HD dealer wants 8-9 hrs to swap bars at $90 a hour.
I read online people talking about taking 6 hrs DIY.
Clearly know-how is a big impact on time.
Lot of bars now have opens big enough to push wire in with connector attached, so no splicing or soldering.

What I am wondering is there one aspect of the bar swap that has to be the biggest pain in the *** or is it just a lot of little steps that just add up?

I am windering is th

 

Yes, this.....I just installed new bars on my Rocker, about 8hrs total, but that's with new clutch and throttle cables, brake line and wiring up new chrome control housings, probably 5hrs if it was just a bar swap...... nothing difficult, just a lot of little steps!!

 

And even though they fit through the bars with no cutting and splicing, running the wires was the most difficult, tedious, and time consuming part of the job...at least was my experience. I didn't time it, but it wasn't quick. I'd hate to have to pay someone to do it, that's for sure...but then I'd hate to pay anyone to have anything done, lol.

 

want new bars for my heritage. the local dealer want $1000. the local indy wants $400 to $450. care to guess who's getting the job?
here's the kicker. if you have a batwing or a shark nose the labor is the same. as a non fairing bike.

 

My local stealership quoted me only 2 hours work to swap bar from my breakout bar to a fat bob bar.

 

Running the wires takes the longest, but only until you figure out your technique. First time I ever swapped bars, it was an 8 hour job mostly geared toward finding the best method to slide the lines. Now it's probably a 2h job most.

 

For a simple bar swap on a Softail, that's way too much time. If you want to run internal wires and possibly extend them and add clutch and brake lines for taller bars...it's still too much time.


I don't like internal wiring. Looks good, but lots of opportunity for shorts, opens and mis-wires. Look in the electrical section if you doubt this. I've done it in the past, but prefer to be able to troubleshoot on the side of the road if I have a problem.


Simple bar swap shouldn't take more than 1-2 hours. Internal wiring shouldn't add more than an hour if done correctly.


If you have to extend the wiring, or add a different brake hose and bleed the brakes it may add 1-2 hrs...new clutch cable, maybe 0.5-1 Hour.

 

I've done it 5 different times, I would think 4 hours at most would do the trick.

 

6 hours tops....pulling wires is the most tedious step....second would be bleeding the lines. I took my time and did it on a Saturday...and rode on Sunday....

 

+1

Easy job just putsy and time consuming. I did mine over the winter months and it was actually kind of fun because there was no hurry to go riding. Even better when I added up how much $$$ I saved doing it myself.