With my current drag bars, my riding position is a bit hunched and i find it tough on my back on longer rides. I am considering moving to apes at shoulder height but wonder if they will allow me to sit more straight in the saddle rather than the slight hunch forward i have in my riding position now. Any good feedback on whether this would be a helpful change or not would be much appreciated.

Jay

Current drag bars.

 

Will it sit you more upright? Yes. But my question to you is, how tall are you? What are you thinking for height? I'm 6'4" and 18" gets me at shoulder height. Thats on my shovel and I will say its cool and all but it puts me to the point were hands go numb and its only good for so long. 14" bars on my flt and while I wouldn't call them apes, some do. But just that little bit lower although a similar stance I can go all day with no issues. Yah these are two drasticly diferent machines but, I think the blood circulation is also a big contributing factor. So..... If I had to do another set of bars any time soon id look to go just a bit below shoulder height if I was looking for the right combination of looks and usability. Another benefit you will find with ditching the T/ drag bars is that you can roll them a bit forward or back to realy tailor the stretch of your arms to the bars. And another point ill make is that you will need to get GOOD SOLID AMERICAN MADE risers. A cheap pair of risers will not grip the bars well and with a taller bar they WILL MOVE on you as your riding. Nothing sucks worse than hitting the brakes hard and bracing yourself against the bars, and they just roll forward on you.

 

Thanks very much for the input. I am 6.0 foot on the nose, and the front controls on the DWG feel great, but the bars cause me to hunch a little, which is fine for an hour or so, but after that my back gets sore. I replace the seat hoping to get a better position and it is more comfortable (mustang wide tripper) but the riding position has not improved. I think the bars are the most logical step to get to a truly upright riding position. Based on your comments, i would not consider anything taller than 12 - 14" bars.

JH

 

No problem man. I think you may be looking in the right direction. Im sure more will chime in though to give you a bit more food for thought.

 

straighten u up yes but not entirely.

what u really need is some pull back risers to properly change your stance.

 

I'm running 10.5" mini apes on 4" risers... puts my hands just below my shoulders, very comfortable - even all day. I've done just over 600 miles in a day, and no issues.

 

Looks like we have the same bars. I am fine with them so far, but then I am 5'7". I had 12 inch narrow apes on the bike a while back, and it was very comfortable. It just put mirrors in my line of sight in corners so I went to the type bars you have now. I have read that apes will make you sit up more and put more pressure on the tailbone making it uncomfortable, but it had the opposite effect on me. I have a LePera Bare Bones seat that would make me squirm at 40 miles, after I put the apes on it was comfortable - go figure.

 

14's with three inch risers, I could actually use 18in bar's but I'm a wee bit tall.

 

Strictly ergonomically speaking from a comfort point of view, your hands should be a little more than shoulder width apart and resting no higher than your shoulders while your elbows should have a slight bend. As soon as you reach shoulder height and above, bad things start to happen in terms of your long-haul durability.

Have a buddy hold you up and play around by holding a broom stick in your hands trying out various bar height/pull-back combinations. . . find the sweet spot and take some measurements.

I've had bull bars, mini apes, tall apes and finally found a sweet spot for long rides at 18" T bars with 0" pull back and grips mounted with a 24" space between (I'm 6'2" on a dyna but I'm a gangly fat ba$$t@rd)

The other factor to consider is how it will change your handling. Moving you into an upright position will shift the center of gravity slightly and your steering feel will be different depending on how high and narrow/wide you go.

 

I had the stock drag bars on my Fat Bob and was in the same situation as you - sore back after a few miles. I went with 14 inch on a 1 inch riser and it helped. I found the best riding position for longer rides after I added a driver backrest and pulled the 14 inch bars back a bit so I can really lean back in the backrest.