Thanks for addressing these issues, Doc! We see so many times people saying, “You don’t need extensions! Clip here, move it there…..it will work…” resulting in stretched and compromised cables and wiring! 👍
Absolutely spot on Doc! I have a 2022 CVO in green flame black fade with different bars installed by the dealer. I’ve a friend who had his handlebars installed by a local shop. His clutch cable is chaffing!! There you have it.
As always your explanation is great! I want different bars on my stock 08 RG but I will wait to buy them and then see if I need to make adjustments. Thanks for all you put out!
Excellent points Doc! So many have bought into the mindset of getting by as cheap as possible. Cheaper isn't better and a lot of the time not safe. Harley has done a great deal of research and development on their products to perform safely and effectively. So thankful for the information you share! We get to spend more time riding and less time wrenching 😁
Great video Doc. If you want a bang for your buck you need to contact Hill county Handle bar company out of Texas. Change my 08 softail custom handlebars to 18” ape and they ask all the right questions about cabling length and all wires are plug and play to all specifications for your model. 100% reliable handlebars and company to deal with.
Great advice. I wish dealers would have a jig to match up handle bars,seats,pegs,ect. That way you could try different options but then the dealer would have to stock all of the parts
Great video as usual Doc! I’m going through this now. Started in January getting 12 in bars on my 2022 Tri Glide. Everyone (including bar manufacturer) said I won’t need extension. Except dealer. So I listened to dealer. 😂. Sadly parts have been on order since January. Backordered till end of May or Early June. I would rather have it done correctly.
100% right, you never know until you have the bike with you and wires pulled, had Harley dealer tell my friend you don’t need handle control extensions for his 2019 SG, I ran the wires through the bars and 2inches were sticking out lol..
This was great Doc. I used to go through this with the Goldwingers. Honda always offered kits for popular items, but half the guys wanted aftermarket stuff, and asked all these same questions. No one knows better how your motorcycle should be set up than the manufacturers engineers, followed by dealer techs. Guys that say they can do it without looking over your box of junk and your bike will cost you money down the road, usually a lot, and might even your life. Ample slack is a necessity in cables and wires around steering heads, especially on the stuff routed through the bars! Ride safe
@@LowCountryHarleyDavidson great video. I’m doing a swap as well and planning things out so everything is done properly. A completely different question regarding our new 2021 sportster iron. It only has about 2000 km on it. It started to sump within a couple weeks of standing. Up on start up, it will dump the oil out of the breathers into the air cleaner and on the ground or all over the bike. No just a few drops. The dealer we bought it from is further away from us and set, newer bikes shouldn’t do that anymore. The privately owned dealer close to us, said it’s normal all Harleys sump when standing. On start up the oil gets pumped back into the oil tank. They said it was normal. Do we need to buy an aftermarket air cleaner to redirect the oil into the intake or is it really not a normal occurrence on this bike.
Thx Doc as always for your informative videos! Just extended the bars on my 15 RK to 18" KST's (had 16" Chubbys). Once we got the old ones off, whoever did the job prior from stock to 16" used some "creative" ways to get it done! Needless to say, needed all new wiring, clutch + brakes cables to do it correctly. Be aware, once you get above 16", fewer and fewer after-market companies offer what is necessary to do the job and even fewer do it with quality!
Just got a set of those handlebars installed on my Trike. The HD dealership did installed extensions and everything works fine. In my opinion leave it to the HD professionals to install it right so you don’t encounter any problems in the future.
Sound advice, especially for those owners who rely on shops to do their mods, or aren't pretty darned skilled at doing things like this. Doc is right: HD does the R&D to avoid what can be aftermarket fitment issues, especially where safe operating conditions, like cables, lines, controls of your scooter matter. I can't count how many guys I've known that do a bars change, and actually don't even check the lock to lock operations before they do a check ride. Don't experiment with some of these mods at 75 mph to find out if they fit, work. Just an old guy's advice (me, not Doc...)
I just put 14s on my RKS and EVERYONE (other than Harley) said "all you need to extend is the wiring and MAYBE the clutch cable"... Wrong. I had to extend EVERYTHING because I like things to be routed properly, not pulled out of every single clip and guide and run across the front of the neck just to end up pulled tight on a turn. Went way longer than needed for everything so I can go bigger with bars later if I want. Ended up getting.a new upper clutch cable and all the grunt brake lines from Magnum Shielding and couldn't be happier.
Stuff like that is why I prefer to use dealerships. Virtually all other situations have people just slapping bikes together any which way that gets the job done quickly.
