OK, I just got the new custom chopper I
built, has the 180mm rear wheel, a wide
glide front end, braided lines and a Buell
M-3 engine in it (I like the sportster
engine set up better than the big twin for
reasons too numerous to explain here). One
thing I did was had 1.5" Carlini drag bars
put on it and yeah, they look awesome.
But they’re not too comfortable. Especially
with the Kury Akyn forward controls for
the feet. I am thinking of switching to
apes or mini apes for the handlebars.
Anyone own a ride with bars like this? If so,
whatchya think about them for comfort?
Also, I am thinking of dumping the forward
controls for floor boards but I ride hard
and am afraid of dragging them and having them
end up looking like shit. Any experience here?
I’d post a pic of this bike if Chris would let
me It is a RAD ride. All chrome and billet.
So if anyone has experience with handlebars
and floor boards...please help.
Also, the bike has a KA hypercharger on it
and I am having problems with the bike
idling rough for about 15 minutes on cold
starts? It was fine before I added this
to it (and it is cool looking) but I hate
waiting 15 minutes to let it “warm up”
when I first start it in the cold. Any ideas?
Oh yeah, if you want to buy one of those
digital speedos/tachs like you see in the
magazines (they’re like $700) DON’T!!!
I put one on my ride…then I realized
I needed to buy a special line for it to work
($150) and then the company told me I needed
a “sending unit” for $350. Yeah, it’s on there
and it looks cool but fuck, for that price,
I could have added MUCH cooler stuff.
I have a solid rear billet wheel and the
80 spoke 21" up front but I might drop it
to 19" and do a cut billet from Jesse James
WCC (CFL man!!!). Any experience on how
this will change the ride character?
I know the trail and rake changes a little
but is it significant.
That sounds like a sweet ride. I am actually in the process of designing a new bike for myself since I laid mine down at 45mph a little while ago. Will see though. The one I laid down was a stock bike with the exception of Vance and Hines pipes and a mustang touring seat. I also put a new jet kit in it and stuff like that but I didn’t go anywhere near the expense you did. I am going to on my next one. Sorry I cannot help yet My friends ride apes and they all say the same thing. They are great but at high speed they make your body into a sail. Get me. Let me know where to view the pics though man. You can get some great advice on the Southern Cruisers forum.
As I sit here picking the bugs out of my teeth I got to tell you…today rocked for riding!!! And I am surely doing the boards because the
fwd controls are getting on my nerve and caused
me to mis-shift a few times.
I can’t get the ear to ear grin off my face, I so love riding. And lemme tell you, pull up
on a chopper with some leather and you are
a pussy magnet. Got some digits and am going
out tonight with one of them!
The best advice I can give on the apes is try them for yourself. I have had frequent problems with poor circulation in my hands and the apes on my old dynaglide made it worse. Loved the look, couldn’t stand the numbness in hands. If you haven’t lowered the bike too much, go ahead with the floorboards. You can always go with highway bars if you want to kick your feet out a little. One other note on the bars, if you do a lot of high speed riding with a sporty engine setup, the vibes in a set of apes will be even worse. If you like the apes, barsnakes will help dampen some of the vibes out. You can get them at www.barsnakes.com. The barsnake helped out a lot on my Road King. Keep it between the ditches and shiny side up!
You will probably need to look into changing the jetting of your carb due to the fact that the kuryakyn hypercharger allows a lot more air flow. My advice would be to check with a local shop you can trust to shoot straight with you on what jets to change to. You also might want to check and make sure the choke is operating properly. I say all this assuming that the bike is carbed. If it is a fuelie, the ecm will need reprogramming due to the increased airflow. I’m not familiar with the m-3 engine, but I have had a few sporties. Good luck.
Thanks…bike is going in for a “carb check”
Tuesday evening at a local shop I trust.
I am gonna try mini-apes and see if I dig
'em. Floor boards for sure but the bike is
low, has about a 26" seat height (like a
stock FXDL). I am toying with having the
engine rubbermounted (expensive to do as
a one off but might be worth it).
The bike screws…it really moves. Not gonna
kill any rice but man, I love dusting night
trains and deuce’s at the lights
It is a RAD ride. All chrome and billet.