I am 6'5". I put the HD heritage style bars on my 2010 FLHR. Pulled them back just a tiny bit past straight alignment with front forks to get the grips leveled out, and all is good. Best thing I did to the bike for sure.

 

No mileage or condition of bike indicated but original factory bearings are a roller type of bearing and can easily last 100,000 miles if greased at tire change.
They rarely go bad unless someone rides the bike in salt or it was a flood bike.
You report a pronounced vibration noise in the front at certain rpms and also when at a stop.
Any chance you are noticing a rotor to brake pad scrub?
Maybe the rotor has a slight warp.
On the handlebars:
It depends on budget.
Some people spend $60- $100 and others spend $1,500
The after market heritage soft tail bars are not that expensive at about $60 from J & P cycle. I would guess a dealer would be twice that amount.
I would review a parts finder for a heritage softail bar of that time.
The heritage bars of those years were used on several police road kings of that time in order to increase comfort.
While not perfect they were more comfortable.
They were more narrow but taller and the grips point more to the sides than back.
Some called it more of a push lawn mower feel.
It allowed installation with no cable changes but the fork/slider/tube angle to handlebar angle will not be exact when looking at bike from the side if that is important to you.
The heritage bars of that era will not interfere with the windshield or windshield bag if you have one.
You will may also want to change to the updated plain looking 1 piece top clamp used on newer bikes so the bars do not rotate when pressure is applied.
If you have a passenger that pulls on the bars to get off then the bars will easily rotate due to leverage.
If you push or pull on the bars then heritage bars will easily rotate due to leverage.
To be clear..the updated one piece top handlebar clamp replaces the two clamps that hold the bar but it is NOT the chrome thick one you see displayed in every dealer wall.
The chrome thick one is NOT designed to fit under your chrome road king key lock cover nacelle.

 

I have a set of chrome heritage bars id like to get rid of. Didnt work for me. Ended up with 16" wild ones

 

Thanks for the reply. That was the most comprehensive reply yet.

I should have stated that the vibration noise that was present at a stop was presented on acceleration in the lower gears at certain rpms. Makes sense now seeing that that acceleration will take weight off the front wheel. When on the lift, at first it sounded like it was coming from the fender until I held pressure on the wheel and the vibration went away. Let go and vibration, hold wheel again and vibration noise goes away. While not in a super dangerous stage, the wheel has some up and down movement and side to side movement. It's definitely bad bearings.

I bought these bars last night. They are the Heritage 56569-86 bars which are 1997 year correct bars.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Khrome-Werks...NYJRpu&vxp=mtr

I do have a question for you though seeing how thorough you are. I have the bike on lift now with the front wheel and handlebars off just waiting for the new parts to arrive. When removing the headlight retaining assembly, it was quite obvious that someone had been in there before. Out of the 8 screws that hold the headlight plate to the housing, 4 screws were missing along with the rubber grommets(for lack of the correct name) that fit into the housing unit that the screws go into were missing and one of the grommets that was still in housing is torn in the back and basically useless.

What are these grommets called and where can I get them along with the screws that go into them?

 

I picked up a 2009 RKC in March 2016. The factory bars were very uncomfortable.

I put a set of Heritage bars on and they are perfect. Much more comfortable and i really like the improved low speed handling control.

Best $80 I spent on the bike.

 

i dont know the name but i got a few at the dealer. They werent expensive. Cheapest trip to a dealer ever. Less than 5$ for a few and screws. I love my yaffe clamp. My bars arent going anywhere. It has 3 set screws to keep the bars from moving. Mine still moved with harleys 1 piece clamp. The yaffe clamp is amazing and wasnt much more than harleys

 

The grommet things are called wellnuts. Go here enter year and model to get an exploded view with part numbers.

http://partsfinder.onlinemicrofiche.....asp?make=hdmc

 

As indicated the grommets are called WELLNUTS by Harley and there are 7.
The wellnut part number should be 5210 and they are about $1 each and again there should be 7.
The screws for the wellnuts should be part number 922 and there should be 7.
Those are about $1 each also.
The dealer might have them but i would call with those part numbers first.
An internet part link is a cool tool as it helps to locate part numbers and then you can ebay or google parts to better "see" them.
The well nuts and screws are rather generic and could be a 6-32 but if the dealer has it in stock then at a $1 each it might not be worth ordering online.
Double check me with the parts finder link below.
Here is a link and just look under "nacelle":
http://partsfinder.onlinemicrofiche.....asp?make=hdmc

 

I am surprised nobody suggested the OP rotate the stock bars closer to him before spending hundreds of dollars. It made a big difference on my 2010 RK. Loosen the two screws under the plastic cap and roll them back until comfortable. Check they don't hit the tank at full lock and then tighten the bolts.
And, if your bars move, you didn't tighten the clamp enough or the bars don't have knurled sections. If they don't, you can dimple them with a center punch to make your own knurling.

 

No simple adjustment like that on the '97 model. You have to pull the headlight to get to the chrome cover over the clamp bolts. They did not have the plastic piece until nearly a decade later. The police road king covers back then had two small plastic covers that you could remove to access two of the bolts. You can install the newer covers on the '97s though.