Ape Hangers, Sissy Bars and Mini Apes

On a side note, I was looking at motorcycles after work the other day. I sat on a Road King and I was like no way. The feet were way too close to the body. It felt very uncomfortable. 

It must be built for midgets. But I put my hand on the handlebars and I was like, hey that feels pretty good. They were higher than normal. Mini Apes. Now I know I make fun of guys who obsess over Ape Hangers. They look cool but they're not very functional. They're for people who care more about how they look than how it feels. Posers love them.

These mini Apes weren't high above the shoulders. Your arms were horizontal, parallel to the ground. It felt very comfortable. I sat on an old Yamaha Silverado with mini Apes and a triangle sissy bar and I was like I really like the height of these handlebars. There are several guys at work who ride Harleys and they swear by them. They have 10 inch and 12 inch.

10 inch is just below the fairing and 12 inch is just above the fairing. I don't use a fairing so that doesn't matter to me. One of the older guys said it really helped with his back pain on longer trips. They all say it's better for your back because you sit straighter. The stock handle bars make you hunch your back and shoulders. These mini Apes make you sit up straight.  

Obviously if you are above horizontal your arms are going to get tired on long trips but these mini Apes feel good and improve your posture. I'm sold on them. 

Another thing that's coming back is the sissy bar. Now I don't care about fads or what's popular but I like these new sissy bars for the look but also for the function. Viking bags sell motorcycle backpacks that fit over your sissy bar. I really like that for touring. It's way better than that Goldwing look.

The sissy bar was made famous in the movie Easy Rider but these new slightly shorter triangle sissy bars are a new look with a new function. A triangle sissy bar with squared off mini Apes. Now that's what I'm talking about.