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Main Area => Odds n Ends => Topic started by: scratch on June 20, 2007, 11:20:47 AM

Title: Apehangers
Post by: scratch on June 20, 2007, 11:20:47 AM
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.
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: jake42 on June 20, 2007, 11:23:41 AM
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.
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: Stephen072774 on June 20, 2007, 11:57:51 AM
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 :o and your center of mass would follow the laws of physics.
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: Johnny5 on June 20, 2007, 12:08:35 PM
Not only that, they also look stupid.  :laugh:
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: makenzie71 on June 20, 2007, 12:23:09 PM
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.
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: pandy on June 20, 2007, 01:20:07 PM
I see apehangers all the time in San Jose.  :cookoo:
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: Johnny5 on June 20, 2007, 01:39:58 PM
Apehangers?

(http://www.geniusjones.coresense.com/images/products/our%20childrens%20gorilla/ape-hanger-Z.jpg)
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: pandy on June 20, 2007, 01:40:57 PM
 :laugh:
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: annguyen1981 on June 20, 2007, 06:20:30 PM
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.
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: Jughead on June 20, 2007, 06:28:50 PM
Ape Hangers and King and Queen Seats are the Shizzle. :thumb:

I really am Kidding.
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: The Buddha on June 20, 2007, 09:00:14 PM
Dude ... apehangers are like A/C for your armpits.
BTW ... what handling, have you seen the gorilla's that use them ???
Cool.
Srinath.
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: Unnamed on June 20, 2007, 10:00:18 PM
In IL it's illegal to have bars over shoulder height.
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: foobar on June 20, 2007, 10:11:49 PM
Quote from: Johnny5 on June 20, 2007, 01:39:58 PM
Apehangers?

(http://www.geniusjones.coresense.com/images/products/our%20childrens%20gorilla/ape-hanger-Z.jpg)

they don't call them apehangers for nothing...
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: yamahonkawazuki on June 21, 2007, 12:31:38 AM
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 :thumb:
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: makenzie71 on June 21, 2007, 02:01:19 AM
Quote from: Unnamed on June 20, 2007, 10:00:18 PM
In IL it's illegal to have bars over shoulder height.

Maximum of 15" above seat height in Illinois. 
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: vtlion on June 21, 2007, 05:07:21 AM
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.
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: Jake D on June 21, 2007, 12:02:12 PM
I'm pretty sure the term apehanger is a racist statement. 
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: makenzie71 on June 21, 2007, 12:24:03 PM
yo moma
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: Unnamed on June 21, 2007, 04:26:12 PM
Quote from: makenzie71 on June 21, 2007, 02:01:19 AM
Quote from: Unnamed on June 20, 2007, 10:00:18 PM
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.
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: baco99 on June 22, 2007, 08:38:13 AM
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.
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: makenzie71 on June 22, 2007, 10:59:38 AM
Quote from: Unnamed on June 21, 2007, 04:26:12 PMWeird, the AMA just says below shoulder height.

You're right.  I must have clicked the wrong state the other night.
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: RVertigo on June 22, 2007, 12:20:55 PM
It's funny to look at what you can and can't do in some states.  In ID you don't need a helmet or eye protection, but you have to have insurance... While in WA you need a helmet and eye protection, but not insurance.


http://www.amadirectlink.com/legisltn/laws.asp
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: makenzie71 on June 22, 2007, 12:26:24 PM
i like the ones that say they honor out of state requirements...so if i registered my bike in GA I could ride in texasa with no registration, inspection, or insurance. Just a helmet.
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: bettingpython on June 22, 2007, 12:38:58 PM
I would be careful following the AMA websites advice on some laws. In oklahoma it says lane splitting is not referenced in codes or statutes.

Oklahoma law says
in title 47 chapter 11 section 1103 subsection D it states that No driver of a motorcycle, motor-driven cycle, motorized scooter, motorized bicycle, or electric assisted bicycle shall pass other vehicles between lanes of traffic traveling in the same direction.
Title: Re: Apehangers
Post by: Jughead on June 22, 2007, 04:32:41 PM
A Friend of Mine In Texas Had that Lane Splitting Problem.Texas was going to Pass it Until it was Legal to lane Split.To make sure He stopped Several Troopers,Cops ETC. just to make sure it was Legal.Everyone of them said that it was Legal.So on the Way Home One day he got in the Middle of a Traffic Jam in Austin and Decided to Lane Split.A Trooper Lit Him Up and Wrote Him a Ticket.Thru 2-3 Court Days they Couldn't Decide if it were Legal or Not. :icon_confused: While Looking thru One of my New Cycle World Magazines there was an Article in the Ups and Downs Section that Said that it was Legal to Lane Split.I emailed Him and He Went and Bought a Cycle World and took it to Court. :thumb: :thumb: Soon as He Showed it to the Judge it was Dismissed. :thumb: :thumb: