TRUTH!

i got my 14" carlinis and love them but wish all the time i'd sprung for the 17s

and IMO if you go any taller than 2" on the risers it starts to look a little weird.

 

It's all about comfort and really subjective. I've had 16" apes with stock risers on my Heritage and 14" apes on two Wide Glides and my Street Glide. My hands have been just above my shoulders on these bikes. Sit on your bike and have someone measure from the stock risers to where your hands/arms feel comfortable and go from there.

 

Exactly. Thought I wanted 14's, went with 16's, turns out they were about 17 and a half when I got'em. PERFECT!

 

This was true for me. I had 14" apes on my Fatboy, and although the position was comfortable, about shoulder height, when I was touring last summer, I found that after riding for and hour or two, my fingers would go numb and tingle. I had to keep taking my hands off the bars and flexing my fingers to get the circulation back.
If I had my arms stretched straight forward it wasn't so bad, but when I relaxed my arms, my forearm would be pointing upwards a bit and I just wasn't getting the circulation.
I just changed to 10" bars, and they feel comfortable as well, but I haven't tried them on any long trips yet.

 

which brings up an overlooked consideration. different brands of apes have different pull back lengths, which will help determine if your bars are angled back, forward or straight up . this can change "height" a lot. I've people talk about having 16 , could go 18....well hell ya , they have short arms and have the bars pulled back so their 16's are really about 13.
I'm putting 16's on my wideglide ( they r mounted but need to finish the wiring ) , 9 inch pullback,shorter shocks , mustang solo seat and lanky arms which puts my bars straight up my hands are above my shoulders. once I ride and get into the "slouch" I'm sure my hands will end up about nose high

 

the guy who is 6`5 prob looks like a ape on any bike, but with his stupid opion he should be running 20in, i am 5`9 have carlini 12 in which measure 13 in with a one in riser i am at 14 and that puts me at shoulder height which is perfect for me, and everyone loves my apes as they all call it guys with 18 or 20 look like squirls going down the road

 

1" plastic pipe is pretty inexpensive to use for a mock up of the height you might like. Start with 16" or so and cut them down to see what it feels like. For about ten dollars or so you can get pipe, connectors and glue.

 

I'm thinking there are a lot of women that would disagree with you. But whatever helps you sleep at night. JK.

Back on track, if you search the forum there is a video posted (sorry I don't remember from when) on measuring what would be "comfortable" when choosing bars.

 

I would check with your D.O.T. too, some states have laws dictating the amount of inches the bars can be above the tank.

 

I think it's either measured at the seat or shoulders for different state handle bar height laws.
If you get pulled over, make sure they are measuring where your hands are. Not the highest part of the bars.