I am looking for advice on installing 14" Carlini apes. I got the 1.25" bars and plan on running the wires inside the bars. I will install heated grips and also plan to run those leads inside the handlebar.
I will need to splice and extend the electrical control wires as part the project. My question is where should I do the splice?
1) near the controls end, so spliced section is inside the handlebars?
2) near the connectors under the tank so the spliced section is under the tank and inside headlamp the nacelle.
Bike is a 2006 Softail Deluxe. Thanks in advance for the comments.

 

I like to do them under the tank because if I mess up they are easy to get to.

 

I've done a few sets on the older bikes (2006 & 2007).
I had to extend for 13" bars, and it went like this.
1- Buy a kit of multi-colored wire extensions. I bought mine from a shop called "American Iron Choppers". The wire colors were almost an exact match to the factory wires (only 2 were different).
2- Plan on it taking more time for actual prep than work.
3- Replace the bar bushings while you have them off.
4- Replace the top clamps (if equipped) with a single piece clamp.

The single biggest piece of advise I can offer is to solder the connections - DO NOT USE BUTTSPLICE CONNECTORS.
Second biggest piece of advice is to stagger the solder joints or you won't be able to pull the wires through the bars.

I started by cutting the first wire about 2" above the plug that goes to the main harness. Then I cut the next wire about 1.5-2" closer to the handlebars. Continue cutting them this way until you have cut all the wires, leaving staggered lengths.
Pull the controls off and pull the wires out of the bars.
Now it's time to solder.
I prefer to follow the method of soldering that I learned in the service. Twist the wires together like this to keep the connection as slim as possible.


Let the solder do the work and you'll end up with a 'ball' like this:


File the ball and any stray spikes to leave a really smooth surface about the same diameter as the wire. This avoids the chances of a short to the bars later when vibrations might otherwise cause a spike to poke through the heat shrink.


Solder (& file!) the extension wires to all of the wires coming from the controls.
Add heat shrink to each one of them. Do not bundle them together with zip ties, etc. or they will be difficult to pull back through the bars.
Now you have an 'extended' harness from the controls that is long enough to pull through the new bars.
I use a shop vac to pull a piece of heavy string through the bars.
I tie it around the wire bundle and use tape to make a "whip" that can easily be pulled through because it gets gradually thicker.
I use wire pull lubricant , WD-40, etc to slick up the harness before pulling it through.
Now that the harness is through the bars, remove the string and tape.
Add heat shrink to each extended wire and be sure to keep them away from the ends to avoid activating them when soldering the extensions to the plug wires.
Solder (&file!) the plug wires to the extensions.
Slide the heat shrink down, activate it and you are done.

My finished harness looked like this


I labeled them so that I could be sure where the connectors went after the harness was obstructed by the bars, top clamp, fairing, radio, etc.

I took my time and over the course of about 3 days had spent about 4 hours doing this.
Still running those extended wires on my '07 (had to swap out the plugs when I moved the bars from my '06 to my '07 because they have different plugs.)

 

Thank you for the comments. Staggering and soldering was my original plan.