Finding the best harley davidson road glide handlebars is usually the very first thing on a fresh owner's to-do checklist, mostly because the factory setup is usually rarely an one-size-fits-all situation. We all possess different arm measures, torso heights, and ideas of exactly what looks "cool, " so staying with the stock bars often feels like seeking to wear someone else's shoes. If you've spent more than two hours in the saddle only to finish the day with a nagging cramp between your own shoulder blades, you already know exactly what I'm speaking about.
The Road Glide is definitely an unique beast. Unlike its relative, the Street Glide, the fairing is usually mounted to the particular frame, not the forks. This provides you a bit more independence when it comes to choosing pubs because you don't have to be concerned about the pubs hitting the fairing each time you switch the front wheel—at minimum not to the exact same extent. But that will doesn't mean you can just throw any old place of pipes on there and call it up a day.
Why the Stock Bars Usually Don't Cut It
Most people find that will the OEM harley davidson road glide handlebars have a bit of a strange arm angle. They tend in order to pull back in a way that forces your wrists into an unnatural place, that is fine with regard to a twenty-minute demonstration ride but gloomy for a cross-country trip. Harley designs these bikes to match the "average" rider, but let's become honest, very several people are actually typical.
Whenever you swap all of them out, you aren't just changing the particular look of the bike; you're altering the geometry of your body. A good set of bars will allow you sit back again into the seat, keep your spine natural, and put both hands in a placement where you have the most leverage. It's about control just as much as it is regarding comfort.
The Rise of the particular Ape Hangers
When you think of a custom bagger, you probably image some meat-hook guinea pig hangers. These are usually probably the almost all popular choice for harley davidson road glide handlebars right this moment. They give the bike that aggressive, tall user profile that screams custom made.
But there's a technology to the elevation. Most riders gravitate toward 12-inch or 14-inch bars. A 12-inch bar generally keeps your fingers slightly below your shoulder blades, which is a sweet spot regarding blood flow. In case you go up in order to 16 inches or higher, you're obtaining into the "fists in the wind" territory. It appears incredible, but in the event that your hands are significantly higher than your heart, you might start experiencing some tingling or numbness on long highway stretches.
The "Meat Hook" or "Monkey Bar" style—where the particular top of the bar has a sharp, jagged bend—is a staple intended for the Road Glide. Because of the particular shark-nose fairing's form, these angular pubs look like they were meant to be there in the manufacturing plant. They the actual outlines of the fairing perfectly.
Overall performance Bagger Style: The particular T-Bar Look
If you've already been paying attention in order to the "performance bagger" trend lately, you've probably noticed even more Road Glides working T-bars or MX-style bars with tall risers. This can be a massive shift far from the particular traditional look, and it's all about handling.
Using a straight riser and a flatter club, you get your fingers closer to the middle of the bike's pivot point. It makes the heavy Road Glide feel the lot more flickable in the edges. It's a narrow stance, too, which some guys choose for lane blocking or just a more tucked-in riding place.
The challenge with T-bars on a Road Glide is the particular gauge cluster. Considering that the gauges sit right where the risers want to go, you usually possess to install a gauge relocation package. It's an additional step and a bit more money, however for the guys who want that Western Coast, high-speed stability, it's a trade-off they're happy to create.
Understanding Pullback and Wrist Position
This is the component that most individuals overlook. When you're browsing for harley davidson road glide handlebars , you'll discover specs for "rise, " "width, " and "pullback. " Rise is exactly how tall they are, and width is how far aside your hands will certainly be. But pullback is the key sauce.
Pullback determines how far the bars reach back toward your seat. If you have shorter hands, you want even more pullback so a person aren't leaning forward and straining your own lower back. In the event that you're a a more elevated rider with lengthy arms, you might want less pullback so you aren't feeling cramped with your elbows hitting your ribs.
Then there's the arm angle. Some pubs are very flat, just like a mountain bike, while some have the "sweep" that angles your grips back again. You want your own wrists to be as straight as possible when you're holding the grips. If the bars force your wrists to bend outward or inward, you're going to finish up with carpal bones tunnel issues true fast.
The Installation Headache: Cables and Wires
Here is the particular "not-so-fun" a part of improving your harley davidson road glide handlebars . Unless you're fortunate and picking an extremely low-rise bar, you're probably going in order to need to offer with your wiring and cables.
On older models, you generally got to buy extended brake lines and clutch cables. On the newer Milwaukee-Eight (M8) models, Harley was obviously a bit more nice using the wire slack tucked inside the particular fairing, however you nevertheless have to become careful. Usually, a person can get aside with 10-inch or even sometimes 12-inch pubs with the share lines if a person reroute them, yet anything taller and you're buying a cable connection extension kit.
And then there's the internal wires. Most high-end harley davidson road glide handlebars are "pre-drilled" for internal wiring. This indicates you have in order to fish your throttle-by-wire sensor and just about all your switch casing wires through the inside of of the pipes. It's a tiresome, frustrating job that will involves plenty of string, lubricant, and tolerance. If the pubs have sharp "meat hook" corners, it's even harder to obtain the wires around all those bends without snagging. But man, will it look clean when it's finished. No ugly zip connections or wires flapping in the breeze.
Material plus Finish Choices
Most bars are made from 1. 25-inch or one. 5-inch steel tubing. The 1. 5-inch bars look very much "beefier" and tend to suit the substantial size of the Road Glide fairing better. Just maintain in mind that if you go with 1. 5-inch pubs, you need in order to guarantee the "step down" on the clamping region continues to be 1 inch (or 1. 25 depending on your year/riser) so that they actually match into your stock risers.
Because for the surface finish, you're usually selecting between chrome and gloss black. Chromium is the classic Harley look, but gloss black has taken over the marketplace in recent years. If you're heading for that "blacked-out" special look, the bars are a huge part of that puzzle. The tip for that dark bars: be careful during the install. It's very easy to scratch the natural powder coat with your controls or tools, and those scuff marks show up like a sore browse.
Making the Final Call
At the end of the time, picking the right harley davidson road glide handlebars is usually a personal journey. If you may, go to a bike night or even a local store and lay on a few bikes which have different setups. Many guys are pleased to let you reach out and feel the position of their bars.
Don't just buy what looks cool inside a catalog. Believe about how you really ride. If you're doing 500-mile days, comfort needs to be your own number one concern. If you're just bar-hopping on the weekends, maybe you may sacrifice just a little ergonomics for that "killer" look. Whatever a person choose, it's heading to make your Road Glide feel like a completely various machine—and usually, a much better a single. Just take your own time using the wiring, grab a pal in order to help you keep the bars while you torque the particular bolts, and take pleasure in the newest ride.