Went to the dealer to see about getting the reach bars installed. Told me 5 hours labor at 75.00 per hour. Also said they have to put all new cables and hoses on due to length. Can anyone verify if this is accurate? 5 hrs seems like a long time to install bars. Also thought I read on here cables and hoses do not need replaced. Just rerouted.

 

My HD dlr quoted me 2-4 hours to install HD Heritage Bars on my '13 RK and 6-8 hours to install bars that required new cables and wiring. I installed HD Heritage bars myself in under one hour and it did not require new cables or wire extensions.

 

Ditto....read up on it...took my time and had the swap done in less than 45 minutes!

 

Hell, do it yourself and save your money. I ordered Santee 11" bars. With my service manual and reading lots of post with picture write ups, I'm tackling it...

 

If your bike has a fairing it will take a lot longer than with an RK! It may also take you much longer than a trained tech, if you decide to do it yourself. It's always difficult deciding on things like this, especially if your bike is brand new. If you are not confident of doing the job yourself either put it off, or bite the bullet. If you want to learn more I recommend getting the factory service manual, so you can size up what the job involves.

 

If it has a batwing that is about right. I ended up doing mine myself to save the money. Took me much longer than 5 hours but I dont make $75 per hr either. Went from stock to 11 Santees. If you keep the wires external it would be much faster but who wants that! The brake line didnt need to be changed the clutch cable was swapped for a longer one. It was my first bar change and I didnt have a manual just youtube.

 

Sounds about right for a batwing fairing without internal wiring. Depending on your bike, some of the cables might not need to be replaced although the clutch cable may need to be routed outside the hole in the fairing to reach. I had some Chubby WO575s installed on my previous Ultra (had the internal wiring done and braided cables) and it cost me a fair chunk of change. The labor rate in my area is $90/hr.

 

If I had ANY idea what I was doing , Id give it a shot myself like thees guys are saying. But I laughed at my dealer when they quoted me at almost 8 hours of work.. at $86 an hour.. Thankfully theres another shop near by that cuts both of those numbers almost in half.

 

Do it yourself and save your money. When thru, pat yourself on the back and have another beer. Bragging rights at the next bike night.

 

You might also find an independent mechanic who charges less per hour for labor. My independent charges $65 per hour, deal is $20.00 more an hour, a significant difference. Most definitely have the service manual in hand...You Tube and web information is interesting and useful, NOTHING replaces a shop manual. And this task will take a certain amount of mechanical skill and patience...if you get your ignition switch out of alignment, it may take an expensive tool to get it back into alignment. I was able to use a long screwdriver to get the job done...

That said, my neighbor was able to do the job without a manual, using You Tube, without a complete tool set like mine, and only a modicum of mechanical knowledge, so absolutely, it can be done without being a pro mechanic! Just don't plan a ride for the next day...