Practical tutorial: change of handlebars in Harley-Davidson

Ergonomics
Possibly the element of the motorcycle that most influences how we feel on it is the handlebar.
Next to the seat and standing controls marks the "triangle of ergonomics", that is, the driving position and comfort. It is essential for the integration of our body with the vehicle, with the handlebar we handle the direction and receive the sensations of the road, our position (and that of the back), which will determine the position and attitude of driving.
Although manufacturers try to establish a valid commitment for most drivers, it is curious how we prioritize the sound of the escape or other aesthetic issues without fixing too much in the handlebar (at first), when it is much more important when it comes to getting the Man-machine integration, something that will provide us with great satisfactions ease of handling and safety.

Simple operation?
Generally the replacement of the handlebar should not raise any mechanical challenge, the screws that hold it to the berries are simply loosen, the fists slide and change.
Nothing is further from reality. Everyone who has performed such an operation will have proven the importance of measuring all cables previously (accelerator, clutch, brake, electric ...) to verify that they will not be short or long. The simple fact of taking off the left fist sometimes implies its destruction, and when placing the pineapples it is essential to do it without pinzar the electrical cables, which pass very fair. The tightening of the towers of the towers is different in each year and model, so it requires to follow the instructions and tightening pairs indicated so as not to compromise safety, the accelerator cables must be correctly adjusted ...
In summary: a change of handlebar must be planned and executed as any other mechanical intervention, in this way we will avoid surprises and make it a simple and short operation.

Beach Bar
We are going to perform a replacement for the original handlebar of an HD Road King with a “Beach Bar” a wide and delayed handlebar, which allows us to drive in a straight and relaxed position.
In this case we will expand the technical difficulty, since the chosen handlebar has a greater diameter than the original and we will introduce the electrical wiring inside. Apart from, this model has electronic accelerator, heated fists and ABS, who gives more?

Installation of electrical cables
First, we will disassemble the cracks of the handlebar clamp and the same clamp, since we are going to install another model compatible with the new handlebar diameter, which goes from 1 ”to 1-1/4” in diameter.

Next we will assemble the new troops (clamps) of greater diameter, we can see the differences between the two in the following photograph:

After impregnating them with a few drops of Loctite We tighten the lower screws of the new towers.

The next step is to prepare the electrical wiring to enter it through the interior of the handlebars, we start taking the connector cables using the appropriate special tool.

We continue with the electronic accelerator, adding a cable extension since the new handlebar is longer.

We prepare at the same time the connections of the heating fists, the electronic accelerator has a “plug” for its installation.

After passing the cables on one side of the handlebar, we still have the left side. We perform the same operation, installing new terminals in the cables that we have prolonged, using some some Special pliers To criminal them.

Once we have finished we can place the handlebar and tighten the clamp to 26nm.

Installation of brake hose
In this concrete motorcycle we do not need to change the clutch cable, but the site of the braking system for more long ones. As it is an ABS system we can verify that it is a more complex circuit than the conventional ones.

After connecting everything correctly we do the tightening to 25nm.

When the brake system is mounted again, you have to “bleed”; In a Harley-Davidson ABS system, conventional bleeding is carried out, then an electronic bleeding (using a computer and electronic bleeding tool like photography to remove the air bubbles from the Hydraulic Unit of the ABS), and finally another conventional bleeding.

We finish the process checking that everything is in place and that the cables are not forced when the handlebar turns, especially in the area of ​​the steering column.

Conclusion
We have already installed our brand new Beach Bar, before throwing ourselves to “cross” on the beach we have to perform a small road test to check the correct operation of all controls, adjust the mirrors and check the comfortable (or uncomfortablely cool) that results The new driving position.

Frank Burguera

#mecanicaharley