If you really like the twisties I think you can still go with 12's.

My X-Bones has whatever size and I pushed them forward because of my long arms (6'3") and I am considering 16's because I have a 1200R for twisties. I'm just concerned about the human-parachute effect with taller bars and speeds above 70-90mph(not that I would ever speed or anything on the street [sm=badbadbad.gif], all track and/or hypothetical of course)

I don't know your bars now, but I assume you've already exhausted any possibility of rolling them for or aft for that mere 1"?

...and if you have drags aren't you supposed to be leaning forward anyway? [sm=icon_cheers.gif]

 

I am also tearing my hair out trying to decide if I should stick with the stock fatboy bars on my new 08 fatboy or go with 12.5" apes from wild1 or buffalo. I am 5'11" and nobody can give me a good estimate of if my arms will be inclined or declined and comfortable.

 

Cherry-bobber iv'e finally decided on drag bars because i drive 70 to 80 mph everyday and everyone sais apes are great to a point and a constant 70-80 seems to be that point and when i took my 14" 7/8's apes off my Triumph and rested them on my tree's in a tight corner i did not like my hand and arm position. And to sethhobrin the drag bars i'm looking at are wild 1 501's and pull back 11'5 inches and have a end rise of 5.5 inches. Thanks for the imput.

 

I know it's hard to imagine what different heights of bars will feel like without sitting on a bike that has the bars you're looking at. This is a similar situation as figuring out what height of windshield you need.

For the windshield height decision, here is what I did. I used a yard stick and taped a piece of cardboard to it as though the cardboard was a windshield. I also nailed a 1" x 1" piece of wood I had laying around to perpendicular to the yard stick so I could sit in the saddle and hold up the mock up windshield to determine what size (14", 16" etc.) windshield I should buy.

The point is, why can't we use scrap lumber laying around the garage and make a mock up of ape handle bars and then measure the height of the mocked up bars to the top of the top triple tree and this will represent the total height of the bars plus the riser. Subtract the riser height you're going to use and bingo, you've got the height of the apes you need.

 

I don't know? Why can't we?
[sm=crossbonesgif.gif]

Great Idea.


...soft, glad to hear you made your choice. I am trying to sell my '05 1200R in this crappy market, but almost thinking of keeping it as a compliment to the Bones just because of the different riding styles.

 

I can only speak for me with 40 plus years of ride time.... Drags kill my back. apes make my back feel great. I love the looks of drags, but never on my bikes. I want comfort vs cool , when it comes to bars and seats . So gues it depends on your age,and the condition of your back, and other factors .