Well, after much debate and opinions from you all here. I decided to get my apes put on instead of doing it myself. I am a lil disapointed that I did not at least try it, but it is done, the bars are on and the bill was paid.Iroad my bike to a shop just south of Santa fe, about 44 miles from the house. Took it up on Tuesday, with Gail Force winds. I felt like the bike was a 45 degree angle the whole ride. And picked it up today (Friday). The bike was ready Thursday afternoon, but I was at work, so I slept a total of 4 hours before getting to the shop when they opened to get my bike.

I am extremely happy with the results. The only concerns I had was a little seapage (sp) from where he had to pull the trans cover to adjust the clutch. Said he found a cross threaded bolt on the cover from where he believed the factory put it on ( I believe it was done when I did the 1k service at another shop) and he had to retap the hole, said it was a pain since it was next to the exhaust, but it semed to be fine now. Anda bit of glue on the left handgrip from where he had to remove my old pilot grips to reinstall on the new bars. When I put them on, I usedALL the provided glue (maybe a bit much, but now I know a lil goes a long way).

Did I mention I went to 18" bars. Well I did. Awsome. I am 6'1" and weigh (at last I weighed) 340lbs. The bars are at just below my shoulders when seated fully upright, as if I had a backrest. And in my true riding position, exactly even with my shoulders, so I hope I will be fine when I travel. The Indy is a good guy. When I went to pick up the bike he showed me some stuff I could do to the bike by myself and how to do it. He installed the braided lines and put on what he call a bulb bar that the lines plug in to and then splice off to the two rotors. He said that way, when and if I decide to change bars, I would only have to change the upper lines. He also went in to differnt cams and showed me the stock cams in a '07 and mentioned how Harley has really dropped of on their quality of parts to save money. Anyways, here are some picks of the bike now. I was alone, so I have none with me on the bike, but will get some posted when I can. Hope you guys like them as much as I do. In my opinion, it was worth every dime I spent...

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Looks damn good ... don't much matter what we think though as long as you like them, that's what counts. How does the ride compare to how it handled before?

 

I have only ridden back to the house, 45 mi or so. It seems to be more top heavy. I don't have to make such large movements for it to do what I want. I plan on cruisin' around tomorrow, if the wife will let me. She says the bike is a money pit... lol. She doesn't understand, s I may have to kiss a lil' butt for a while.

I was worried about how it would handle, but turns seem to be easier, and I am comfy thus far. Need to adjust the clutch lever and brake lever a little higher, so it feels more natural. Right now I feel I am bending my wrist to much up to be comfortable for a long ride. On I 25 today I had to switch to the reserve tank and take my hand off the clutch side to do it. That was a little scary at first, but I am just getting use to it. By the time I got home, I had no trouble riding with one hand, as I often do. I also added the trigger levers, so that is something to get use to as well, sure feels good so far. Will know more as I ride her around this summer.

 

You will love em. Looks great.

 

Looks great! I love my apes, probably the best mod I have done so far!

 

looks great! .... I was wondering if I would be able to keep my windshield if I went with 16" apes.... guess your bike answers my question


also what's a trigger lever?

 

And just think of what you'll save on deodorant

 

Papa, with the new bars on you gonna look like an orangutan with a raisin stuck in it's azz.[sm=icon_rofl.gif][sm=joke.gif]

=/me runs and hides[sm=escape.gif]

Bars look great!

 

Looks good.

 

brain damage, The trigger lever is made by kuryakyn. Has a little trigger sticking out between your index and middle finger. Makes it nice to pull the clutch in with one finger while letting the other three sit on top of the lever. I like 'em. Next, after fixing the damn brake fluid leak (another post), I will buy the chrome switch housings and am leaning toward buying the chrome housing cover that fitsover top of the master cylinder and comes with the whole perch for the clutch side. Cheaper than the all chrome set up and I think looks just as good... but that is just one rednecks opinion.