USMAMule, running the wires isn't THAT hard. The biggest issue I ran into was them catching on that black conduit that Harley uses. To overcome this, I used some fairly thin bailing wire and wound it around the wire ends after they were out of the plug harness (instructions on this in the service manual). Before attaching the bailing wire though, I put a fairly large piece of shrink wrap tubing on the bailing wire. After the bailing wire was attached securly to the signal wires, make sure the connectors and the loose end of the bailing wire is laying parallel to the wires themselves. I covered the entire connection with the heat shrink tubing and shrunk it. This prevents the contacts from getting snagged in the conduit.

Still was a pain but it's nice having no soilder splices.

A couple other tips that they didn't cover with my 2011. 1) they never tell you the connectors are in the frame just behind the neck and under a plastic cover. I just about ripped my tank off the bike looking for the stupid things. 2) They mention cutting the zip ties that hold the turn signal wires. They DO NOT mention these zip ties are IN the hand control housings! So you will need to at least take the hand control housings apart if you're going to pull the wires.

Oh, and when I did this to my baby I think she had just over 1K miles on the clock. I'm a sick f'er that way.

 

So funny that you just posted this --- I had gotten every thing apart - including the switch housings) and the OEM sigs separated from the wires (no one wants to see - much less get - my old ones after this) and was tearing my hair out trying to figure out where the harness connectors were. Well I had decided that I had to take the tank full off once I had removed the hardware and slid the tank back - which was of no help at all.... LOL

So I went to the dealer to get new clamps and a brake line, in preparation for draining the tank for removal - and I did something we men hate doing more than anything it seems - I ASKED a mechanic at the dealer. He was very helpful - walked me over to a '11 WG on the floor and pointed out exactly what you just said!

When I got to the bike - once that little plastic cover was removed from the underside of the neck - PIECE OF CAKE! I didn't even have to take as much care to get the wires pulled out... they slipped right-the-f out. Now I'm ready (after my four days working 12midnight to 10 AM) to get very thing put together and mounted back on the bike.

And since I should have my trade console (going black) back in the mail by then, I might actually have my bike all put back together by Tuesday of next week.

And as a bonus - I picked up a parts manual - and now have plenty of fuel line so I can loosen up the crossover since I have Jakyl's 2" tank lift.

USMAMule

 

LOL...I feel your pain, I truely do! Sounds like one heck of a build and I hope you post pictures when done.

Yes, getting them out is easy...feeding them back through...well...if you're relocating them it may be very simple but for me (I was putting black turn signal housings on the bike in the stock locations) pulling them back through the bars and the conduit was where I had issues.

 

Very nice....very nice indeed.
Thanks for the visual very helpful!!!!!

 

Very nice....very nice indeed.
Thanks for the visual very helpful!!!!!

 

thanks FXD2003Rider very helpful!!!

 

Hey FXD2003Rider, this is a fantastic write up, great pics as well!!! I saw the tool you fashioned and immediately grabbed a binder clip and pulled out the reflector in less than 10 seconds!!! This is what makes this forum so great. Thanks a lot for this! Now I know i can rewire my signals when I am ready.

 

There are some new solder/heat shrink connectors that just use a heat gun for everything. Here's what they look like:
You can find them all over, but Amazon/eBay will have sets of 50 or 100 for less than $10. This would make the whole job easier and faster, but you should stagger your connections so that they don't form a big bunch at the same spot in the wiring.