I am thinking of putting apes on my 86 fxst softail. Are apes comfortable and should i got with 16 or 18 '?
im 6ft
Morgs
http://i52.tinypic.com/11toht4.jpg
Apes are great, the only problem is checkin for traffic as now and then they obscure vision, was a problem at first but used to it now.
Had T bars and my neck and shoulders used to ache after long rides, mainly due to them holding my arms up. Bought some 14" Burleighs with 2" risers and now I don't have any more aching shoulders. I'm 6'3" and my arms are almost at right angles only because the back end of the bike is lowered. As Burnzi mentioned sometimes the traffic is an issue but I've learned to look under my arms as well. Also my opinion is to avoid apes with built-in risers. Had some initially and they brought my hands too close to my shoulders, felt myself leaning back in order to straighten my arms, changed them to the knurled ones to suit clamps and I can now move them back and forward if the missus jumps on etc.
Make sure you post pics if you fit some apes.
Those bars look shit hot oz
I've posted this pic elsewhere before but as far as comfort goes, I don't reckon it get any better than this . . . . .
Hey Oz.... great looking Fatty you have there mate..... Those apes look incredibly sharp with all the internal cabling and wiring hidden.
just a warning on that Mustang seat - I was told repeatedly by the Tech at Mustang that if I got a Mustang seat for my bike it would "raise" me up 1.5" higher than stock, not lower..... you might want to check up on that before you order your seat just to be sure...
16" apes. Took a while to get used to them from westerns but no probs now.
I had 14's on my 95 Softy with 1" risers and didn't have to change anything...
Gday Uglyfish - Apes on the Springer are 14" but on stock Springer risers which are about 6". Bloody comfy . . . .
i reckon its the classic look + feel great - ive got 14 inch apes on my 99 wide glide , im 5' 10" and theyre comfy for me wth forwards on too.
internally wired is the go too - just did the same on my old mans but with 12 inch mini apes and they say 16 inch is as much as u can get out of the standard cabling , but when i did the old mans had to free up some cable from under the battery where it goes into the backbone and honestly there was at least an extra foot of cabling doubled over andshoved up the back end of the backbone to hide it from factory. you have to remove the battery and all that under the seat to get to it on a dyna - i presume maybe oil tank on a softy , and helps if u remove rear gaurd or at least take bolts out and loosen to get into the base of the backbone - sounds alot but really not - my bars as i hadnt done it before including internally wiring took 2 days ( 14 hrs maybe) - but when i did old mans all up was done and dusted in 8 hrs , that includes taking tank and rear gaurd and internally wiring them.
mine are also in built risers which im happy with but a thing to remember is if u have raked front end as i have , it will bring the position of your hands back towards the rider - but ive got no probs with them.
I used the mini apes from a cross bones............
i had no problem with stock length cables and wires on an 86.
I've had em on my last 3 bikes. Wild1 chubby 14ns were the go. On 1 inch risers kept my hands just BELOW my shoulders where I get best control. What ever size u get, hands should be below your shoulders.
