HANDLEBAR PULLBACK: WHY A FEW INCHES CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE

When choosing custom motorcycle handlebars, most people naturally think about rise, width and style. But there is another measurement that can make an enormous difference to how a motorcycle actually feels to ride:

Pullback.

At Fortress Motorcycle, pullback isn't simply a standard measurement that we apply to every set of bars. We consider the individual rider, the motorcycle, the seat position, the style of handlebar and how the rider actually wants the bike to feel.

Because when you're building handlebars to a rider's personal specification rather than mass-producing them, even a quarter of an inch can matter.

WHAT IS HANDLEBAR PULLBACK?

Pullback describes how far the grip sections of the handlebars come back towards the rider.

For our handlebars, we establish this during fabrication by placing the bars face-forward and flat on the operating table. The bars are positioned in our jig so that we have a consistent reference point.

Pullback is then measured vertically from the table surface at the very front of the handlebars to the nearest point on the underside of the grip section.

This gives us an accurate and repeatable measurement on both sides of the handlebars.

WHY THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF PULLBACK MATTERS

Pullback isn't just about whether the bars look right. It has a major effect on the position of the rider's hands and wrists.

Not enough pullback can be extremely uncomfortable.

If the grips sit too far forward, the rider's hands can feel as though they are being turned outwards and away from the rider. This forces the wrists into an unnatural position and can become genuinely painful, particularly on longer rides.

This applies even to T-bars and club-style bars. Although these designs generally use considerably less pullback than taller ape hangers, from our experience we consider around 2½" of pullback to be the minimum.

The objective is to bring the grips naturally towards the rider so that the hands, wrists and arms can sit in a comfortable position.

The motorcycle should fit the rider — the rider shouldn't have to adapt to badly proportioned handlebars.

THERE IS NO PERFECT PULLBACK FOR EVERY RIDER

This is where custom fabrication becomes very different from simply buying a mass-produced set of handlebars.

For 14" and 16" ape hangers, for example, we may typically work with pullback measurements such as:

6" • 6¼" • 6½" • 6¾"

But we don't simply choose one arbitrarily.

Before deciding, we'll discuss the rider's requirements and consider things such as arm length, overall body proportions, leg length, riding position, seat position and whether a backrest is fitted.

Even two riders of exactly the same height can require different handlebars.

One might have longer arms and prefer a more stretched riding position. Another may have shorter arms or sit further back on the motorcycle and want the grips brought closer.

That's why rider height alone doesn't tell the whole story.

HIGHER BARS CAN REQUIRE MORE PULLBACK

As handlebar height increases, the required pullback can increase as well.

Depending on the rider and the design, we might move to:

7" • 7¼" • 7½" or more.

The objective isn't to chase a particular number. It's to position the rider's hands where they naturally need to be.

Too little pullback can leave the rider reaching forwards and can turn the wrists uncomfortably outwards.

Too much pullback can bring the elbows too far back and create an equally unnatural riding position.

The correct measurement should allow the handlebars to come naturally to the rider rather than forcing the rider to adapt to the bars.

HANDLEBAR STYLE CHANGES EVERYTHING

Pullback also depends heavily on the style and width of the handlebars.

A traditional set of ape hangers doesn't necessarily require the same geometry as T-bars, club-style bars or FMX-style handlebars.

Some designs may only require around 5" of pullback, while low T-bars and club-style bars can use considerably less — although, as mentioned above, we generally consider approximately 2½" to be the minimum to maintain a sensible wrist position.

Width also matters.

Changing the position of the hands laterally changes the rider's arm position and consequently affects where the grips feel comfortable.

This is why looking at pullback as an isolated measurement can be misleading.

Rise, width, pullback, grip angle and rider position all work together.

HOW CAN A RIDER GET A BALLPARK MEASUREMENT?

There's a simple way to get an approximate idea of where your hands naturally want to sit before ordering custom handlebars.

Sit normally on the motorcycle with your feet where they would usually be while riding.

Relax your shoulders and place your hands in the position that feels naturally comfortable. Don't deliberately reach towards the existing grips — put your hands where your body actually wants them to be.

Then get a buddy to measure back from the front of the existing handlebars to your hands.

This isn't intended to replace the measurements we use during fabrication, but it can give us useful information when discussing the specification of your new handlebars.

Taking a photograph of yourself sitting naturally on the motorcycle can also be useful because it allows us to see your general riding position.

WHY A QUARTER OF AN INCH CAN MATTER

Measurements such as 6", 6¼", 6½" and 6¾" might appear unnecessarily precise until you consider what those measurements actually control.

They determine where your hands sit.

That affects the angle of your wrists, elbows and shoulders and ultimately the position of your upper body.

Over a short ride, a slightly uncomfortable position might not seem particularly significant.

After several hours in the saddle, it can be a completely different story.

That's why we don't automatically build every 16" ape hanger with exactly the same pullback simply because the rise is the same.

WHY WE DON'T BELIEVE IN ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL HANDLEBARS

Motorcyclists aren't built to standard dimensions, so there's little reason their handlebars should be either.

Two motorcycles of exactly the same model can require completely different setups because the people riding them are different.

That's one of the reasons Fortress Motorcycle specialises in personal-specification fabrication rather than mass production.

We can discuss the motorcycle, the rider's dimensions, riding position, preferred handlebar style and what they want to change about their existing setup before deciding on the final dimensions.

Pullback might only be measured in inches — sometimes fractions of an inch — but when those inches determine where your hands, wrists, arms and shoulders sit for hours at a time, small differences can make a very big difference.

BUILT AROUND THE RIDER

At Fortress Motorcycle, we're not interested in simply making a set of handlebars that fits the motorcycle.

We want to make a set that fits the rider.

Handcrafted. Personal specification. Built different. Built Fortress.