I know people preach it all the time on the forums, but if you haven't gotten the HD service manual, I highly recommend it. I did apes on two of my riding buddies bikes, and that manual is very informative. Money very well spent. Get both of them. HD sells one for the 2010 FLHX, and a supplement for the 2010 FLHXSE. I can’t stress enough how helpful these books are. For example, the supplement addresses the hydraulic clutch, which is actually easy.
Things you'll need to have on hand:
Brake Fluid – The service manual states DOT4. Be careful, this junk can eat paint.
Vacuum bleeder - highly encouraged. Bleeding the brakes can be time consuming otherwise.
And of course, just regular mechanics tools, stuff needed for working on the bikes.
An extra set of hands!
A bike jack – this is pretty much a must have. If you’re planning to do bars, then I assume you can get further use of the jack by doing your own maintenance. I just rolled 10K on my CVO SG, so I figure I will skip the $400-$500 at Harley and do everything myself. I’ll be switching to Redline Fluids in all three holes. Let me know if you want more info on that too…
Remove the tins. All I have on my bike now are the front and rear fenders. The tank needs to come off for the ABS lines, as do the side covers. I removed everything just for good measure.
Dealing with the hydraulic clutch is really easy. First, jack up the bike. You need to be able to rotate the bars left and right, and with the bike on the jack, you can do so easily. Start off by connecting a small (I think ¼’’) vinyl tube to the bleeder valve on the transmission cover. I used a piece from Home Depot, from the plumbing section. It’s the clear tubing. So anyway, connect that hose to the bleeder valve, and loosen the valve about half –a-turn. Run the other end of the hose into a soda bottle or drainage pan. There’s not much fluid, even a soda can would do. Next, turn the bars to the right to make the reservoir on the handlebars level, and remove the master cyclinder cover. This allows the fluid to drain. Most of the fluid will drain on its own, but then you can sop up the rest with paper towels. MAKE SURE YOU COVER PAINTED SURFACES – (I actually removed everything. All that is left on the bike is the front and rear fender. Less room for error.)
The ABS lines run from the brake lever on the bars, down the spine to the ABS module on the right side of the bike. From the module, they run back up the spine, and mount to the bottom of the triple tree, then down to the calipers. You could get away with replacing only the piece from the lever to the ABS module. I am replacing all of them as to keep all the lines matching. First, you’ll need to drain the brake fluid. Then, and I haven’t gotten this far yet, but basically, you can use a vacuum bleeder to pull fluid through the first cable before you hook it to the ABS module. When the fluid is through, attach the cable to the ABS block. Then, you can attach the lines from the ABS block to the calipers, and bleed those lines as well. In theory, this should keep air from getting into the ABS module. For what it’s worth, I value my life too much to not spend $90 on an hour's labor to have my front brakes bled by the dealer. They have the digital technician that bleeds air from the ABS module. Honestly, I’ll probably have them done at the same time I have them replace the rear brake switch. Might be able to save a few bucks while it’s in there for the recall anyway.
To remove the clips from the wires at the end of the harnesses, first, look inside the end of the plug. You will see two half-oval holes in the white piece in the center of all the pins. Using small needle-nose pliers, grip the white piece and pull towards you. It will slide out about 3/16” to 1/4 “ . Now, use a paper clip and insert it into the tiny holes above each pin. This will release each pin, and can be a little tedious. On the back of the clips, the pins are numbered. The numbers are hard to see, and only the outside pins are numbered. They count consecutively across the clips.
On the CVO SG, there is a Deutsch connected that has a black and white wire, and a termination cap. I’m not sure what this pair of wires do, but they are connected to the TBW sensor. Unclip the termination cap and look inside the plug on the wires. You will see a little green clip inside the plug itself. You need to remove that green clip to get the pins out. I bent a 1/8” hook on my paperclip at 90*. Insert the paperclip, and hook it behind the center of the green plug. Give it a gentle tug, and it will come out. Then, use a small flathead screwdriver to release the pins.
If you plan to go the route of Paul Yaffe Monkey Bagger Bars, or even LA Choppers PrimeApes, know that pulling the wires through is a royal pain. Do this when you have time and patience. I went with 14” PY MBB’s. I did extend my wires, but heed my advice on this…extend them after you pull them through. The stock wires are long enough to pull through. Then you can add your extensions. Otherwise all the joints and connections will not go over the upper bends. Too sharp and rough inside the bars.
First, I used a #16 chain. Really small. Available at Home Depot. The weight of the chain pulls itself through the bars. Since the chain is not smooth though, you can’t use it as a pull line. So, I attached a 3/16” vinyl coated cable to the chain, and pulled that through. This was what I used for the pull line. Also, available at Home Depot, in the same section as the chain.
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Topic: Just ordered 12" Yaffe Monkey Bars - Installing Advice? (Read 45430 times)