hey I am trying to install some 12" ape hangers on my 1998 savage.  I have a few questions: 1) are there any general concerns for the install/operating post install 2) Extensions (are there such things) Vs. completely new extended cables 3) On Ebay there are a bunch of handlebars for Harleys and other brands that are less expensive than the ones specifically fabricated for the Savage, what are the major differences (other than internal wiring).

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Just wondering, what is the purpose of ape hangers?? Is it for looks only, or does it improve handling or comfort for some riders??

Yonuh Adisi FSO wrote on 04/18/10 at 17:39:48:



ah!!!  you've got so many of these posts throughout the forum.  

you really are a jedi knight

a jedi knight on a mission to only have people post questions in the appropriate section.  

omahasavage wrote on 04/27/10 at 19:19:55:


Just trying to get people to follow the posting rules is all. After all right up there it says. DO NOT POST QUESTIONS HERE but does anyone pay attention? Nope.

As for ape hangers, Demin pretty much said what I would have said. If not too high they are actually comfortable. I have 10 inch apes on mine.

A bit late, but my Savage is on it's second set of apes, 15" rise this time.

ANY 1" bar without dimpling will work fine, which means the nice inexpensive pre-82 HD stuff. Or knock-offs there of. ONLY buy bars from Flanders, Krome Werks or other American companies, the cheap Taiwanese and Chinese stuff from MotoAsia, Emgo, etc is junk. Get them from your local independent HD shop, avoid authorized stealerships at all cost.

New longer cables are a must for anything over 10" rise. Get hold of Lancer, you will get them faster than trying to mock something up yourself. I use Shovelhead cables and drilled out my clutch lever to suit.

Deep six your riser insulators, replace them with steel washers. Yes, the bars will vibrate like crazy, but high bars and rubber mounts are dangerous, the mounts WILL fail. You can try urethane mounts, but they won't hold up much better.

For your own sake, PIN your riser caps to your bars! Drill through the cap, into the bar. Use a roll pin, a drift pin or a grade 5 self-tapping screw. Savage riser knurling is too shallow for the stock buckhorns, apes amplify the stress at least twice that. Unpinned bars WILL move. And the Savage has wide spaced risers, apes are made for HD standard 3.5" on center risers. You may catch 1/2 the bar knurling, if you are lucky.

I've been riding with apes on HDs, Triumphs and metric cruisers since 1987. Never had a hard mounted pinned set move on me. I even through pin dogbone risers and bars on springers.

Find your sweet spot and lock them down. Hard. I don't like reading about crashes (no such thing as an accident).