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Planning to upgrade my FLHCS with a set of 12" bars (Fat Baggers, to be exact). I've seen some posts that say 12" bars is the max you can go without needing new cables & wires, and then I've seen some that say new cables & wires are required.
Planning to upgrade my FLHCS with a set of 12" bars (Fat Baggers, to be exact). I've seen some posts that say 12" bars is the max you can go without needing new cables & wires, and then I've seen some that say new cables & wires are required.
Anyone know the real scoop?
12" bars on these bikes is right on the borderline. You could probably get away with it. I've changed to 12" bars before on an older Heritage without new cables, etc., but it was tight. I handled that on my 2020 FLHCS by installing 16s.
12" won't be too much of a change on yours will it?
I put 12" KST bars on my 18 Heritage. You will need the electrical wiring extensions but the TBW is ok. The brake and clutch are right on the borderline, I made the brake work, but i bought a 4" extension for the upper clutch. You can make the clutch work by rerouting it, but it was tight
I just upgraded to 14" Fat Baggers. I'm 5'9" and 12" bars would have been too low for me. Seeing that you will have to pull wires no matter what, I suggest getting the 14" bars. Replacing the brake line was not too bad.
I did 12 bars and was able to use all stock cables and wires. I think 12 is max you can go with out buying new cable/ wire extensions. BUT, I think the design of the bars have as much an impact on this as the bar height. My bars are narrower (31) than most and do not extend up higher on the rise section like Cajuns do in the pic above. The extra rise of the spear would probably require wire extensions and throttle wire extension. Really wide bars may require them also.
Also, I am 6 tall and the 12 bars are not as tall as bars I have had in past, but they are comfortable. I also have a seat that sits lower than stock.
Last edited by txphatboy; Dec 29, 2021 at 10:34 PM.
Just saw you were looking at Fat Bagger bars. Cant be 100% certain until you install, but I would guess you would need wiring and TBW extensions. Should be able to make clutch and brake work, but may need to reroute slightly. Here is a pic of my bars to give an idea of the difference:
I just upgraded to 14" Fat Baggers. I'm 5'9" and 12" bars would have been too low for me. Seeing that you will have to pull wires no matter what, I suggest getting the 14" bars. Replacing the brake line was not too bad.
Those bars are nice. I currently have mini apes on my 02 Wide Glide. I am 5' 7" and the width and pullback are perfect on my bike. I plan on getting something in the "meathook" style, only in chrome when I get the 2022 Heritage in the spring. I am keeping the WG so it will be easy to take both bikes in and and have them do measurements for me so I end up with the same feel. I plan on going to a custom bike place rather than messing around with a Harley dealer for that.
Just saw you were looking at Fat Bagger bars. Cant be 100% certain until you install, but I would guess you would need wiring and TBW extensions. Should be able to make clutch and brake work, but may need to reroute slightly. Here is a pic of my bars to give an idea of the difference:
Your Heritage looks great. I'm 6' tall as well and am hoping the 12" bars will be the right fit. Not looking to go super tall, just want my arms to be positioned straight. I've measured the difference between where the stock ones are to where my arms naturally land if I'm not slouching, and it seems to be about 2-3".
Im with you - had several sets of 16-17 apes on my last Fatboy and found them very comfortable, but I did not want to go that high this time. Just wanted hands a little higher without having to replace all the lines, etc. To be honest, if I did not care about spending all the extra money, I might have gone 14, but no higher.
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FLHC 12" bars. Wire/cable extensions needed?
