Apehangers

[scratch]

Did you know that handlebar height is a safety issue?

It was once dictated that handlebars should not be higher than one's armpits, because in a crash (head-on), one's arms would lock and your body would pivot up over the bars.  Thus apehangers are illegal.

[jake42]

yeah but they push it right up to the limit.  I can't remember the actual height limit, but I know a couple guys who have the highest bars allowed by law.

I think they just look dorky.

[Stephen072774]

I saw some sort of crash test a long time ago that proved the elbow was not strong enough to be able to brace yourself against the dashboard of a car and be able to keep your head from hitting the windshield in a head-on collision.  From that evidence, i think that arms locking and bodies pivoting on bike bars is not likely.  It would bend your arms back as if they were rubber and your center of mass would follow the laws of physics.

[Johnny5]

Not only that, they also look stupid. 

[makenzie71]

In Texas the bars cannot be more than 15" above the top of the seat.  Most states have similar regulations.

So yeah...it's illegal.

[pandy]

I see apehangers all the time in San Jose. 

[Johnny5]

Apehangers?

[pandy]

 

[annguyen1981]

When I took the MSF ERC, the instructor had told us stories of how guys with apehanger bars NEVER passed the course.

They just don't allow for a controlled grip.

[Jughead]

Ape Hangers and King and Queen Seats are the Shizzle.

I really am Kidding.

[The Buddha]

Dude ... apehangers are like A/C for your armpits.
BTW ... what handling, have you seen the gorilla's that use them
Cool.
Srinath.

[Unnamed]

In IL it's illegal to have bars over shoulder height.

[foobar]

Apehangers?

they don't call them apehangers for nothing...

[yamahonkawazuki]

i had put a set of 18" apes on my haro moutain bike while i was at mmi, yes i was drunk AND extremely bored, plus the apes were free

[makenzie71]

In IL it's illegal to have bars over shoulder height.

Maximum of 15" above seat height in Illinois. 

[vtlion]

It's amazing what is "illegal" in most states when you really start digging.

PA code Title 67 states all of the following regarding motorcycles:


Fails inspection if "A fender is not of a type and size used as original equipment". 

   ^ So much for that sweet fender eliminator kit... illegal

"Any motorcycle other than a motor-driven cycle (moped).    ... 86 decibels above 35 mph"

   ^ aftermarket exhaust... illegal

"Each turn signal lamp on a motorcycle manufactured on and after January 1, 1973, shall have an effective projected luminous area not less than 3 1/2 square inches."

   ^ so much for those cool flush-mount marker light signals... illegal

"A mirror shall provide a minimum reflective surface of 12 1/2 square inches for a flat mirror or 10 square inches for a convex mirror."

   ^ kiss those sweet little bar-end mirrors goodbye.. illegal


I think you get the idea.

[Jake D]

I'm pretty sure the term apehanger is a racist statement. 

[makenzie71]

yo moma

[Unnamed]

In IL it's illegal to have bars over shoulder height.

Maximum of 15" above seat height in Illinois. 

Weird, the AMA just says below shoulder height.

[baco99]

can't be above your shoulders here in MA.  guys get around it by rotating the bars toward the seat for inspection, and then rotating them back up above their heads for cruising. 

i don't understand how that is comfortable.