Here was my post on another forum about the install of the 12" bars:
Installing the bars not difficult, more like tedious. The best thing to do is to take the right brake and left
clutch assemblies off the bars first.
Remove the main fuse under the left Tupperware under and behind the seat. If you don't do this you can get errors from disassembling the wiring.
MAKE SURE YOU COVER THE TANK of remove it. I did and one of the assemblies slipped and dropped on the foam sheet covering the tank. I would be still crying about it if it hadn't been covered.
[For
Road Glide] Remove the two screws on each side of the
speedo/tach housing. Turn the
ignition switch to the right, push down on the housing next to the cover that's under the
ignition switch and pull up on the cover with a fingernail or really small screwdriver/pick where you will see a tiny notch. There's a tab holding that cover. It will pop up and you can slide it out. Now the whole
speedo/tach assembly can come off. You have to remove three connectors. Again you will need a small flat screwdriver or pick. Take the bottom right connector off last. The release tab is on the bottom (thanks Harley) and is a bitch to press up on to release the connector. Take you time and it will come off. After you've done it a few times it gets easier.
Trace the wires coming out of the bars to the connectors and disconnect all of them. What I did was use thin blue painters tape and a sharpie to write numbers on pieces to stick on the ends as I took them off. That way I could match numbers when putting it back together. Also helps to pulll out the cables a bit so you can see all the connectors and take a picture. Comes in really handy later when you try to remember how things were arranged.
Once the cables are disconnected, undo the 4 bolts in the
center handlebar clamp. If you're taking the bars out for some reason and plan on putting them back, I would use a sharpie (I use black and ordered a sliver sharpie for marking black surfaces) to make a mark on both the lower clamp surface and the bar in the center, so you can line them up later. If you're replacing the bars, don't do this.
Remove the bars and put on a bench. With the KST bars, you will need to take care of the pin sticking up from the base of the clamp on the bike (4:30 in the video). Take a center punch and drive the pin flush with the clamp.
IMPORTANT. with the bars removed, cut the tie wraps for the
hydraulic lines near the clamp. This frees up the
hydraulic lines for the taller bars. If you don't do this binding may be an issue.
You can then remove the switch assemblies from both sides and pull the wires out of the bars. Lots of YouTube videos to show how this is done. Note there are small clips holding the switches to the bars, once you remove the metal covers. Use a small flat screwdriver to pop the clips on each side (6:20 in the KST video). Again, take lots of pictures for each side, showing how the wires (especially the exposed non-shielded parts) are arranged to not get pinched by the metal shrouds. Seems dumb but I mark the right and left side parts with painters tape labeled with a
sharpie pen.
Now that the original
handlebars are bare, you're not done. What I did was put the bars on the bench with the
bar ends facing down on the
bench surface. Helps to use a large piece of cardboard under the bars. I then use a
sharpie pen to draw a line along the bottom edge of the bars and circles around the
bar ends. Why? So when you assemble your new bars, you can get an idea of how far apart to set your new
bar ends, if the
handlebars are adjustable like the KST set I bought. It's also useful for measuring the new bars vs the old to see if they're even going to work for you.
You also have to remove the centering nubs from each side metal switch housings. For me one side came off clean using a center punch, hammer and a solid swift bang. The other side broke off leaving a stub. Had to use a grinder to take it off.
For the KST bars which are adjustable, I prefer to run the wires through each side before I put place them into the lower horizontal bar (3 pieces to the handlebar set). For both sides, you're going to have two sets of wires to thread through the bars (assuming you have
heated grips). For each side, do NOT spray WD40 to be a '
lubricant' for the wires. Use a
lubricant that is made for electrical wires like
CRC available in Home Depot. A can is $3 and will make your life a lot easier.
On the right throttle side, there will be the
throttle tube assembly which goes in the end and the right switch assembly wire which goes into the cutout (will be obvious with the bars in front of you). First thread the throttle wires through the end and out the cutout. Then use
electrical tape to join the connectors for the switch assembly (10:00 in video). Push the supplied (by KST) nylon sock cable (7:50 in video) from the bottom of the bar up and out the cutout. Use the nylon sleeve to pull the wires through the bar. This is where the
lubricant helps. Repeat the process on the other side.
Unlike the video, I then put the bars into the lower horizontal piece that clamps to the bike. Note the instructions call for using 30 ft.lbs to tighten the 4 bolts. I think this is high and used 20 ft.lbs. They have locktite on them so it shouldn't be an issue. Checking the shop manual, it calls for 20 ft.lbs.
This is where the cardboard marked earlier comes in handy. Measure the lower bar and mark the center of it. Measure the handlebar marks on the cardboard and mark the
center pointbetween them. Draw a vertical line with a Carpenter's square on the cardboard, at the
center point between the old
bar end marks. This makes it super easy to assemble the bars and have each side at the same angle and
bar end width before you make adjustments. Place the lower bar
center point over the center line you just drew. Adjust the
bar ends so they are each in the circles you originally drew. Now you know the bars are at the same angle and equal distance from the center. Now you can adjust the
bar ends by marking on the cardboard.
Before you place the bars into the clamp, position the
hydraulic lines so they will be under the bar on each side. Also measure the width of the clamp and use a sharpie to mark the center of the clamp. This is important as you can use this mark to center the bars. Then place the bars in the clamp. Two of the connectors for the tach/speedo assembly go under the bars. Measure the width of the lower horizontal bar and make a mark (in my case black bars to
silver sharpie) in the center of the bar. Match the mark with the one you made on the clamp. Now you know the bars are centered. Install the upper clamp and hand tighten the bolts. Adust the bars to the desired height and torque the bolts to 20 ft.lbs. Reconnect the connectors and reinstall the
speedo/tach shroud. Install the main fuse and left Tupperware.