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The ergonomic experiment
- Thread starter Mailman
- Start date
DE I run 14” apes on my Harley. Always have since I was 20. They run about shoulder height. Very comfortable for me.
No Ape expert but with feet forward, an arm out level probably helps reduce "roached back" syndrome. Keeping your spine straighter instead of curved back above your butt.
Hands much above shoulder height is inviting numbness IMHO.
Hands much above shoulder height is inviting numbness IMHO.
Looks very Classy mailman!
The essence of a restomod.
Well, front brake upgrade.
The essence of a restomod.
Well, front brake upgrade.
Looks very Classy mailman!
The essence of a restomod.
Well, front brake upgrade.
Thanks Gary! You think I need a Brembo front brake?
I wouldn’t say no to a nice rotor up front.
FZ Rotor is a nice upgrade, losing 3 lbs don't hurt. Looks like you already have SS line and a smaller MC, very sharp bike! Monkey boy just couldn't resist..
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IMO, the floorboards on my Fatboy make a big difference. I greatly prefer the floorboards over forward controls. Forwards just make me feel too stretched out like everything is reaching forward. With the boards my feet feel more firmly planted underneath me and help support my back. I will note that on longer rides the apes do fatigue you more as your body acts like a bit of a sail fighting the wind without a windshield. I’ve ridden with taller bars before and the numbness from lack of blood flow is irritating. The older I get the more I think about shorter bars though. I just don’t like the feeling of my elbows bent in too close to my body like the beach style bars the fatboy came with.
When I had the high bars on this bike, I did like it while running around town, it had a very relaxed upright position. For me that position became less than desirable when I was riding at highway speed. It was just fatiguing.
Mailman, very nice look. I have played with wind shields before and found that bigger ones reflected too much noise back towards the rider but the small ones, like yours, are just perfect. I would be interested to know at a later date if that shield induces any turbulence that rattles your helmet or gives increased noise from air rising up from below the hand grips and hitting the sides of your helmet. You can test this out when riding by just placing your hand below the hand grip. I'll add a photo later to show the naughty spot.
Thank you.
The screen:
The hand covering the naughty spot:
Often when adding a basic wind shield you then get plagued by high velocity air rushing up in the spot where my hand is. This occurs on both sides of the bike and is very localised i.e. if I move my hand a couple of inches to the left or right the blast of air will resume. When you ride with a basic wind shield you can easily find the spot by moving your hand around below the grips. More expensive systems have deflectors on the forks to remove this annoyance. I plan to add some deflectors in a month or so.
Thank you.
The screen:
The hand covering the naughty spot:
Often when adding a basic wind shield you then get plagued by high velocity air rushing up in the spot where my hand is. This occurs on both sides of the bike and is very localised i.e. if I move my hand a couple of inches to the left or right the blast of air will resume. When you ride with a basic wind shield you can easily find the spot by moving your hand around below the grips. More expensive systems have deflectors on the forks to remove this annoyance. I plan to add some deflectors in a month or so.
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Complete agreement on floor boards.
Added a windshield and throttle lock for the ~10 hour ride tomorrow.
Like Paul sez; windshields reflect a lot of motor noise but I wear a full face with inflatable ear protection. 60MPH for hours on end is really hard on the ole neck and wrists without some wind protection..
Also the Colorado sili-grips and throttle lock for occasional wrist, posture relief. This one is a 2 minute on and off, cobbed it off Madness where it usually hangs out. That rear bag is more backrest
than needed luggage space .....Will prolly play with the windshield position some, but find getting it up so some air comes under is a good solution, get it too tight on the headlight and a vacuum area behind it "pulls" the torso forward, as tiring as the wind blast... that lower source of air flow tends to reduce turbulence, vortexes also.
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Complete agreement on floor boards.
View attachment 172363
Added a windshield and throttle for the ~10 hour ride tomorrow.
Like Paul sez; windshields reflect a lot of motor noise but I wear a full face with inflatable ear protection. 60MPH for hours on end is really hard on the ole neck and wrists without some wind protection..
Also the Colorado sili-grips and throttle lock for occasional wrist, posture relief. This one is a 2 minute on and off, cobbed it off Madness where it usually hangs out. That rear bag is more backrest
Will prolly play with the windshield position some, but find getting it up so some air comes under is a good solution, get it too tight on the headlight and a vacuum area behind it "pulls" the torso forward, as tiring as the wind blast... that lower source of air flow tends to reduce turbulence, vortexes also.
Man! You have transformed that old bike into a 50 year old touring rig! I see now...that’s a Memphis Shades windshield. I used to run one on my old BMW. They’re nicely made. ( me at 48 )
Well we had thunderstorms last night right up till sunrise. Humidity is high but temps are relatively low, so I’m gonna gear up and try out my new set up. Later! 
Bob;
Really nice work (and post) Bob, just catching up on this thread. Love the superbike bars, I've been enjoying them on my TX.
As promised, photos added to Entry 290 above.
As you're probably aware, my bar of choice is the Euro bar. I had a pair of Superbike bars for many years. I bought them because all the magazines raved about them back in the day. I thought they were OK, that is until I tried my 1st Euro bars. Then the shortcomings of the Superbike bar were plainly evident - they're too flat. They turn your wrist out at an unnatural angle and get uncomfortable on longer rides. The Euro bars are low like the Superbike bars but droop down slightly on the ends. This turns your wrists to a more natural and comfortable angle .....
They're just wonderful and in my opinion, the best handlebar bend on the planet, lol. I put them on all my bikes. I guess one of the biggest compliments I can give them is that they just disappear under you. You never give them a second thought. Your hands just fall naturally onto them.
They're just wonderful and in my opinion, the best handlebar bend on the planet, lol. I put them on all my bikes. I guess one of the biggest compliments I can give them is that they just disappear under you. You never give them a second thought. Your hands just fall naturally onto them.
Mailman, that wind shield on the BMW looks to go low enough to deflect that naughty air. I will add an extension to mine this weekend and see if that cures my problems.
Yes, likely the best choice from what experienced over stock handlebars once. There is just a bit more to be said however. I remember Emgo Euros as being barely wide enough in the center riser / mount area. The radiuses were just about into the bar top clamps. Also, I found a need for bar end mirrors.
I believe after measuring a Bike Master Euro bar that the Bike Master Euro is the preferred brand to shop for. Just a tad wider in both mount area and overall.
And just a little note about installing bars, any bars. Technically, for best fork action, you should align the bar rise with the angle of the fork tubes. That way, any force you exert into the bars, like during hard braking, will be transmitted directly down into the forks. You will be pushing straight down into the forks.
