Should I put Ape Hangers on my Harley?

Answer 1

I put the Ace of Spades on my front fork with a clothes hanger so my Schwinn goes bbbbppppppppp when I ride.

Answer 2

Ape Hangers For Harley

Answer 3

Harley Ape Hangers

Answer 4

Tell you what. Hold your arms up above shoulder height. Hold them there for 10 minutes. Now, how does that feel?
Even though the apes provide a little relief for your muscles, your circulation is still going "uphill".
Despite what the armored dildo up there says, there is no way apes have "or better" control, because the riding posture is "lounge chair" instead of "upright" or "tucked" ... if control were so much better with apes, don't you think racers would have adopted them? Do you see ape hangers on race bikes, even race Harleys (dragsters or dirt trackers mostly)?
If you only go for short rides, care more about appearance than ride-ability, and think that your underarms are your most attractive feature, by all means, install the apes. Otherwise, bag it and go for something really cool - clip-ons or straight bars ...

Answer 5

Guess the question is: How tall of apes were you thinking of ? As some others pointed out, the will cause some fatigue and aches. BUT.....it you're only looking at maybe some mini-apes ( 8"-12") then that shouldn't be a concern. A buddy of mine put 16" on his FXST and loves them (says THEY are actually more comfortable than his buckhorns were). Apes DO look good, but going to the extreme looks silly. There is a guy around here that also has 4ft apes and suicide shift and you just have to wonder how long he can keep the shiny side up............

Answer 6

How could you NOT put ape hangers on a Harley??

If you don't do it I will personally come over and swap the bars for apes and beat your freakin skull in with the stock bars.

Answer 7

You don't compromise control with ape hangers. If anything, you gain control. Motorcycles are steered via countersteering. Simply put, this means if you want the bike to go right, you push right on the handlebars. To go left, push left. Applying Archimedes' principles of leveraging, the longer the lever, the less force required to move an object. Ergo, the longer bars of the apehanger actually serve as longer levers, allowing you to maneuver the bike with less force.
As for your arms getting tired, they don't get any more tired hanging out in front of you at shoulder lever than they would hanging out in front of you at chest level. Either way, your arms are still extended for the same amount of time. If anything, I find the ability to "hang" my arms on the bars (hence the name) an added bonus that stock bars don't provide.
Those other chumps are sissies that have never ridden with hangers. Don't listen to 'em.

Answer 8

I think whatever you choose you'll have to get used to, when I bought my first Harley, they already had 12" apes on them , so thats what I got use too, I used my gf's sportster with stock bars, and found out I really had to steer her bike, not the case with my apes, I don't get any fatigue, cause my arm's , shoulders and grips are pretty much even. I'm 5.8

Answer 9

I best friends dad has Ape Hangers on his 86' Soft tail, and it is sweet! His ape hangers are like 4' tall, with a 1' extention...hes basiclly standing on it, looks uncomfortable, but he doesnt seem to mind, even with a suicide shifter.... so i say, have fun! Enjoy them if you get'em

Answer 10

Ape hangers are a must-have on any Harley...but don't pinheads have short arms?

Answer 11

Yes if it's a show bike it looks really cool..
If you want to ride it then no you shouldn't use them.
Like Tom said. You have less control and your arms will ache all the time even after you park the bike. Backaches are also a common symptom of apes. If you ache all over you'll drive slower and look like a wussy when you slow to a crawl for railroad crossings.