Has anyone put just straight pull back bars on a Road Glide?

I am aware of the plastic speedo/tach cover (that wraps around the guages and covers the top triple tree) and wanted to know if just milling out the plastic cover (dremel, etc.) is all I would have to do, or is there more under that cover that I don't want to get into?

 

There isn't anything under that cover you'd need to concern yourself with, but your gonna have one heck of a time making sure you get those holes to match up just right so as to not mess up the interlocking feature of the plastic pieces.
I just have to ask. Why would you want to? Besides screwing with the steering geometry which would be bad in itself, a simple bar change would accomplish anything you'd be looking to gain by adding risers. Well unless you were just going for a one off mod? I think I would steer clear of this idea, but thats just my opinion. I have seen all kinds of bar replacements, everything from a drag style to "serious" apehangers.

 

Actually the reason is I had them on my soft tail and dyna and like the reach. You mention the geometry. What do you mean. It shouldn't be any different than the geometry on the others should it?

Yes, I agree, fitting them into the plastic cover is the trick, that's why I was hoping someone else had done this. As a precursor I order a replacement piece that I can work with to see how to do this without screwing up the one on my bike (a whole 18.95). Let me know about above comments.

Thanks, I appreciate any direction from all.

 

mspomer, yes it will be completely different than the others. The fork angle on the Glide is way steeper and the risers actually sit forward of the forks if you look closely. So what your doing by adding pullbacks is changing the fulcrum, which means changing the steering characteristics. Ideally you want the bars as close to center on the triple tree for optimum steering control (think cafe style bike) and rapid manuevering. By going to a pull back your moving the bar to a position behind that optimum point thus slowing response.
The heavies are all setup with the risers positioned slightly forward to offset the bar reach, the steep fork angle to provide stability yet allow the bike to be lightly handled/steered.
The use of the term geometry might have been a bit confusing in my previous response, I hope this paints a clearer picture. Think of a simple lever configuration (a triangle with a slat/lever on top) centered the load can be balanced on either end. but move the lever off the center point and the amount of leverage is either increased or decreased depending on direction.
I did have a quick look at my bike and I think as long as your using a round post riser fitting the new holes thru the plastic won't be too much of a chore. You'll be close on the lower ignition housing overlap but you should clear it. I still think you might be futher ahead to maintain your stock risers and find a bar with a deeper pullback, but hey the worse thing that can happen with the risers is you'll hate the mod and just switch it back to stock. Just pointing out the possible problems.
I would suggest you try one thing before going to all the effort, but its really up to you. Move your bars forward 3/4 of an inch & then take the bike for a ride. I'm 99.9% sure your gonna think the handling sucks, you'll feel really wobbly as you slow to stop, and a bit out of control at slow speeds. Then roll the bars back the other way 3/4 of an inch closer than what you normally run them. You'll find the bike feels really front heavy and slow, more stable straight but twitchy in slow turns. Then ask yourself if its worth the tradeoff from the stock position.
Like I said, your bike do with it what you like. Just providing a little heads up. Hell you might love it, Ha Ha.. Regardless ride safe and let us know......... T

 

Good stuff Teach. Really appreciate all the time you spent answering this.

I may have mis-spoke when I said pull backs though. The actually are closer to drag bars with the tips angled back toward the rider appx. 1" from a straight drag bar setup. The risers come straight out of the triple tree then "slightly" pull back about 1".

I'm going to look this one over pretty well before I do anything but will definitely do a follow up once I decide.

Again, really appreciate your time on this one. Later.

 

No thank you. I think what your proposing is quite interesting and I for one will be very interested as to how this works out if you try it. Definitely keep us posted and pic's are always good, Ha Ha....

 

I put Heritage bars on my '04. They're not beach bars, but gave me a decent amount of additional pullback and I'm happy with them. I did the switch the way you're suggesting. Instead of taking the whole fairing off, I took the bezel that surrounds the speedo-tach off (two screws) and then drilled out the plastic piece that partly covers the (lower) screws securing the handlebars so I could get the torx in them. It worked fine, and the "damage" is covered by the bezel.
Of course, the swap didn't go completly without a hitch. Halfway through our 3 week tour last month, my headlight went out. The Las Vegas dealer got me right in and they traced the short for me. The service tech apologized for the repair bill, saying it wasn't covered by warranty. When I asked what they found, I believe his exact words were, "The idiot that replaced your handlebar pinched a wire". So, be careful putting the switch controls back on.....