After six weeks and 4K miles I've come to a conclusion regarding my FXDP; the bars are too narrow and way too high. I believe the bars are the same ones used on the Dyna low rider.
My biggest problem is comfort. My wrists are not straight when I ride, instead they are bent. My wrists start to ache then it moves to my arms and shoulders in a few hours.
My thought is to go to a set of bars that are at least four inches LOWER and say 4 inches or more wider. It appears I can go fairly wider and still retain my stock cables. Am I off base?? anyone DO this before??
The Montana riding season may have a month or two left so this will be a winter project.
It depends what kind of bars you put on. I have an 03 Wide Glide and I didn't like the ape hangers. I put a set of Fat Boy touring bars on mine. It lowered and widened the bars and makes it much more comfortable to ride. I went to different dealers and suppliers and looked at a bunch of different types. I even took them out and held them up against the bike to try and see what they'd look and feel like. It didn't take long to change them out. The only thing I had to switch out was the brake line. I bought a stainless brake line which dressed it up some.
It you are looking at a set of drag bars then I believe there's a little more work involved and more cable's to change out.
Here's a thread of some other Dyna owners and what they did in changing there's out. Pictures of mine are at the end of the thread.
Good luck!
Handlebars are one of those subject areas - everyone has their favs. Swapping out bars can make a huge difference in your comfort level and feel. Wider bars generally make it a little easier to steer since they give you more leverage. They also make steering response slightly slower since your arms have to follow a longer arc - no biggy unless you get really wide bars.
See if you can find a shop that has a good selection of bars in stock. They will usually let you carry'em out and hold them up to your stock bars so you can get an idea of the feel, look and whether your stock cables will reach.
I swapped out from the stock mini apes to a set of Drag bars....yes its a pain in the ass. Had to switch throttle & clutch cables, brake line. I also ran all of the wires thru the bars so it was more work than just a simple swap.
As far as comfort goes...after 5000 miles with the drag bars I am finally getting used to them. I put over 50,000 on with the apes & they were more comfortable to me. Handling was easier too with the apes. Thats a totally subjective area & everyone has differing opinions on it.
I swapped out my bars a couple of years ago. I put drag bars instead of the buck horns. I checked out the measurements in the catalogs and figured out what I wanted. My throttle cables are an inch or two two long, but nothing I am going to mess with. My brake line was a little long and I swapped it for a chrome braded.
Changing the bars was easy.
__________________
"Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons." -Gen. Douglass Macarthur
I drilled my bars and ran the wires through the bars. That was a b i t c h of a project. I like the look. Also I would tell you to add custom grips while you are at it, since my stock left grip was glued on.
Check the manual for the throttle information since you will need to remove the grip for the new bars.
JR
__________________
"Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons." -Gen. Douglass Macarthur
Just a thught here. Is it possible on that bike to loosen the riser clamps and rotate the handlebars down?? Even a change in risers can help. Sometimes something simple like that will alleviate the problem.
__________________
Ed Y
2002 FLTRI
I yam what I yam.
Yes I tried that . All the way back and forth to Sturgis as a matter of fact. It told me I needed lower bars. To get them as low as I liked they would be too far back. The "forward" part is OK, just the" TOO high" thing is the problem.
Too many years of holding a steering wheel for 40+ hours a week. Both wrists and forearms get painful quickly on the new bike. either of the BMW's are fine as the bars are low and wide compared to the FXDP's buckhorns. I probably have some sort of carpal tunnel deal going on.
Linear Mode
