I'm 5'11" tall and 180. I put 10" Wild 1 chubby apes on my 2006 FLHRSI and I ride a corbin 2-up touring seat. I was going to trade it in on an '07 FLHX but on the way to the dealer's I realized how much I like this bike with the new bars. I turned around for home and put all the good chrome stuff back on and kept her. Very comfortable set-up and a cool looking scooter.

 

I have a rk custom. The beach bar is standard on them, but gave me that burning feeling between the shoulder blades. I went with a 18" ape. Your buddy is shorter than I am (I am 6'1"), so he may want to go a bit lower. 16" seems to be about the norm. I love them, and so does my back.

I am still on the stock seat, but will have Allen at meancitycycles.com rework it come this winter. He is a forum member, BTW.

 

Thanks to everyone who replied, what a great way to get useful information fast!

 

Murph-

I am also 6'2 and am trying to find the best handlebar setup for a more laidback relaxed ride. Have you installed the chubby bars before?

I am anxious to hear of a good set up to try.

 

I had the same problem with my '99 Road King. I am six feet tall. I installed the Electra Glide style bars and the tall boy FLH style seat. I did not have to change any cables or wiring and the improvement in comfort was huge. I also noticed that the tall boy seat let me look over the standard windshield. The bars were slightly more narrow and came back further relieving my back pain.

 

This is a common complaint on the RKC. The '08's appear to have a different set of handlebars, you may want to check them out.

Two of the most popular swaps on the RKC are the Heritage bars and the RK High bars. No cable swap needed with either of those. To compare the two you will hear riders say the RK High bars feel like you're pushing a wheelbarrow and the Heritage bars feel like you're pushing a lawnmower. RK High bars are a little wider then the Heritage bars. I went with the High bars and a Mustang Touring seat, works great for me.

If you sit on someone's motorcycle with a set of bars you are interested in, keep in mind that the seat is part of the package and different seats will affect how the bars feel.

 

I have the Heritage bars on my 97 Road King and they are more comfortable than stock, but due to less control, I'm going to have a set of Chubbys Wild Ones RK II 518s installed at the end ofsummer. Harley must have gotten several complaints about the stock Road King bars and that's why they did the switch on the 08s; it looks as though the Road King Standard & the Road King Classic have the same type of high handlebars.

 

Thanks for the input Billybobsrk, so you feel the Heritage bars offer less control? How come?

 

Same problem with 03 RK. I had Allen at Mean City Cycles put memory foam in my seat. That did not take care of my issues with back pain. I changed the handlebars to Wild Ones Chubby 518's. The combination works like a charm. With the 518's the wiring does not need to be extended, there is plenty under the nacelle. The cluctch cable length was fine. The stock front brake line can be used but you have to lightly massage the bends to straighten it out a little. Before making the handlebar selection I called Wild Ones and asked them whether to use the 518's or the 508's. The 508's have a little more pullback but are not as wide as the 518's. I told them I had heard complaints about wrist fatigue on "wheelbarrow" type bars and that was my concern about the 508's. They were very helpful in helping me make the decision for the 518's. Best mod yet on the bike, great looks and comfort. The bars are 35" wide and have a couple more inches of pull back than stock. Look for the chart on their website and compare to HD spec on stockers.

 

I've been considering the heritage bars for my RK.
What kind of "control" issues did you have with yours?

THANKS.