all the way from London....

i've finally worked out how to mimic some 518s

1. take two normal cardboard inner rolls from two used toilet rolls; theyre about 3.5 inches long

2. tape to the ends of your stock 09 later RKC bars

3. Voila ! the exact proportions of a set of WO518s

but too wide for me; I'm going for the 508s. 6 feet, 160 lbs and ive got another bike for town work

 

I test rode a Road King Classic about 8 mo's ago. It had the 515's(10") on it.
Those were about perfect (I'm 6'0) They might be a little to tall (for me) on my Heritage (which sits you 1 1/2 - 2" Lwr) but the 513 (8 1/2") bars would probl be good on the Heritage (for me)

I'm happy overall with my 503's on the risors. They are comfortable and minimal wrist angle (thats what kills you with those wheel barrow 508's and 518's) Are the 503's the exact traditional look? Naa. Oh well.

It is a HUGE P I T A to change them w/the new brake line and all that. I guess the wires just un-plug. I still have my orig clutch cable and throttle cables.

Take your time choosing bars. Hopefully, you only do it once.

 

Audioi - you're right about this excellent thread. I sent a PM to the forum administrator asking to consider placing this in a new sticky 'Touring Handlebars'. We'll have to see if it meets his criteria for posting it up at the top.

 

Here are a couple more pictures of WO 518's.
And a heartfelt thanks to Dr. Kamchi for his excellent assessments and his one testicular cancer comment...so don't forget to reach down tonight and grope your nuts.

 

I put 518's on my King after I tried a half dozen different bike set ups, apes, beach bars, drag bars but none fit me as did the 518's. Easier on my old wrench shoulders and arthritis. Only issue I run into is tight turns in parking, bars get too much interference from my legs and they are up as far as I would care to put them as they will interfere with the fairing from here. I am 6'2" 280 with a 36" reach

 

518's love them, did 1,700miles in the first week I had them, loved every mile. 5'9"

 

I didn't read the complete thread but saw no mention of the 517s. I bought my first RK last month and soon learned the ergos needed fast improvement. After all the reading and research like most of us do shopping for something so personal as handlebars, I settled on the WO 517s because unlike some others with similar specs, I liked the fact they had an 8.5" rise and tip to tip of 31". Didn't have that flattened out beach bar look and increasing the rise seems to be a good thing with many riders. Having only a 31" spread allows for easier lane splitting, thank God I live in California and for slow turning. Oh, and the bars have a 14.5" pullback, they may be slightly "wheelbarrow" angled but not bad since I have the bars now and was waiting on the steering head clamp before taking it down to my indy. I also wanted a set that would allow you to use the OE cables and wires and for ease of stuffing the wires inside the bars. The indy had a simple method of determining your ideal handlebar upgrade, I wouldn't say its scientific or works every time but it does make sense. By simply holding a broomstick in front of you as your sitting in the saddle you assume the most comfortable riding postion for your hands, arms and body. He takes a couple measurements and this verified the 517 bars were the right ones for me. I think the issue to be aware of is any changes in your seat will affect the relationship between you and the bars, that is why I've been asking around how certain seats are in terms of height and distance to the controls compared to the previous seat. For example now that I think I'll be in the correct riding position with the controls accessible with the new bars it might not remain that way if I were to go with something like the Reach seat, which is designed to put you closer, but instead it would put me out of whack. So, its something to consider anyway. I opted to change the handlebars first and see how it goes, so far the stock RK seat isn't a butt burner so I think I can leave that alone, which is good for the pocketbook too.

 

Alright, so I am also reading this post, I have 518s' on the old King and I thought I was really happy with them, WRONG; I had gone to the stealer yesterday and they have a Fugly with a a set of 517's married to the same seat set I have and the owner says to have a seat which I do. DAMMIT, they fit better than the 518's, are a little taller, narrower, close to same pullback but get the bars off my lap, shat and more shat, thought long and hard then dropped a dime on a set of 517's today from Phat. I am soooo weak.

Hope they get here quick so I can get them changed before the Colorado ride in May!!

Once the mods start they cannot be stopped!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I've had 518's for 5 yrs. now , very happy w/ them I'm 5'8" they work for me.

 

Check paragraph 2 in original post