A couple of my riding friends have apes. I have ridden with the 16's and the 18"'s and find teh difference to be very minimal. At 6'1" it seems that 18"'s are the logical choice.

 

The 18s will look a little better. No surprise...the pics sort of comfirm this.

If you are going to push them that far forward, I would go with 16s. Athough if you are going to do a road trip, you could always pull them back a few inches. If you look at my album, you will see I have my 16s pretty much in line with my forks. This is because of wanting comfort on road trips. I can lay back on a t-bag sitting on the passenger seat and reach the bars easily. However, now that I have an Ultra, I should push the apes forward a few inches and don't use the Softail for trips anymore.

 

Go 18's and if you go Carlini's you'll be patting yourself on the back... I took the liberty in calling HCC for you and I spoke with Chris who quoted me out a set of 18 inch Carlini Flyin in Apes, chrome controls, and cables plus the wiring ran through the bars for $ 934 out the gate. He also stated that all you would have to do is buy grips and mirrors everything else would be essentially bolt on ready in the kit. I hope this influences your decision to go with the 18's. Believe me when I tell they are the best. I'm 6 foot 4 and I love em. I have the 18 inch Carlini. Also you want to go with 1.25 since the center section is stepped down to a 1 inch and it's knurled while the 1.50 are not stepped down and they are not knurled. Hope this helps you.

 

IMHO... by the time you set it in place and pulled back to where you want it (16") likely you will be at shoulder height and flying beneath the radar especially if youre into bar hopping ;-)
But if youre not.. hell, you only live once go big!

 

Personally I actually like the look of the 16" for you better. Just think the 18" are too high and being from NJ myself, I know from experience that you may get hassled by the local PD.Seems like a headache waiting to happen. JMHO.

Steve

 

Based on your pics...I think the 16s look better . The 18s just look a bit to..."over the top" .

 

Thanks for all of the input fellas. My latest challenge has been trying to get in touch with HCC. Ive called several times over the past week... it goes to voice mail, and the mailbox is full and not accepting messages. Ive emailed Robert directly letting him know that I am interested in purchasing a kit but and left him my number... no response.

I wanted to take advantage of the "Free Shipping til Jan 1st" Holiday Promo that they had going on, but that time has passed. Not to thrilled with the comunication efforts... and I havent even spent any money yet!