I don't disagree it's a PITA, but I've talked to one experienced pro who claimed he could fish those wires through in a few minutes, not including pulling the fairing, radio, etc. of course. I forgot to ask you, when you replaced yours did you cut the old wires at the grip and use them to pull the new wires through? I've often thought that would make the process much easier versus installing a set of heated grips for the first time on a bike. It's a shame Harley didn't add a connector at the grip itself, so you could just replace the grip like you can on the right side.
Jerry
I think on a regular bike it would be much easier than on a CVO. There’s additional wiring in the CVO handlebar that creates alot more friction and it gets really difficult to get the wire through the slot opening in the handlebar behind the radio.
Yes, I uninstalled the deutsch connector in the fairing from the left heated grip controller. I then used very thin wire used for hanging drop ceilings. Strong but very flexible. I made a loop in the wire and slid it onto the old wire. Then used a thin layer of electric tape to secure the ceiling wire to the controller wire for about 6-8 inches.
I then removed the controller grip and pulled the old wire and the ceiling wire through the handlebar. Then I reversed the process with the new controller wire and pulled it back through the handlebar. It really sounds like it should be easy. But the last 10 inches in the handlebar is just really difficult because the other wiring in the handlebar just increases the friction to a very high level.
Once thru its also difficult to get the position correct for the 2 separate controller wires. Pull too much and its a bear to get the grip on the end of the handlebar. If you don’t pull enough, then the controller wire gets in the way of reattaching the grip. It needs to be within about a 1/4inch of the perfect amount to reattach the grip.
I guess I’m glad I did it once but now that I know whats involved, I think I would pay almost anything for someone else to do it for me. Just a sheer bitch with no shortcuts or tools that will make it easier on a CVO.
You are absolutely right. If they had a connector at the grip this job would be a 10min job that wouldn’t even require opening up the fairing! It almost seems as though they purposely made it a nightmare since a simple connector at the grip would have saved hrs of labor and swap outs would have been turned from a dealer only job to a job any guy with a Philips screwdriver could do in less than an hour!
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Topic: Heated Grips (Read 1177 times)