Do you have to remove the top of the triple tree to change the riser bushings on a road king? THe top ones look easy. THe bottome ones appear to require disassembly of the stearing head...

KB

 

no just have to do one side at a time. crank the bars to the left to do the right side, then crank them to the right and do the left side.

 

Like OG1 said you just turn the bars fully one way and do one side at a time. There is enough room for the riser bolt to come out and then you can push the bottom bushing out from the top if it doesn't come out with the bolt.

 

Doh. Couldn't see it- thanks!.
(saying to self: always turn the handlebars always turn the handlebars).

 

Why are you changing the bushings? If your bars are feeling a little loose, it could be because you have the two piece clamps. The one piece clamp is a great upgrade, especially for taller than stock bars.

 

I just changed out my bars and changed to polyurethane bushings at the same time. This was on an 08 RoadKing... don't know if it applies to your model year, but the washers that came with the bushing kit were too thick. I know this probably does not apply to all aftermarket poly bushing kits out there, but just something to keep in mind.

What that means is that the riser will be a little too tall for the riser cover to bolt back on over the two piece nacelle. I was racking my brain as to why the nacelle and the riser cover would not line up properly. Luckily Livermore HD's techs know their stuff and that's how I found out about the washers. I had to dis-assemble it and replace the kit washers with the stock washers... I still used the kit poly bushings. That change in thickness made all the difference.

Hope this helps.

 

WHen you go from a 5.5" stock hqandlebar rise to a 12.5" rise, the leverage is greatly increased. That leverage will increase the compression force on the bushings. COuld be a mistake, but I changed them out to match the compression of the rubber with the force due to the handlebar height (read quite a bit in the forum about the bushing and compression from taller HBs). Some people here have taken the stiffer bushings back out due to excess vibration so I am keeping the old ones, even though they loook pretty well squished up. I'm installing the one piece clamp as well.

 

GREAT answer..... Thanks!!






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