I was going to buy a new Fat Bob. So I took a test ride at the dealer. I went a few miles on the bike.. not a long distance. My first impression after the ride is that this bike is very uncomfortable. Maybe I got the wrong impression.

Then I looked at the "Fat Bob Squadron" thread. At about page 245 I saw a posting from "Red Dragons" on wanting mid controls.

I liked the forward controls on the fat bob. On riding the bike, I noticed the long reach to the controls (I have a 31/32 inseam). Since my test ride was short I did not think about noticing a lot of stuff. There were also comments on the bars being too low.

It seems that a few fat bob folks want to add mid (controls or pegs) plus raise or pull back the stock drag bars.

Can any of you long-experience fat bob owners comment on the riding position on the stock fat bob... so I know what I might be getting in to?

Thanks

 

I had a little discomfort with reach on the bars until I installed these pullbacks. It raised and pulled the bars back where I am very comfortable...If you never used forward controls it takes a little getting use to them..

 

Dear Mr Peepers: With that inseam combined with forwards,drag bars and IMO a pos seat, I can see you point.My fix was to throw on some 4" drags with some low risers.Nice thing is I can push / pull the bars where I want em.That way the forwards will fall right into place.....That is all..........

 

Ditto on the riser replacement. I switched to the 6" curved risers (H-D #56267-09) on my '08 Fat Bob and no longer feel too "stretched out." No cable replacements were necessary with a little "easing" of the existing ones. For long rides, the forward controls are the way to go.

 

I'm getting the idea that someone 5'11 or less is not going to be comfortable on this bike without modification.

 

When I made up my mind that the FB was going to be my next Harley, I knew right away that the forwards were going to be a little out of reach for my 30" legs to deal with on an everyday basis, so I negotiated with the dealer to have my bike converted to mids before I took the bike off the showroom floor.

That was three years ago, and I still find the mid controls with the stock "drag" bars give me the ideal riding position for both around-town commuting as well as the long weekend road trips. I also have a hiway peg set that I can mount in the stock forward brackets for the really long trips.

Hope you are able to get your FB set up the best way it fits you.

HrdNox - that is one tuff FB you've got!
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I did the same thing as O-Town,When i bought the FB I had the dealer swap out the forwards for mids(he swapped them out with a new Street Bob in the Showroom)as part of the deal.
I'm only 5'10"with a 30" inseam I have a Sundowner Dual seat no comfort issues with reach etc.
Graham.

 

I did the exact opposite. I kept the forward controls and installed the reduced reach forward kit. I then found a set of used mid control mount brackets and have them installed with pegs as mid mount highway pegs. My inseam is about 29"-30" (yeah I'm a bit on the wee side at 5'5"). The mid mounts are great for me to lock my legs in on long highway rides. I can move them out to strech on the forwards. I don't have any diffculty getting to my foot controls on the freeway should I need to. I'm very happy witu them! 14" wild 1 outlawz with 1.5" risers made all the difference too. Love my fat bob. Only thing I want now is to either have the stock seat modified to scoot me 1.5" closer, or pick up the reduced reach hd seat for dynas. I have the sundowner seat for my chick and I and find I'm in a very comfortable position on the freeway!

The sundowner is not very pretty to look at though! Lol hope this helps

 

I'm 5'10'' with a 30" inseam and wish the forwards were about two inches further out when I'm on a long ride (over about 4 hours). I went with the 6" pull back risers and kept the stock seat. Pretty comfortable ride for me around town and on long rides, the forwards aren't that far out that I can't stand up if I need to. I don't think I'd be happy with the mids but some are.

 

Im 5'10 with 32" inseam and rode five years on my '08 fatbob without problems and I have the forwards. This year I opted for 6" pullback risers to make it even more comfy, if the weather ever warms up brrrrrrrrr.