Hello forum members. It has been a couple of weeks (and nearly a thousand miles) since I made the change from stock bars on my 2010 Fatboy Lo to the 16" ape hangers. You can check out a shot of the new handlebars in my sig.

When I was younger, I first learned to ride a motorcycle on my dad's 1979 shovel head with 18" apes. After a few years I landed my first motorcycle (a sportster) and left the world of riding the ape hangers on country roads behind me. As an adult, I moved around the country a bit and ended up growing some new roots in Florida. I took the motorcycle safety course as a requisite to acquiring the endorsement and improved my riding skills a bit using more traditional motorcycles.

I have had quite a bit of fun customizing my Fatboy Lo and had an itch to ride with apes similar to the ones that I originally learned on. I tested out the comfort and fit of a couple of bars and settled on my new 16's.

Looking through over the site, there have been several posts about the comfort of Apes, if folks like or don't like the aesthetic, and if your hands will tingle or fall off after riding for a couple of hours. However, I never really read much about the difference in the physics of riding with apes over lower bars.

After "relearning" to navigate curves, tight turns, and laying down some practice hours on the twisties, I wanted to make a post about some observations. The forums are a great place to share experiences, to reflect, and to bounce suggestions off of each other. Here are some things that i have noticed.

I found riding with higher bars to be quite comfortable and with a little riding time, my body learned how to handle curves and turns. I am 6 foot nill and am a pretty big boy so I like the chance to expand and stretch out a bit. When you raise the bars on your bike, you are obviously shifting your body's center of gravity which generally sits at your hips in a more stock build.

If you think about how your "steer" thru a turn, you generally are moving the core of your weight, leaning (slightly to more significantly) and generally pressing down on the lower handlebar in the direction in which you want the bike to move. Without significant modification, your bike's center of gravity is at the tank or where your engine resides. Think about when you tuck in your arms, grip the tank with your knees and become one with your bike as you zip through curves.

These dynamics change significantly with Apes. I have noticed that as the bar height increased, the lean and flow of riding through curves really changed. In fact, if you want a nice lean with tall apes, you can apply pressure to the opposite handlebar and the bike tips in the direction that you want the bike to head. I have not totally determined if this has to do with the swept down hand position of my bars or if that always applies to apes of all bends and angles.

I also noticed that instead of shifting weight at the hips, I am using a bit more upper body lean to move the bike in the right way. This is not doubt due to the vertical shift in my center of gravity opposed to a more traditional bar set up.

I thought I might post this up and see what others think. Basically, countersteering seems more important and I noticed that you press in the opposite way that I used to press on my standard bars. If you are thinking about riding with Apes for the first time (or first time in a long time like me) you might try out these techniques and consider the differences. I would be interested in hearing what others think. I am always up to learn. Thanks for reading through a long post!

 

I find that riding with apes requires less input on the bars due to added leverage. There is not need to "steer" on a motorcycle as whether you know it or not you are counter steering. I ride like you do as I focus on the opposite grip from the direction of the corner I am entering and pull on that bar. The other way to think about counter steering is to focus on the grip in the direction of the corner and push on it which makes no sense until you actual do this and see how it works. Regardless, I never thought about the center of gravity but have been riding apes for many years and am extremely used to them. I dislike low bars. My sportster has 9.5" T bars and they are far too short for my taste.

 

That is a great way to think about it. I have just not really read too many folks comment on the logistical shift in steering/countersteering when making the change over to apes. I really love the change but I felt my body doing different things and the input on the handles is very unique.

 

For those who are not familiar with the principle of counter steering, here is an article.
http://homosapienssaveyourearth.blog...nt-riding.html

 

Good read.

 

I've experienced pretty much the same as Hogpro; and I also find that I sit up more than I did before.
There's been a few times that I've shifted sideways on the seat and hung a knee out while "pushing" on the apes...

 

Very good read.

Countersteering FTW (16in apes)