Originally Posted by Snowyone

I'm the same height and inseam and would not go higher than 12" or whatever ends up at armpit height. On my 011 Fatboy I tried Harleys Stalker(at least that's what I remember it called) which is a 9" rise drag bar almost and thought it felt so comfortable when I first put it on. My neck was killing me after a 3k trip because it required me to have my head reared back to see the road. I had 13" apes on my Wide Glide and why I thought I needed to change after 140k of comfort is beyond me. I'm in the process of converting Biltwel 12 apes with a 34" spread bar end to bar end spread to internal throttle and wires which will go on Pearl(my white Fatboy). Keeping the end spread to around 34"s will cut down the sail effect and using a 1 1/2 riser will keep the height to shoulder level. You get the bars higher than your shoulders, in my case anyway, my hands tended to fall asleep. And you want to keep a bit of forward lean in your adjustment. Sitting upright is hard on your spine in the bumps while the forward lean will help your spine absorb bumps and offset headwinds drag. Enough.

Originally Posted by SPRINGER

While I don't have the same apes as you do I do have 16" chubbies and I've ridden my bike to Sturgis and back, putting on a little over 3000 miles in 3 weeks. Everybody is different in what they feel is comfy for them. To me, it's all about conditioning and I like to ride. When I got back from Sturgis, I could have turned around and done the same trip all over again. Like I said, to me, it's all about conditioning. As a side note, when I got out of Oregon, I usually maintained about 80mph on my Springer and I don't have a windshield but I do have a back rest and that helped.

Originally Posted by tmac00333

I'm exact same size as you - 5-9 with 30 inch inseam - and I live way out in the sticks, too so most of my drives are pretty good hauls.

l have Wild 1s 12.5 apes on my 2012 Fatboy. I love them, they are extremely comfortable, MUCH better than stock. A lot of my drives are all day and/or 2-3 days. I sort of wish I'd gone 16.

You'll be fine with those 14s, guaranteed. You'll love 'em.

Originally Posted by SPRINGER

While I don't have the same apes as you do I do have 16" chubbies and I've ridden my bike to Sturgis and back, putting on a little over 3000 miles in 3 weeks. Everybody is different in what they feel is comfy for them. To me, it's all about conditioning and I like to ride. When I got back from Sturgis, I could have turned around and done the same trip all over again. Like I said, to me, it's all about conditioning. As a side note, when I got out of Oregon, I usually maintained about 80mph on my Springer and I don't have a windshield but I do have a back rest and that helped.

Originally Posted by ProtectN

Are the 16's above your shoulders Springer? I bet a back rest would be a great addition. The way the stock setup has me sitting now there is no way I'd be able to lean back on a rest and be comfortable on the bars too. Hopefully I'm able to get comfortable, thanks for the info and ride safe!

Originally Posted by SPRINGER

The grips are about shoulder high but the actual tops of the apes are a little above my shoulders. I have my apes at the same angle as my forks and I am able to comfortably lean back on my back rest and still have some flex in my arms.

Originally Posted by IrIeSpringer420

I have 16" chubbys as well and i can out ride most my friends. I also have A backrest that i can remove fast, long trips/going to work i use it and helps a lot, around town i like to remove it cuz it looks cooler

Originally Posted by ProtectN

That sounds exactly what I'm looking for myself. The bars and risers should be in tomorrow and the seat should be next week. I'll have some garage time with the ol girl and we'll get this all figured out.