Ok, here is my dilemma. I have an 02’ Road King with stock bars. I bought a set of Baron Big Johnson Bars and went to do the install today, they fit and look great but you guessed it… my brake line is too short. I am looking for some help in determining how much bigger I need to go. Is there a simple formula for figuring this out? Of course I can see it needs just an inch or two, is it that simple? I am figuring if I am going to change the brake I might as well upgrade everything. Is this an advanced installation to switch clutch, brake, throttle lines?

Big Johnson - Width: 38”, Rise: 5", Pullback: 13”

Stock Road King - Width 32", Rise: 7”, Pullback 11"

Also, these bars have the holes to go internally, is that more looks or is there a function for that?

I am going to the Cleveland Motorcycle Show on Friday and could probably buy my cabling there.

Sorry if these are remedial questions, any feedback in this area would be greatly appreciated.

 

Internal wiring is for looks, and it really does look great. It may also require longer wires.
It is difficult to calculate how much length, sometimes stock has a couple extra inches.
Make sure you have enough length for full turning in both directions and also for suspension travel, remember the forks will extend when the front end is lifted.

 

Contact Magnum Shielding. They make cables, break lines and throttle cables for Harley. They can set you up.

http://www.magnumshielding.com/

 

I ran the Big Johnsons on my 99' RoadStar. Loved those bars. Nice n fat n low n wide. Buried the wires internally for a real clean look. Fortunately for me, I just had to move my brake line from routing thru the front of the forks to the backside of the forks.
A word of caution, the reason i took mine off eventually was due to an incident i had. The bars are so low n wide, one day i was only doing like 30mph when the lady in front of me decided to slam the breaks and turn into a strip mall. I was doing a slow speed putt and she did this while i was apparently taking in a side view. In any case, I had to stop hard n quick so as to not hit her. Because the bars are so low n wide, you don't really push against them...as a result, I made my stop in time but in the end was sitting up on my tank....lol again, no bars to push against.

 

Tazz, great advice. Frist, glad you are okay to ride and second thanks for the warning. I never thought of that. I am going to see if I can pull internally to see if I can make it work, if not I will buy new cables. Thanks Doc and P for you feedback as well.