There's been so many posts on this thread that I don't feel like going back through them and checking to see if I'm being redundant, so having said that - - - - I think many people associate the idea of higher handlebars with Apehangers. Case in point, when I sold Elvis with 12" Chubby's on it. Mark was certain the first thing he was going to do was change the handlebars - - - - - then he rode it and fell it love with them. The height of the bars is relative to the way the MoCo builds the particular model. How much rise is there in the stock handlebars. A stock 03 SERK has 4.5 " of rise in the bars. So going to 12" Chubby's elevated the hand position 7.5" Not exactly the image of riding down the road with your hands above your shoulders. On a stock Road Glide, the rise is 8.5" although the bars tip back quite a bit. When I changed out LD to Chubby's I only wanted to put my hands up a little and forward a little Since the stock RG bars are tipped back a bit, I tried pushing them up. This put my hands in a very odd position as the drop in the bars (the angle at the end where the grips are) didn't lend itself to the bars being setup that way. So I went with 10.5" Chubby's This put my hands up 2", but the pull back was less, so my hands moved forward about 6" and the drop on the Chubby's was intended for the bars to be installed parrallel to the line of the front fork legs, so the hand position was perfect - - - For me it was perfect, but as Beags and Big Daddy have pointed out, LD is a weird bike if you're not Big B. I'm built like a gorilla with a long torso, long arms and short legs. (6'-3" tall with a 32" inseam) So anyway, my point is that God made us all different and changing bars is probably the one thing you can do to make your bike fit you better. Years ago, the Yamaha Venture had handlebars with 6 point adjustment. They looked funky as hell, but you could get the bars exactly where you wanted them. With an H-D, the only thing you can do is swap em out. So how do you determine where you'll be the most comforable. Here's what I was taught a long time ago and what I feel is the best method. Stand your bike upright in riding position. Sit on the bike and close your eyes, relax and try to blot out in your mind where the grips are and just reach out to where you feel the most comfortable. Have a friend measure where your hands are in relation to your existing grips. Now, go to your local shop and tell them you have stock _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ handlebars and you want to change your rise by xx" and your pull back by xx" (which could be more or less) A good parts guy should be able to figure out exactly what the best bars for you are.The drop should be relative to the rise and pullback (also known as reach) Of all the things that can make a pair of bars feel weird, the drop is probably the most outstanding factor. Take H-D buckhorns. The drop in them is so odd, that I think I've only met two people in 40 years of riding that honestly say they like buckhorns. And yet H-D continues to make the gawdawfulsumbitches. Willie G's ole lady must have crooked arms or something. Anyway, I figured I'd toss all this in in case someone came in late to this thread that wants to swap out their handlebars. Remember, not all higher bars are apehangers.
B B
Author
Topic: Chubby Wild 1 (Read 23437 times)