Carlini has horrid customer service but their bars are super nice. You get a response in about a week...and yes 10 inch bars qualify as mini apes..

 

Don't leave a message. Just keep calling. I ordered a set of blems from them last week and they arrived yesterday. I had to call 3 or 4 times till I got somebody live on the phone. With this being "mod" season, they may be busier than usual. Blems were perfect. If there was something wrong with them I couldn't tell.

 

I have Carlini 12" Gangster bars on my fat Boy Lo. I'll try to remember to snap a pic tomorrow and post em for you. I think the 14's "look" better, but these fit me very well... and I am happy with them.

 

Caralini is lucky they make such a great product. Their customer service is comparable to the DMV. But when it comes time to buy another set of bars..... I will be right back to them.

 

imo i am not a fan of off the shelf bars, carlini makes a good universal bar, but to get the exact look, shape, size, and feel you cant really beat a set of custom bars. IMO i think the price of carlini bars is getting close to the price of custom bars so the cost savings to me is not there for an off the shelf bar.

 

I think their appeal is that they are a custom quality bar that you can buy and have right this minute versus waiting weeks or months to have some made. Often times people want instant gratification.

 

I don't think you can dismiss the fact that Carlini has some unique bars. I got the flying apes; at the powder coater now. When I took them out of the box and looked at them they are just right. Didn't have to wait 3 months to get them. Didn't cost me $400. And I love the bends these bars have. Carlini's site does have the functionality to allow you to order from their website, except for the blems. I have been all over the custom bar maker's sites and didn't see anything I preferred over the Carlini's.

 

You didn't spend $400?? The bars are $350 and they quoted be approximately $40 to ship them...good thing there's no sales tax for me! I'm still undecided at this point; I really like the look of these 10" Wild1 Mini-Apes (they belong to HDforums member Sprawl): https://www.hdforums.com/forum/softa...exhaust-2.html

I like that they're not too high and they still have a nice classic look. On the other hand, I really like the design of the Carlini Flying Apes...I guess I'm just a little worried about getting bars that I'll think are too high once I've already invested the money. Even the 12" Flying Apes look a little high for me (especially since they're really closer to 13-1/2"). Everyone who has apes though seems to love them...and almost everyone has at least 14" apes. Hopefully something with click in my head and I'll be able to decide soon. Thanks to all of you for your input.

 

Where can you get custom bars for 400.00? That's crazy talk, No question as I said before Carlini has a look that no one else can get close to for "of the shelf" bars, I have spent thousands of dollars on bars and bar changes over the years and they are nice but there are nicer..lol. You want what everyone has well then these are the bars for you!!!

 

@ moefoties, I ordered the BLEMS. They were $275.

@ DynaJ, maybe I do a little more research than you and maybe I don't. Have a look here http://www.brcustomcycles.com/Ape_Hangers.php Plenty of custom built apes on this page for < or = $400.

Or have a look here http://www.vindikta.com/inventor/bars/ A few on this page also < $400. Crazy talk? Don't think so. But I would like to see some examples of what you are talking about. Always like to see new stuff.