I am hoping to pick up a RK in the next few weeks and changing to these bars was on my list as the first things to do, after seeing the pics of your bike with them has made me decide def the way to go.

 

I am 5'7" and have the WO518 installed on my RG, no problems reaching the bars. I will say it took a couple hundred miles to really get used to them, but now they are comfortable. I use a driver backrest, so I am sitting fairly straight.

 

You make a great point. When I was talking to the installer I wanted the internal drive by wires to stay inside and the external cables run along the handlebars like the stock Road King. I didnt want him to drill holes into the WO518 for fear of rust, and the cable ties would look kind of goofy on the bar, we settled on putting all the cables inside. However, looking at the WO website and pictures of the 518's on other RK's - it looks like others have used some kind of chrome rings that tie up the cables nicely. Im going to have to have him look into this set up. Anyone else use these types of cable "rings" for lack of a better term?
Jim

 

I have the Hd Fat Bar, and the bends are almost identical, did you guys that have the 518's use a new riser?

 

I could be wrong, but I believe what you are looking at are the clamp that can be used to guide the control cables/lines (throttle, clutch, and brake), the wiring is still run inside the bars. I looked into running the wiring external like you are talking about, but you would end up with a large hole up by the hand controls that would allow water to enter the bars easily. Plus you would have to enlarge the hole up by the hand controls to keep the holes edge from cutting the wires when you tight the brake and clutch perch (the bars do not have dimples for the wiring to exit under the perches like stock bars). Anything can be done with enough effort, but you might has well put the effort into running the wires inside to clean things up.

 

No riser change, but make sure you get the new 4 bolt top clamp for any 07 or older. 08 up comes with it already. The bars can break in the middle with the longer spread and the old 2 piece top clamps.

cyclone hit the nail on the head. Have to enlarge the holes for the controls and leave an ugly opening albeit the opening would be below where it could not be seen. There is no long "dimple" on these bars to allow the wiring to come out from underneath and run outside. # 1 reason I would suggest staying internal for the wires.

 

Hey Indy...you'd be doing everyone here a great service if you would post side-by-side pictures of yours and your wife's bike. This would be the first time that most of us would see the 518's and 508's together and it would be a help if we were looking for the differences between them. Also, the post "Turn your Classic into a classic" which is maintained at the top of the Touring Section would also be a great place to post the pictures. That particular thread is 'stuck' in place and be an easy find for those searching for your pictures.

thanks.

 

Reason I was asking is because I just had the Fat Bars put on, and they come with a new riser. Both the Fat Bar and 518's have similar bends, hence the question. Mine are also internally wired, no mods needed, they look great.

 

Do the Fat Bar's have a 1" step-down at the riser? The WO's do, maybe that is the difference.


Whiskers.....will try to find the digital camera tonight and get a couple of those side-by-side shots. I only have one currently loaded in this computer and it is not really great for bar comparison. 508's on the black and 518's on the white RKC.

 

Hi Gasol1ne,

I was trawlling the web to find some info about fitting on WO550's on a Road King....and came accross your thread here.

So you can imagine how pleased I was to find your original post and someone who has such good first hand experience.

Hence my rushed registration to the forum...........so I could reply! :-)

Firstly I have to say....... fantastic write up......and your bike looks abosolutely superb with those 518's!

My situation is I have a 2011 spec RKC and I want swap the bars. I had been looking at the Beach Bars in the HD cataloge but I'm told by my local HD dealer that "as my bike has ABS I cannot swap the bars".

Nobody seems to be able to give me any explanation beyond that or why the ABS is a issue. Some people have told me it's all linked to the "Throttle By Wire" but I thought the new bars have all the required slots to accept the "TBW" assembly and your post seems to clear this up once and for all.

The big question is does yours have ABS?

I can't quite work out why ABS would be an issue myself as I'm pretty sure all the ABS trickery sits lower down. Some people have suggested it may be something to do with the master cylinder on the ABS being a different shape. If I'm honest i didn't even know it was a different shap but either way I can't really see whay that would make a difference either.

I'd be really interested to hear if you do have ABS???

........or if you don't have ABS........ can you see any reason why the WO518's (or 550's) would not be suitable for my bike?

Cheers :-)