I'm new to not only the forum but really riding as a whole. I've been riding for about 7 - 8 months now. I now have a 2010 Street Glide. Since I've started riding I've had trouble with soreness in my shoulders, between my shoulder blades. I have talked to several people about it, and some have said a backrest, others handlebars, and some said both. Well, I've got a backrest now and did about 1400 miles over the holiday weekend. I still had the same issue. After about 100 miles or so, I start to feel it. My local H-D dealer said they have a "2 up, 2 back" bar for the touring bikes and that would fix my problem. Well, my bike is Black Denim, and I'm looking to try to keep things black. I love the monkey bars. So, to get to my question. Would just raising the bars help or do I need to come back closer to me or both? Also, being from MS, I cannot go over 10".

I apologize for the long post, but I felt I needed to explain. I've tried to search but to no success.

 

Here is the way I see it with bars. Your standard bars are 6.25 pull back and 9.75 rise. So when you hear about 10 and 12 realize that you need to subtract off the 9.75 for your increase in height. Also the pull back helps you grab the bar easier. What I found when I went with Cyclesmiths 13" was that I had bettter possure and I wasn't reaching for the bars as much. My old bars were 13 rise and 8.5 pullback. Lucky I was able to sit on a guys bike (I asked first) before I went with the 13's. The other wild card is your seat. On my old SG I had the solo brawler which pushed me down another 1.5 to 2 inches. If it was me I would be sure on the seat before I change bars. Hope this helps. Good luck

 

What he said plus if you went the chubby wo575 bars they have a 10" rise, 13" pullback (stock is 10.5), 34.5 wide. He is totally correct that you will not only have better posture but it is easier to turn and handle with the taller/closer bars. One of the best things I did for my back and neck though I have the 12.5 chubbies (wo577). I also have a SG but I purchased an 08 RG seat and had it done up by MCC. I can ride all day now.

 

PYO monkey bars. I also think the seat has something to do with it also. My bars seem to have helped a bit also. One thing I think people dont think about is stress. I found that if im riding into work on the express way and heavy city traffic I have more pain and i think it is from just the stress of the ride. my $.02

Steve

 

Thanks for the help.

 

I have Wild1 12.5 bars, I have a bad lower back and they helped it 100%, I'm not sure what help they are for shoulder pain, a freind of mine has had neck surgery and the taller bars bothered him and he could not use them

 

Stress of the ride? You gotta be joking. Maybe you should park the bike and and drive the minivan to work. That should take care of the "stress" you're experiencing.

 

No apologies needed. Getting comfortable for long rides is one of the hardest things to get dialed in on these things. I'm not a big advocate of apes but sometimes they are just what the doctor ordered to get your back in a more upright position. If you're slouching over or reaching for the grips, your back and shoulders will feel it after 200 miles. If 2 up and 2 back puts your back straighter it will probably make a huge difference. The lower the bars are the more you will constantly holding your aems up, or holding them in that position. That may sound weird but it's true. Higher bars allow your arms to kind of hang there, rather than the constant holding position of low bars. The 2 up and 2 back is a good start.

 

Thanks for the advise dipshit!!

 

all good info on bars .question 2cable ordering ,how do you know how long to order your control cables,clutch ,brake line and throttle.i am asking
because i,m going with 18" la chopper bars and i don't want alot of down time wrenching and waiting for parts.tyhks 4 your support!