I have been on the boards for a while and, while I am an infrequent poster, I am an avid reader and full-time lurker.

I wanted to take a moment thank everyone for their contributions to the forum. While I am not a "wrench" by any stretch of the imagination, I invested the weekend in replacing my bars with W/O 518s, installing new chrome controls, cables, etc. After receiving an over-$1,000 estimate from the dealer (combined with another $1,500 in parts), I decided I would try and tackle this project myself.

I read everything I could find on this forum, viewed how-to pictures, learned from others' advice and mistakes, etc. I saved $100s on the parts thanks to online vendors you recommended. I found some great local people -- for example, Johnny Vaughn at HDBikeParts.com -- who helped make this project a little easier and offered some great guidance. More importantly you inspired me to do a little of my own work on my bike and, in the process, I learned an incredible amount about how my Road King is put together.

I will post pictures and an in-depth recap of the project later this week; but I just wanted to take a moment to say thanks.

Okay, a few quick comments about the project:

1. To everyone who recommended getting a service manual, a million thanks. And, to everyone who ever hesitated to buy one, don't -- it's the best $60 I ever spent.
2. If I ever see another Molex connector again, it will be too soon. Extending the control wires made for a very long day. A second set of hands helps.
3. The Namz wire extension kit makes routing your extended wires relatively easy and -- while there isn't an exact color match for every wire -- with a little patience and a lot of care, I got every wire in the right place the first time.
4. Next to the Molex connectors, the chrome control caps were the second biggest pain of the project. They're plastic, hard to get on and easy to scratch -- there's got to be a better way, Harley Davidson.
5. By the way, the chrome control covers for an RKC have the slots for the radio controls. Not that I ever want to take them apart again, but does anyone make a chrome cover for these slots (right now, I am using the black cover from my stock controls)?

Finally, love my new bars. Much more comfortable than stock. Didn't realize that, after 10,00 miles, I was used to leaning forward to reach the stock bars. Took a little while to get used to the new seat position. Oddly, I find turning much easier with the new bars because my leverage is better and I am more centered in the seat.

Thanks, again, everyone, for all your posts.

OC2CO