Burly's Complete Handlebar Kits

Swap For those of you looking to upgrade to taller bars, Burly Brand has a set of Narrow Apes to give you the much-needed attitude you seek, with the ease of installing them in your home garage with its Cable/Line Install kit.

The Narrow Apes ($122) are great for complementing the Sportster's narrow glide frontend and Burly offers the bars-bent from 1-inch diameter tubing-in 12-, 14-, and 16-inch applications. The bars come in black or chrome and have been dimpled and drilled to run your wires internally. Aside from different bar heights, all bars measure 32 1/2 inches wide with a center width of 5 inches, and 7 inches of pullback.

To take the guesswork out of what size lines/cables are needed for the taller bar transformation, Burly offers a Cable/Line kit ($199) specific for each bar height. The kit includes extended throttle and clutch cables, extended brake line (all in satin black), and wiring harness extensions for your turn signals and hand controls. The kit includes thorough instructions, but you should have a factory service manual on hand for reference.

We knew a Nightster owner by the name of Harley (go figure) who was in need of taller bars to better fit his 6-foot, 1-inch, frame. Harley did the install in his garage as we snapped some pics of the process.

01. Harley removed the Nightster's Maxi-Fuse from underneath the battery side cover and propped up the tank in order to remove/install the wiring components and throttle/idle cables. He also removed the air cleaner assembly.
01. Harley removed the Nightster's Maxi-Fuse from underneath the battery side cover and p
02. Harley chose the 14-inch Narrow Apes in black and the appropriate Cable/Line kit for the install, which included new clutch and throttle cables, brake line, color-coded wiring extenstions, heat shrink tubing, and instructions. To match the bars, Harley ordered a new set of Harley-Davidson Nostalgic Collection Hand Grips ($59.95) that fit '96-lat-er XL, XR, Dyna, Softail, VRSC, and '96-07 Touring models.
02. Harley chose the 14-inch Narrow Apes in black and the appropriate Cable/Line kit for
03. Next, he loosened the switch housing and removed the stock throttle/idle cables from the handlebar grip and the induction module.
03. Next, he loosened the switch housing and removed the stock throttle/idle cables from

04. On the clutch side, Harley removed the mid-mount peg, the clutch inspection cover, the clutch adjustment spring, locking plate and nut, and the ramp assembly in order to get the factory clutch cable out. He also removed the other end of the clutch cable from the handlebar clutch lever.
04. On the clutch side, Harley removed the mid-mount peg, the clutch inspection cover, th
05. Harley installed Burly's clutch cable and re-installed the ramp assembly, nut, locking plate, and clutch adjustment spring. He would need to make adjustments later, so the inspection cover was left off.
05. Harley installed Burly's clutch cable and re-installed the ramp assembly, nut, lockin
06. Next, Harley bled the brake fluid from the master cylinder/front brake caliper and removed the stock brake line. He then removed the master cylinder and the switch housings from the bars.
06. Next, Harley bled the brake fluid from the master cylinder/front brake caliper and re

07. With all components off the stock bars, Harley unbolted the riser hardware from the top clamp and removed the bars.
07. With all components off the stock bars, Harley unbolted the riser hardware from the t
08. Harley removed the plastic caddies from underneath the tank. The left caddy houses the left and right handlebar control connectors. He didn't want to run front turn signals so he bypassed extending those wires. He unplugged both connectors...
08. Harley removed the plastic caddies from underneath the tank. The left caddy houses th
09. ...And pulled the pins from each connector. The Narrow Apes allow you to run your wiring internally. Burly provides a wiring worksheet so that you can note which wire goes where when plugging them back into the connectors. Don't forget this step!
09. ...And pulled the pins from each connector. The Narrow Apes allow you to run your wir

10. With the pins disconnected, Harley fished the wires through the bars starting at the top (switch housing location). When he had both sets of control wires fished through the bottom, he connected Burly's color-coded wires to the stock wires, covered each with heat shrink, and finally covered each set with a big piece of heat shrink for both sides.
10. With the pins disconnected, Harley fished the wires through the bars starting at the
11. Harley checked his wiring schematic notes and placed the longer connection pins into the control connectors so that he could fish them to their female receptacles underneath the tank. He then mounted the bars between the risers.
11. Harley checked his wiring schematic notes and placed the longer connection pins into
12. Harley attached the male/female control connectors for both sides (left control connector shown).
12. Harley attached the male/female control connectors for both sides (left control conne

13. With both connectors attached, Harley tightened the switch housings on the bars after hooking up the new Nostalgia grip (throttle side) to the extended throttle/idle cables. He fished the cables down to the throttle wheel housed on the side of the induction module and hooked them up. Throttle cables done!
13. With both connectors attached, Harley tightened the switch housings on the bars after
14. Harley re-installed the master cylinder and ran the new brake line from it to the front caliper. He filled the master cylinder with brake fluid and bled the brakes to get the air out of the line. Brakes done!
14. Harley re-installed the master cylinder and ran the new brake line from it to the fro
15. Lastly he tightened the switch housing and new grip on the left side, and re-installed the clutch lever with the new clutch cable. Since it was already connected at the primary, he made the proper adjustments (see service manual) and re-installed the inspection cover. After some fine-tuning of bar/hand control positioning and bolting everything back in place, the install was complete.
15. Lastly he tightened the switch housing and new grip on the left side, and re-installe

16. Before. Harley wasn't too happy with the stock arm position.
17. After. Harley loves the new setup and enjoys riding with the taller bars.
17. After. Harley loves the new setup and enjoys riding with the taller bars.