I'm considering swapping my drag bars out for some ape hangers in the future for my '12 Fat Bob. As a newbie, I'm pretty clueless to how I should even approach this. I'm 5'9, so I'm not sure where I should begin on height? Also, if anyone can ballpark the costs of "everything else" that goes into a bar swap, I'd really appreciate it!

 

I can't help much on the cost of extended cables, wires, etc. for apes as I haven't had to do that. Lucked out with the previous owner taking that hit. But for an idea on height, I am 6'3" and have 14" bars with the factory FXDB risers. Hands are right at shoulder height for me. I downsized from the 16" apes the previous owner had on it. When you start shopping for bars, you'll see measurements for height, width, pullback, end rise, and some others. Google "handlebar measurements" and you will see what each of these refer to. Just be prepared that it is not nearly as simple as it seems. Good luck!

 

i have the factory fxdb apes, one piece top tree and the risers on them...if interested!

 

Cost varies too much to give you a ballpark. Depends on what you want to do really. Stock cables or switch to Barnett's or Magnum's... internally wired?... fat or regular.

I'm 5'9" and have 10.5 mini 1.25dia apes on 4" risers, and it's perfect.

 

IF you go to around 12-15 inches you ca run stock street bob cables. I ran 15" santee bonanza bars with OEM street Bb cables.

Cost for:

• Clutch Cable
• Throttle cable
• Idle cable

will be under $100
You will need to get a different line for you brakes and here I would spend the money on Goodridge or Magnum (Probably $100+ on its own) If you have ABS that will increase this cost.

By comparison I have 14" Wild1 Outlaws on my Fat Bob (2014 with ABS) and the full set of Magnum Shielding cables was nearly $1000 AuD.

Factor in the Parts for the bars, risers and labour, plus I also did new head stem bearings, new Billet fork covers and had the fork oil replaced and a little preload added it becomes an expensive exercise.

But I'm 6'7" so I had to go that high, you should be right with a lower set of bars (12-14" total rise)

Also wires - I had enough to cover the 14" bars and 2" risers. No extensions needed.

 

 

 

 

 

I changed mine out for $200 bucks total and that included a pair of new 14" Wild Onz bars (bought off this site in the classifieds) I have an 08 FXSTC so i cant see how it would much different than yours.

I am 5ft 10" and am glad i didnt go any higher than 14s...and glad i got the wild onz because it made feeding the wiring through the bars easier because of the diameter of the bars is a little larger than stock. Granted the previous owner had already put on longer SS clutch and throttle cables so i didnt have to swap those out. I did have to extend the wiring harness by 4" but all i had to do was buy an extension kit off of ebay and solder it on. My indy wouldnt do it, said he had too many problems feeding wires internally and harley was charging like $1500 (not including bars). I had it done within a few hours. Works great and i learned alot in the process. There is a video out there you can buy from law abiding biker that shows you step by step how to change out your bars to apes. Highly recommended if you are on the fence and need step by step instructions. If i can do it anyone can do it. As far as feeding the wires through the bars, I had that done in 15 minutes tops. WD40 on the harness and a squirt inside the bars....a little elbow grease and they went through. What is the key to this is patience, there isnt really anything too technical about it.

My suggestion is first find the bars you want, buy them before buying anything else then do a mock up by taking off the old bars and mounting the new bars. Then you can not guess but actually see how much more length you need for the wiring harness and cables. You may or may not have to extend the wiring harness, cables so if you buy the bars first and do a mock up you can be sure and not waste money buying things you dont need.