Yaffe, to Wild1, to Carlini, to Factory47 to LA Choppers.
I have to say, the 18 1.25 Carlini Gangster Apes I put on my 2010 RG were the absolute worst bars to wire. Hands down, no questions asked, I hated my life when I was wiring those bars.
Did I mention how much I hated wiring them? Haha.
And it was for the reasons you have shown. The holes are round, not oblong, and TINY!
Patience & perseverance paid off, but man, I wish you the best of luck.
I ran into the same problem (bottom hole) when I did LA Choppers beach bars on my dads '12 Limited. Ended up not installing heated grips to make the install work. There just wasn't enough room for everything to get through that hole. I really didn't wanna cut up new bars so we opted out of the heated grips and all was fine.
I have used Wild Ones bars more than any other bar and never had a single problem.
Did you have any problem with holes at switch housings? Looks like I'd need to roughly double the size on all 3 holes to make it work very well at all, and left side still wouldn't line up very well.
No. They were fine. Not too much gets pulled through. Not tons or room to spare but it fit.
I ran into the same problem (bottom hole) when I did LA Choppers beach bars on my dads '12 Limited. Ended up not installing heated grips to make the install work. There just wasn't enough room for everything to get through that hole. I really didn't wanna cut up new bars so we opted out of the heated grips and all was fine.
I have used Wild Ones bars more than any other bar and never had a single problem.
Yeah I've got a set of the Kahuna internally wired heated grips I was planning to install. Even without the grips I'm not sure I'd want to attempt it as is, so I'm gonna grind it out to a reasonable size and go ahead and install them.
Thanks all for the feedback. I'd been looking into bars for quite some time and don't recall coming across anything specifically talking about different brands being more or less difficult to install, but I like the design of these from both aesthetic and ergonomic standpoints and probably wouldn't have made a different choice anyway.
If you are going to use them. Bore them out to make things easier for yourself. Those types mods will be hidden from sight anyways...so long as opening them up wont ruin their integrity.
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