I have never found a reason to change factory bars. Have ridden bikes with all kinds of mini ape ,apes and countless make up bad *** names for them bars. Factory work fine for me. Then so do the seats and foot rest /boards.

 

I think what many people “miss” when choosing handlebars is the “where and how” they ride.

The bars on my RK are 10” mini-apes (from HD)
kinda low. They work best when I’m a bit leaned forward and on top of the bars. Really made for push to lean riding… it suits the curvy backroads I enjoy riding.

One of the folks I ride with has 14” apes on his SG. We ride through the same counties, but he prefers the highways. The highways here are scenically beautiful and you get further from home! He has a more leaned back posture on the bike.

My setup is more comfortable & enjoyable for the routes I choose… his setup works better for his preferred roads.

 

Good point @GOGOBECK

I rather have it setup for comfort, leaning back and just cruising. I do ride on country roads but the days of me dragging knees on those while riding sportbikes are way gone. I am all for sitting back, listening to some tunes and enjoying the scenery now...

 

After couple hundred miles your body will tell you what your issues are. For me the stock bars hurt my wrists and shoulders, but they too felt just fine in the showroom.

Bars are tough, everyone's ergos are different and it's not an easy/cheap swap (at least for me) if you don't get it right the first time. That said, when you do get it right it makes a huge difference.

 

After over 100K miles on Harleys, I can say that the stock bars are just fine...

 

Let it go, man.

 

Me? How often am I referenced for my thread? I've lost track how often it is mentioned.

 

My first bike 06 Streetbob had mini apes, and not knowing anything else, I thought they were okay, but any long rides had the wrists kind of go tingly numb. Bought my 17 SGS, and it was okay but I put the reach bars which I think bring it in another 1 or 2 inches, and they were better, but I'd still notice some right wrist tingle numb after longer rides. My 20RGL, I didn't change anything with these stock bars, to me, they are beyond okay, I have some slight bend in my elbows, no tingly numb sensation on longer rides, yeah I'm not changing anything with those bars, lol.

 

You are NOT alone…..I too just last week removed the 10 inch LA Choppers 1-1/4” Twin Peak bars that came on my bike when i purchased it a year ago. I tried 3 different seats, and the LA bars just simply didn’t have enough pull-back for me - I was always leaning forward, slow speed maneuvering felt very awkward unless I basically sat on the front edge of the seat, and I just didn’t have enough comfort, control, and leverage…..

I am 5 ft 10 inches tall with an average arm length…..I never had any issues with stock bars on any bikes. My current ‘15 Ultra came with the LA bars, which worked well for the previous owner, but he was 6ft 3in-ish…..Last week I replaced the LA bars with the FBI 11” Reduced Reach bars (34 in wide with 12 in pullback VS the FBI 12 in bars which are 36 in wide with 9 in pullback) and i immediately knew i made the right choice - for me. I only got about 30 miles on the bike since the new bars, but i waited too long to make the bike ergonomically right - for me.

So - make your bike right for you - ASAP. If that’s with stock/oem bars, who cares!

If you like a different non-oem style of bars, like apes, or whatever, do a lot of research and reading, and use the stock/oem measurements and dimensions and compare to make the best choice for you. Visit as many area dealers to see if you can sit on bikes with various bars that might work for you if you can. The importance of properly fitting bars -for you- cannot be overstated. For me - bar dimensions were narrowed down to the Khrome Werks 1-1/4” 2+2 Sweepers or the FBI 1-1/4” - 11” Reduced Reach - I liked the style of the FBI bars better….

The other thing to note - the shop I had remove the LA bars and install the FBI bars found several things NOT done correctly by the previous shop that installed the LA bars - not enough tie-raps were removed to free-up slack, which stressed several wires to the point of needing repairs - so good thing I had the FBI bars professionally installed - future problems avoided!

Good Luck! Another Upside - if you want to go back to oem/stock bars, should be able to get some cheap if not free - then sell the 10” bars you remove!

 

Might need to get check for carpal tunnel or ulnar nerve

Personnally I think they are fad. maybe accentiated by fly by wire making easier to change bars.