Darn, but I'm getting old. It's uncomfortable for me to lean forward and use the stock handlebars on my Deuce. I wish it had handlebars like my Wide Glide that would "come back to me."

Does anyone know of a good swap for this? My lower back is most unhappy. [sm=badbadbad.gif]


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I'm having a similar problem with the mini apes on my Custom and have been thinking of going for the Bombay bars (PN=55835-05A) as they don't go up as high but come back about 7" farther than the apes. It will also give me a perfect place to mount a tach up front where I can see it without having to take my eye's off the road.
I think they would look good on your Duce.

 

Let me caution you about some thingswith buying bars. All vendors do not measure them the same way. Pullback does not always tell you have far the bars come back and rise does not tell you how high the bars will be. Cables are expensive. Keep this in mind with the Deuce - the risers do notextend straight up and neither should the bars. Deuce bars tilt back toward you and if you allow the rise section of the bars to follow the same continous line as the risers thenwhat brings the gripsback to you is the riseand the pullback (be careful on this one) has the effect of lowering the grips.

Now, having said all that, I have to ask you a question. How far back do you want them to come; you didn't say? How tall are you? When you buy a shirt what length sleeves do you buy? Those two things would give a good hint at what might work best for you.

I will tell you that when I changed the bars on my Deuce (for exactly the same reason) the first bars I put on it (mini apes) lasted about 3 minutes. I put them on, sat on the bike, put my hands on them, and took them right back off the bike and returned them to where I got them. The pair of bars I ended up with moved the grips back toward me about 5" and moved them down about an inch. I am 5' 8" and buy a 33" sleeve shirt. With the bars I use myriding position is upright and very comfortable, but they certainly aren't for everyone. A tall person probably wouldn't like them but that's of no interest to me. When I returned the first try-out set I bought,before gettingthe ones I have now, I also had a third set I was looking at that likely would have preserved the sitting position I have now but would have only moved the grips back about 3" with them set to maintain something close to the stock height.

I'd suggest that you first take a look at Flander's web site to see how they measure bars and then go to the J&P site and see how they do it. You'll probably notice that they are different but you still need something to go for when looking at bars so you need to get familiar with what they really mean by rise and pullback. Rise and height are not necessairly the same thing. Let me caution you this; when the rise was measured on the bars you are looking at was it measured to the highest part of the bar or was it measured to the bar's ends (where the grips go). It can make a very big difference in that with many bars the pullback is actually bent in countervention to the rise so that the grip ends will be lower than the highest part of the bar. Most apes are like that and it makes them poorly suited to any mounting position other than straight up.

Other Stuff: At the same time you change bars you might as well get it in your head to relocate the front turn signals too. Braided stainless cables are going to end up costing you around $250 by the time all is said and done. I presume you will be doing all the work yourself so you should set aside the better part of a day to do the job; its going to take a while to change the clutch cable and extending the control wires is timeconsuming as well. When you do the front brake line you can follow the tube if you use a 35-degree banjo at the bottom (10mm) and of course whatever angle you need to make your master cylinder workfor thetopbanjo(12mm). I used a 90-degree at the top and it allowed me to have the same arc and flow on my brake cable as my clutch cable; I think the symetry of the cable/hose enhances the bikes appearance. If you do not intend to run the wires inside the new bars make sure the ones you buy are drilled for the 4 wire clips (rarely mentioned in descriptions but usually you can see if there's a picture) and dimpled so you can get the wires out from under the controls. Your center

 

Wow good stuff Kong.

Off topic, how do you like those footpegs Baker? I love your bike man!

 

Thanks. I bought the bike used (2002 with 3,700 miles) and I don't even know the brand of the billet stuff and all. It was just as you see it. As you can see, the shifter, pegs and grips all match as a set. The mirrors, switch housings, etc. are all aftermarket. It has Cycle Shack slash cut slip-ons, SE breather and a download. The paint is not blue it's teal but I can't get it to photo that way. The paint is 57/150 factory radical.

I also came with a dandy Windvest windshield which was off when the pics were taken.

I have a wide glide too, and if I can't get comfortable on this Deuce without spending the price of another bike, I'm going to sell it. I had a Heritage which was good, and the Wide Glide is fine. This deuce just makes me double up and lean forward too much.

Another Heritage in my future?


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First, thanks so much for all the info. I had no idea...

I don't really know how far back. My wide glide and the Heritage I had were great. I had forward controls on the wide glide but had to swap back. Same problem, lower back got tired from the bending after an hour or so.

I'm 5' 10" wear an XL shirt with 33 sleeves. (17 1/2 neck, 33 sleeves.)

The thing is, I'm in my 60's and I don't bend as easily as I used to! The man I bought the bike from was about 10 years older than I am. His wife had bought it for him for Chistmas in 2002.

Lordy, there's a lot to this. Anyone want to swap a similar year/condition Heritage?


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Seems like a common complaint with the Deuce. I'm about to install the HD chrome bars this week. Suppose to bring the reach back about an inch an a half. I'll see if that is enough.

 

Please post back on how that works?

Thanks, JB


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I installed the same bars, It seems to be enough for me.[8D]

 

Lordy Deuce Bigelow, I love your paint job. How do you suppose they tore your sheet metal
like that?

No kidding, that's a real piece of art. Mine is 57/150 but not as radical as yours.

On topic, After hearing all on here so far, does anyone know if I could simply put on Softail Standard or Wide Glide risers and handlebars complete? I mean just ditch the whole Deuce setup and swap it out? I realize I'd still have length issues with lines and cables.

It's just that my Wide Glide is so much more comfortable for me...

Does anyone know?

Thanks,

JB


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