Looking to add some 10" mini apes to my RKC. I like the Wild 1 chubby bars but man they're pricey. What's the big difference between them and the other bars out there?

 

I just installed the Chubby's 12.5". I'm 6'0" with 36" sleeve length. On my Ultra, the stock bars are too low causing my arms to be straight with little or no bend in the elbows. Since the install, with my arms level at or about heart level and a comfortable bend in the elbows, I find it much easier to countersteer. This allows my arms to relax and the bend in my elbow take more of the "shock" treatment from the road.

I took some twisties yesterday that I have ridden many times and find it was so much easier on the curves...it was like I could think countersteer and the bike moved into the lean and stayed in the track. In my opinion, with stock bars and arms straight and down....the "shock" treatment from the roads would bounce my arms enough that I had to apply more countersteering than I thought I was.

So are they worth it, oh yeah!

 

Best mod I have done. Wild 1"s are very high quality and I would definitely buy from them again. I'm 99% sure they are made in USA and I don't think some of the others are.

 

Do yourself a favor and check out the Khrome werks +2 Sweepers. They are an excellent bar, and if up and back is what you need, these are the ticket. Perfect wrist angle and $80! I have some pics of the bars installed, if you are interested.

 

Many of the cheaper bars are not double walled either. The Chubbies are a 1" bar inside a 1 1/4" bar. It makes them significantly more substantial. One option you can do is to get blems. The Wild 1 blems are near as I can tell almost perfect. The pair I got I had to look really hard to see why it was a blem and even so, once the switches were in place, you couldn't see it. The blems are quite a bit cheaper.

One bit of wisdom which you have already most likely read and if like me, you will ignore, is to go higher than you think you want. I heard everyone say that and I looked at 100s of pictures and could not imagine going with 16" apes. Hell, even the 14s looked too high. So I ignored the advice and went 14 and have kicked myself for not going 16 (or even 18) every since. I'm 6' with long arms but I would not even consider anything less than the 12.5" bars.

Just my 2 cents.

 

I bought wild1, 1st class quality well worth the money

 

I found the Wild1s bars to be worth the asking price in terms of plating quality and integrity. I just wish I'd gotten them from Day1 instead of getting 10.5" FXRP bars on my FLHRI and switching to the 16" Apes years later.

 

I went with 14" and I am convinced that it was the best mod for my bike for comfort. They look great, the quality of the chrome is excellent. Pricey but I would do it again.

 

I've had a number of Wild 1 bars. Go the "blem" route.
About 99% of the time you can't even see what issue they have with them.
They won't sell them if they are just totally screwed up.

Currently I'm rocking a set of 515s (10" mini apes). I am moving to 502s (12.5 apes) now...

Only problem I see with their apes is I think (personally) they are little wide in the center.
I don't want the center of the bar to extend beyond the ends of the triple trees.
I have not found a bar narrower that I like just yet, so I'm going with the 502s...

lp

 

Thanks all for the input, The dimensions are exactly what I'm looking for, I'll check out the blems to see if I can save a few bucks.