Am wondering if anyone has had experience taking off the housing around the light in order to adjust handle bars of a RK Classic.
I was once told it was a pain in the butt. True?
Any feedback is appreciated.
Jim

 

Do it yourself section. Try this link..

https://www.hdforums.com/m_193952/tm.htm

 

i can tell you how to do it on a custom. its not too bad, just not quite as easy as it was on the sportster.

first you have to take the little plastic piece off of the handlebar cover (you know the one that surrounds your fork lock) it pops right off with a small flat bladed screwdriver. then take off the 2 phillips head screws. then take off the trim ring around the headlight. then take out the screws holding the headlight in (the whole assembly, not just the glass). you can either set it on a towel on your fender or totally unplug it. now there are 2 very small studs that hang down off that spear on top of the nacelle. take the 2 nuts off those, then you can take the spear, and the handlebar cover off. viola! you should now see the 2 handlebar clamps sitting right there, easy as pie to get to.

once you do it a couple of times, it isn't too bad. just remember that some of these fasteners are kinda small, they don't take a lot of torque to snap or strip.....

 

We changed out the bars on my 07 Classic to the Heritage bars. alot more comfortable. Not a problem at all. just be careful not to scratch anything.

 

Thanks alot you guys. I'll give it a try.
If lowering the bars doesn't do the trick, I might consider replacing them but only as a last resort.
Again, thanks for the help.
Jim

 

Be careful with the 2 little nuts/washers that go on the spear, they are small and there isn't alot of room in there for your fingers. Most everything else is not that bad.

 

Another word of caution..i learned the hard way. I had the same problem on my roadking and rotated the bars back to a more comfortable position, put everything back together and went for a test ride. Man this is much better i thought until i had to make the U turn to head back to the house...dang it, now the bars are so low they hit my legs when turning. So i rode that way for awhile just moving my leg out of the way but ended up getting the right bars, wire extenders, and a longer brake line. So make sure you can get a full left to right turn without hitting your legs.

mike

 

I adjusted the handlebars on my RKC just the other evening - I found it really easy and it took just 30 mins. Just be methodical in your approach and you will have no problems. I moved the bars slightly downwards and it has made a dramatic difference to my riding comfort - no wrist ache now.

 

Thanks for the alert on the turning issue mk.
I just want to lower them an inch or so. My shoulder kills meafter an hour or so because of bad arthritis in one of them. Spike, I think (I hope) it will make all the difference as well.
BTW, I like your peregrine picture!!!! The peregrine is sort of my 'totem', as I use to do research on them for many years.

 

One word of caution. When removing the headlight make sure you get the right screws. Some of them are attachment screws others are used to adjust the alignment. If you mess up thealignment it could be a bitchgetting in backto spec.