My son bought his first Harley, a low mile 2004 FXDL, about one month back. It is a nice looking ride and the lines look good with the 12 inch ape hangers some PO had installed. When I test rode it, I felt that the handling was just too awkward in tight turns. I guess the only way I can describe this is that my hands felt too high and forward causing my center of gravity to shift which was very noticeable when I initiated sharp turns at any speed. I only rode it around the parking lot a few times and then on the road for about 20 miles but it seemed that I had to steer this thing into every curve and continue steering in the curve and not just get a lean on and ride the curve like I do with my SG. I found that I was drifting up in every curve and the bike did not want to hold it tight. I checked the front end from top to bottom and could not find anything wrong.

Now, I have always had a personal bias against ape hangers...I like the look for the most part, but I do not like the way they typically change the handling characteristics of the bike. I talked to my son about this drifting in curves and suggested that he might consider replacing these tall ape hangers with some shorter 10 inch mini apes like are used on the WG and I have on my SG. However, he liked the look and wanted to put in some seat time before making any decision to change over.

Ten days ago, we went for a short 200 mile ride on some back roads with a few twisties and although he had good control in and out of the turns, I noticed that he was also drifting up high on the tight curves. I pulled up beside him at a stop and told him he needed to slow down for the upcoming curves but he didn't listen...and on one particularly long, tight curve, he drifted up and off the road. He broke his left wrist and dislocated his left elbow and got skinned up and spent a couple of days in the hospital getting surgery on his wrist. His LR fared better, lost the forward shifter setup, left side turn signals, trashed the derby cover, left switch housing, mirror, and clutch control lever, and put a pretty good sized dent in the gas tank. It will be a few months before he is able to ride again and we will use that time to rebuild his ride...and he says that the first thing changed will be those ape hangers.

I know some of you will disagree, but even though ape hangers look good, they definitely affect the handling of the bike in a negative way. If you ride mild roads and just cruise around, go for it...but if you are going to get aggressive on the back roads, you might want to reconsider....

Just my dos centavos based on my limited personal experience.

 

I came from a sportster 48 with forward controls and factory bars. I did ok in the turns, some guys do great on that bike. Now I'm on a street bob with the factory 10.5 apes and mid controls. I can toss this bike around much much better and get it through tight turns much faster with much more control. I am a whole lot more confident on it. I'm lot leaned forward at all though, I don't reach forward for the bars. My riding position is similar to sitting comfortable at a kitchen table. Forward controls look cool but for actually getting out there and ripping on the bike, I feel like mids make much more sense. Hope your boy heals up good and yall get the bike fixed up the way he likes it.

 

Is he setting up for the curve correctly? Start high and drift low at the apex? Is he looking through the curve to is he just looking right in front of the bike?

 

Sorry to hear but I don't believe 12" apes would have caused the accident. They didn't help either to be sure, but it sounds like he was simply going too fast and its an easy mistake to make.

I've seen some precarious looking wobble and scary out-of-control moves on bikes with tall apes, and yes too tall apes definitely affect handling and stopping negatively. Don't let anyone bullshit you otherwise. Tall apes (above the shoulders) and forward controls are the worst case. Some guys like them and most who do know what they can and can't do.

 

First off, I'm sorry about your son. I hope he heals quickly and without incident

Secondly, I have to echo what many are saying here. It's conceivable maybe the apes are too forward, or perhaps some wacky front end problem - but oftentimes it's rider skill at play. This very much includes comfort and knowledge of the particular bike being ridden.

I been riding for years. When I got my Bob coming from a softail and a sportbike cornering was fun but nerve racking. Felt bulky and twitchy at the same time.

18 months later now I bomb the hell out of canyons with confidence and have to be mindful to not scrape the pegs (too much)

Like they say in the MSF: There's the limit of the bike, and the limit of the rider!

 

Definitely on winding mountain roads apes allow the front to push or drift out in the turn.
There's people who say they don't. They don't ride hard and fast enuf to experience it. For them apes got the look and work fine. You can't get max performance outta your bike, even with 12" apes. Been there done that.
Mountain roads are smoother and faster with lower bars. In fact I think I'll go ride some now. Adios.

 

I don't think the handlebars were to blame. It sounds to me like he misread the curve. How experienced is he? First bike or first Harley? Any safety courses taken? I'm not disagreeing because I like apes, I just think sometimes it's easy to misplace blame instead of recognizing what the real problem is. It's possible the bars are too far forward or too tall for him, but I can't agree that the handlebars are the sole reason for the wreck. I hope he heals quickly and gets back in the saddle soon.

 

The apes were about as much the cause of his accident as a spoon is the cause of Rosie O'Donnell being fat.

 

Why would handle bars cause the bike to drift and push out in a turn? I'm not disagreeing just curious. I'm a new rider myself.

 

What size tire is he running up front, I know my 04' Sportster Custom with 16" apes was a little bit like this when cornering and it was because I had the stock 21" skinny up front, this narrow tire wants to standup and go straight all the time and cornering was a bit of an effort at first. I think that the apes amplify the wheel wanting to stand up (from the rider aspect) compared to lower bars, guess I got used to it. I run a 21" 120/70 on my Street Bob now and the wider stance likes to corner, well see how it does when I add the 16" at some point, that 6 inches up from stock and a bit wider.

Sounds like he faired pretty well, could have been a whole lot worse, hope he heals up good and fast. Apes aren't for everyone, with more experience behind the apes, he might have done better, who knows! He just needs to figure out what works best for him, maybe down the road he will give them a try and again and maybe really like them.

I wouldn't say that apes "definitely affect the handling of the bike in a negative way" any more then drap bars do or beach bars. Personally, I hate the way a bike feels and handles (to me) when I ride anything that has bars that are low, I don't think I could ride long distance with anything lower then my stock mini apes and I have put many long days on the road with these bars along with massive amounts of switch back roads like the dragon and no issues.