The dealer is also charging extra parts and labor! When it’s on Harleys dime look at all the upgrades you have to make to the new bike. Oh, it’s fine without it. But customers little money, it doesn’t need it but it be better this way! Nice
Just trying to keep an open mind when it comes to crazy service and parts costs. When you change your oil etc for a lot less than Harley does, you are not paying wages/saleries to employees, you are working for free. Business insurance and all the other little bites of taxes, unemployment taxes etc and all the other fixed and variable costs associated with running a profitable business naturally have to be taken into consideration when setting prices and fees.
@@LowCountryHarleyDavidson it doesn't. sorry to get off topic, but reading through the posts, so many people whineing about cost of service and parts inspired me to write. Love your vids by the way, super helpful. Thanks
Hi Doc :) I want to shorten my upper clutch cable on my 2019 Sport Glide. How do I measure the cable that is on now? From what point to what point? Thx
in your experience how accurate is the harley requirement document , regarding cables and wires for ordering parts. harley says i need to go 9 inches longer on my clutch cable for the chizeled bars from a 2018 heritage . thanks for your time
I am not an engineer. At some point I must trust what someone else has measured. HD has shown me that they have tried every combination with Harley parts and I have returned few….Doc
I bought my 12” factory 47 bar from the dealership and I asked the parts guy if I need extensions? He said just the wires and I said how about the clutch cable? He said no but when I put it, the clutch cable came up short so I called the dealership back and ordered 4” extension like Doc has and extended it. I know there are people out there making videos pulling the clutch cable out and rerouting them but just like Doc said, I was afraid I might start having issues with it later on down the road. Unfortunately I couldn’t reuse that rubber holder that goes around the clutch cable because the bar was too thick in diameter so cut that off with my knife.
But Doc, are you saying that, even though, sure, the Motor Company spent millions of dollars in research and development for this kind of thing, that the RU-vid experts are wrong? I mean, they probably spent almost maybe a hunnert’ bucks and have months of experience, so shouldn’t that count for something? 😂 From Southern California ~ Ride Forever!
Doc, I have a question for you, the flange that connects my rear exhaust pipe is bent, I over torqued, my torque wrench was no longer working properly. Is there a way to fix the flange? Is it possible to use one of those adjustable flanges?
Are you in love with your seat? Sometimes it is worth your time and money to find a seat that pushes you forward with support but also allows you to reach the ground. RG bars are hard to rotate towards you ( pinned under clamp) so choose bars that bend to you. With internal wiring making labor cost high, take your time choosing. Worth the ride to many shops to sit on used bikes with different handlebars before spending your money on a guess….Doc
I have an idea for those trying to pick the right handlebars. I took my stock bars off and put 1" PVC pipe in place with 90 degree elbows cut the width, height and pullback pieces. The base width and the grip sections were the same as stock. The height (rise) was to the length I thought was going to feel good. Had the bike level and sat on it with the wheel straight. Grabbed the PVC grips and moved them into place. Got off tapped the elbows with a hammer to make sure they were tight. Got on the bike again to verify the placement and wrapped connections with blue tape. Unbolted from the handlebar clamps and measured. I had the size I needed and started to look through the catalogs an actually found that HD had what I needed from a different model and year that would fit the need.
People will talk themselves into anything to save a buck. I want new handle bars but the cost of having them installed is just out of reach right now. I'll wait until next year and have it done by the Harley shop. Im old enough to know its not going to end well cutting corners . I fix all my own equipment and trucks but my Road King I leave to the professionals. I want it 100% maintained by a mechanic who works on bikes every day.
Dealers KNOW Dealer PARTS.. They are NOT an Aftermarket "Parts Source", they're not expected to be... Your not buying parts from "Advance Auto" who deals in many parts (which usually work, but not always) VS the OEM. Are there non-OEM parts that work? You BETCHA!! BUT, it's up to the CONSUMER to do the research, NOT the Parts Counter Guy!! Good Call on an Aftermarket part that DOES work to solve a conundrum, Doc!!
Doc. I love your tips, but you have the "charge more money" mindset. It's gotten much worse since Harley started squeezing the independent dealers out of the picture. My dealership is charging $ 500.00 for a three-hole oil change. I can buy Lucas Oil, a filter, gaskets and an air filter for less than $200.00. I grease all the fittings, which my dealership hits and misses and I control my up keep and maintenance on my bike. The company needs to remember who made them rich. My next ride will be an Indian or BMW. I've bankrolled Harley enough over 50 years of riding.
Lil I hope your observation is not true. I am here to explain how or why and truely believe it is YOUR choice always how and where you spend your money and time. Not everyone is as talented as you…..Doc
