14" KST Pathfinder install
 

Or, where have you been all my life, 14" apes?



I'm getting old. I have minor stenosis in a few of my cervical vertebrae, which - if I don't keep my posture just so - causes tingling and numbness in my left arm. I'm broken down too. I had a microdiscectomy for my L1/S1 vertebrae back in April. I also had a nasty bunch compression fractures in my left wrist from a bike wreck a few years ago. It healed, but the bones knitted back together just a bit crooked, so my left hand sort of sits at a weird angle at the wrist.



I'd pushed the stock Ultra bars forward a bit, but the pullback on them was just too much. I've ridden like that for just about 4 years, but my last ride to Toledo and back left me with numb hands and a sore back from slumping over.



I saw a thread here about the KST Vanguard series bars, loved the adjustability of the pullback, and figured, "what the hell?" Ordered them from Dennis Kirk, waited a week, and here we are. Also decided to install Harley heated grips at the same time.



The video from KST leaves some stuff out and oversimplifies the installation. The written instructions are pretty poor (but still better than Harley's instructions for the grips. Having a shop manual helps.



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Getting the old bars off is simple. The KST video forgets to tell you to remove the trigger button from the left grip. Small screwdriver, slide it outboard and off. Definitely put a towel over the tank. I'd already removed the pin from the bar clamp, a hammer and punch snap the pins off the clutch and brake clamps.



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Have a seat at the kitchen table, pull the wires out of the old bars. Take the lower mount for the new bars, make sure it's oriented per the instructions, and put the two side pieces into the lower clamps. Pound them flush with the bottom with a rubber or leather mallet. Snug but don't tighten the pinch bolts.



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Take the woven "finger trap", thread it through the new bars, stick the plugs in the top end (I used blue painter's tape on one plug that wouldn't fit), and run the new wires. Piece of cake.



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Get the new bars on the bike, make sure the hydraulic lines are behind the bars and that the wiring can be run behind the nacelle, and clamp the bars down. Get on the bike, adjust everything where you want it, whip out your torque wrench, and tighten everything down.



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The wiring is a piece of cake. The hydraulic lines......No so. KST says you can use the stock lines, and you can, but...I don't like how tight they are. At full lock, you'll pull the line loom on the right side (the plastic piece that all the hydraulic lines run through) out of its holder. These bars really need another inch on each of the lines, 2" would be even better. So I got a set of the Harley Diamondback lines and all's well.



Anyhoo, I buttoned everything up and went for a ride. Total time was 4 hours, and I could do it again in 2 hours.



Holy mother of god.....I can't believe how much more comfortable my bike is. I rode for 90 minutes and no numbness or tingling in my hands or arms. My back stayed straight without having to think about it. These things are the shiznit.

A few more...

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Looks great Russ!

They look to be about 4” taller than stock. How is the pullback adjustable?


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So the bars are 3 pieces. There's the base, then the two uprights with the grips on the ends. Two pinch bolts on either side, so that you can rotate the uprights. It's freaking amazing. Literally the two sides are asymmetrical thanks to the wreck, and it's crazy comfortable.

I was considering Heli Bars, but they're butt-ugly and stupid expensive. The pinch bolts are all but invisible unless you're looking for them.

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Congrats and welcome to the Ape Hangers Club. I went that route years back for neck and shoulder relief. Only went 12", but what a difference. I didn't install heated grips though. Sometimes think maybe 13" or 14" would have been better, but hands nearly level with shoulders and and a good 2" above the fairing. This causes additional cold to the hands in winter and hot sticky bugs in summer, but I'll never go back to anything lower.

:thumbsup:

I remember you being unhappy with the WO575s we installed on your old bike and that you went higher on the Street Glide. Between some stenosis in my neck and the back surgery, I was getting pain on the ride to and from Toledo last month and realized that I needed to try something or I wouldn't be able to ride for more than an hour or so.

I haven't done any long rides since the install (2 hours max, I think), but without having to think about it my back stays straight and my shoulders stay back. I've had zero tingling or numbness in my fingers. Though I'm not a fan of the ape "look", they're going to allow me to keep riding. More than that though, with no pain I want to ride more.

Those look GREAT! Being blessed with short legs and a long torso the stock stuff makes my neck seize up after about 1/2 hour. Haven't tried 14's but 12's is the lowest I'm comfortable with. Will have to look into those bars, had a Kawi Voyager with bars that adjusted that way and it was amazing how a little adjustment made such a BIG difference.

Thanks! They'll fit a Road King too...

Wow. WO575's, dang good memory Russ. Wish mine was as good.:unsure:

Lately I've been chasing a buzz in the bars. I have replaced all wheel bearings, conducted run out on the rotors (replaced one) and it still comes back. Typically not there in straight line, but lean just left or right and it's noticeable. I'm starting to think it's the tires. They are Commander II's and first time I've used them. Have around 7000 on them thus far. Figure will get something else or go back to elite 3's when tread is done. Problem is the front Elite 3 cups so bad on this bike I hate riding in the neighborhood at 25 mph. I get some numbness in my fingers from prolonged cornering, which is 50% of my ride to work. :whistling:

I did find some postings from others who suspected the same buzz from their tires.

Mike,

I ran an E3 on the front of the 'b' for awhile, 'til a nail took it out.

That tire, while not buzzy, sure was rumbly. So much so that I thought the wheel bearings were bad. Installed new, problem persisted.

I'm running an American Elite on the front now. It is a much smoother, quieter running tire. And it handles just as good as an E3.

Perhaps give that one consideration......

Thanks, I'll check that out. :thumbsup:

I have some stenosis as well, which caused similar tingling. After a bunch of "hmmmms" and "ahhhhhs" from various docs, I went to see a PT in Destin named Scott Russin. He takes care of professional athletes and occasionally us mere minions as well. He gave me some exercises using freakin' 2lb weights and rubber bands that flat wore my ass out, but I don't have tingling issues anymore--and my posture is better.

One of the major antagonists to this problem is internal rotation, which is your shoulders essentially being pulled fwd by your pecs. Our modern propensity to over-develop pecs and ignore our backs, and then sit in front of computers all the time exacerbates the condition. This closes up the conduit through your shoulder joint where the nerves that are already being pressed in your vertebrae have to transit. If you're interested, I can write up the regimen. In the meantime, consciously think about keeping your shoulders pulled back. You might be surprised at how fast your body will just fall into that fwd posture without you knowing.

That's the god's honest truth. It was so bad that I couldn't lie flat for the MRI 18 months ago. I do doorway stretches - lots of them - every day, as well as a bunch of other stretches. The worst thing for me? It was my damn progressive-lens bifocals. I was looking up to read my computer at work, and it screwed my posture up big time. Between that and the sciatica I could barely walk, much less ride.

I had to wear what looked like a shoulder holster that pulled my shoulders back for about a month. I've gotten much better about my posture, which was probably why the old bars started bothering me so much.

Ha, yeah, I have a shoulder holster as well. I occasionally still wear it when I notice I've become lazy about keeping my shoulders where they're supposed to be. I solved the sciatica issue long ago by not having a wallet half a foot thick. As for the bars, I'm very happy w/the 20" Gimp Hangers.

You mean when I get it back together, going to bare frame to get the rust fixed......:roflback::roflback::roflback:

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