After saying I'll never do it, I finally broke down and fitted a set of 16" RSD King Apes. Transforms the whole experience of the bike, some for the better, some for the worse. One things for sure - I'll definitely be slowing my a$$ way down from now on with this setup.

I ride with a group of guys who, shall we say enjoy an occasional 'spirited' pace.. brief stretches in excess of 110mph (180 km/h) isn't uncommon for us but with these, it really feels like I'm Parasailing well below these speeds. Also, even though I used a set of Alloy Art Heavy Duty poly bushings, there is still quite a lot more flex in these things that I'm not used to & obviously never had with the rock-solid extended Street Slammers I had before this. Not exactly confidence inspiring, even at low speeds. Are the HD ones any better? I went with the 1.5" Covington risers, which do not use a one piece top clamp but to be honest I doubt very much it will make any difference. Oh and the Burly Brand cable kit I used, is JUNK. Clutch cable is grabby and outer sheath already shows cracks, after only a few days. Waiting on a new one from Magnum as we speak. I guess you get what you pay for. On the same note - cheap 3" round mirrors just to keep the cops happy, worthless to see out of. Looking at changing them too eventually, and yes, I know I can hang the stock ones underneath, but never been a fan of that look.

Anyways, overall it's an experiment for me & I'm enjoying the new character of the machine for now, it's like a new bike and really is a relaxing ride. I absolutely love the looks of it too, classic Wide Glide style, fists in the wind.

A few other small changes too, I painted the exhaust heat shields black (stove paint, looks glossy in pics but very much matte/ satin, holding up very well so far and cheap as chips) but just to make it interesting I've masked the ends to leave a chrome ring, a-la V&H style. I've also removed a few doodads, going for a simpler look. No more chin fairing, headlamp ring, C&C seat. Another experiment - seeing as we can't ride super fast anymore I've even swapped the black 13" JRI shocks back to the stockers as I'm toying with the idea of slamming the bike low, and just wanted to see how some chrome would break up the blackness. It's only temporary but man, do these things ride like a pig after getting used to real suspension, wow.

I guess we are never really 'done' are we? Most of the time it's a progression, but sometimes we regress.

From this:




To this:

 

Looks very nice! Thanks for the heads up on the product experience you used. Im working on getting parts for my ape install. Just received a C&C seat as an upgrade, so now I'm all set to buy the bars, then cables and brake line from magnum as well. By winter's end my scoot will have quite a different appearance as well! Along with apes, i plan on installing new headlight, turn sigs and chrome controls along with the 2" tank lift waiting to be installed.

 

Hate to say it, but I like the "before"pics the best. I really like the drag bar looks better than the apes. Very cool bike and if you like it, thats all that matters anyway. Ride Safe!!

 

Just re-reading my original post & yeah, I do seem to be dropping a boatload of brand names, haha! Sorry about that, I'm not affiliated to any of them, promise.

 

No need hating what you're saying, I totally get it. It's just an experimental phase I'm going through & so far I'm 50-50 swapping back at some point when I start missing the handling too.

 

I may be a little biased, but I like the new look.

 

I like it and the black pipes are awesome. How are the painted pipes holding up? They were chrome then you painted with stove paint, what did you do for prep work? Im biased but apes rule on Dyna's!

 

Looks good both ways! What are you going to do with the JRI shocks?

 

Hey thanks! Prep was the tricky part because of the end masking but I just scuffed them up with some 220 sandpaper, followed by a scouring pad. Holding up great so far, no smoking, fading or peeling at all.

 

Thanks! Probably just dump 'em in the trash. hehe..kidding. Dunno, haven't decided yet. Options are to chrome the springs, set ride height to lowest and back on they go, or sell them & get similar lower chrome shocks, or most likely just suck it up & put them back as is.. they are really great units.