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ape hangers on a 900

49K views 30 replies 13 participants last post by  mikeescott69  
#1 ·
who has ape hangers on their 900 custom and what kind, size, and risers do you use? i'm interested in adding that to my to do list. any info is appreciated
 
#2 ·
10" apes on my brother's classic. He did not need to change cables. Easy install took him 30 minutes. He used the stock classic risers.
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#3 ·
so if i get my hands on the classic risers, i can use up to a 10" ape hanger handle bar without changing the cables?
 
#4 ·
#6 ·
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#12 ·
Pics would be great. I'm gonna order them in a week or two. Still thinking about 8" or 10" z bars... Not sure yet.

Which bars did you go with and where'd you get'em?


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#19 ·
Just my 2 cents... dimpled bars are for older style harleys. The dimples allowed the wiring to exit the housings when you aren't running the wires internally. our housings do not need dimples to work but they do need to be drilled for the tab in the housing.
 
#20 ·
Thanks guys. Those are really the only questions I had left. My bike is gonna look SWEET! I can't wait to order the apes. So I going with 8"-10" z bars that are smooth and non dimpled.


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#22 ·
I put 12 inch apes on my 900 custom SE. All I had to do was reroute the cables. They're as far as they can go now. I tried z bars and it wasn't a very comfortable ride. They looked awesome, just not very ergonomical for those long rides. In fact, ive tried several different size and styles of bars before I finally settled on the 12 inch apes. I'm happy with them.
 
#24 ·
I just ordered a pair of used Classic risers from a guy on Amazon for $30. Then I found another forum that had nothing but great things to say about Dennis Kirk's 10" Apes. The apes come dimpled so no drilling for me! :) Both should be here in the next day or so. I'll post pics once I get them installed. In total, this upgrade cost me ~$70. So I'm happy about that!
 
#30 ·
I just ordered a pair of used Classic risers from a guy on Amazon for $30. Then I found another forum that had nothing but great things to say about Dennis Kirk's 10" Apes. The apes come dimpled so no drilling for me! :) Both should be here in the next day or so. I'll post pics once I get them installed. In total, this upgrade cost me ~$70. So I'm happy about that!
Looking for the risers you posted about using. Do you have a link?
 
#25 · (Edited)
Finally...! So the company I ordered the OEM Classic risers from only sent me one of the two. I had to contact them a few time for them to send me the second riser. I completed this job last night at 12am. It only took me ~2hrs. Here are a few tips before you get started on your ape installation.

1. Cover, cover, cover, EVERYTHING. This includes the fuel tank, exhaust, and anything you don't want scratched, dinged, chipped, etc. Nothing happened to my bike while I was swapping out the bars. But, I could only imagine what could go wrong.
2. Remove the headlight. This will give you plenty of space to access the nuts holding the bars in place. This will also allow you to reroute the cabling behind the triple tree. For my bike and apes there was no way I could keep the same cable positions.
3. Once you have the new bars installed, don't completely tighten down the throttle, break lever, clutch lever, or any other attachments to the bars until you sit on your bike and make adjustments to your liking. This is what took me the longest. As I'm a bit OCD when it comes to everything being 100% centered and angled the same.
4. Clean up the cables. I used black zip ties to pull the cabling together. DO NOT over tighten the zip ties as you could pinch the brake line and restrict the clutch and brake cable from freely moving. Make sure there are no kinks or sharp bends in any of the cables.

I have attached some before and after pics. I hope this helps! Good luck!

Before:
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After:
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#26 ·
So after riding for a few days with the new apes I've noticed that the front brake hose is taught but not overly tight. Has anyone else seen the same? Any suggestions? I may end up buying a longer front brake hose.

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#28 ·
That's what I thought too. But the current route the line is going provides the greatest amount of slack. It's not like it's pulling and stretching the line. I'm not immediately worried. I may end up ordering a slightly longer line.

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