[K-Star]

Hey there! Nice ride!!

Thanks for going through the trouble of measuring. It looks like mine barely are on the high side, at about 7 5/8", if not a smidge more. (I'm adjusting a bit-- I have the lockable gas cap, which I think is a bit higher than the stock.)

I took the day off and my wife and I rode about 2 hours, broken by a stop at a brewery for lunch. I agree that lowering them will likely help; however, I think I might need a bit more . . . My goal is to get a more relaxed stretch so that I can move my feet forward enough to rest my feet on the boards and have my toes resting against the highway bar. (This was my standard position on my Road Star. Habit I suppose.) I moved the highway rubbers (I don't remember what they are called), so that my boots will not scratch the bars. (I've added a picture. She's a bit dirty as I hit a huge puddle.)

Right now, I am most comfortable with my feet right below me and flat on the boards. I'd like a bit more flexibity with regard to my positioning. I'm thinking lowering the bars and getting the reduced-reach Ultimate Seat will do the trick. (My wife thanks you for suggesting another way I can spend money on an already pricey bike . . . .)

I am hopefully making a trip to West Michigan at the end of the month, so dialing this in will be essential.

Thanks, again!

 

[eagle123]

Hey there! Nice ride!!... I moved the highway rubbers (I don't remember what they are called), so that my boots will not scratch the bars... I'm thinking lowering the bars and getting the reduced-reach Ultimate Seat will do the trick. (My wife thanks you for suggesting another way I can spend money on an already pricey bike)... I am hopefully making a trip to West Michigan at the end of the month, so dialing this in will be essential...

Hi Andy!

Thank you!

Nice trick relocating the highway bar protector things to the sides of the bar! Great idea!

And... your wife will truly thank me for making the suggestion of getting the Ultimate Seat because it's WAY more comfortable for the passenger than the stock seat, no comparison. After several hours of riding, she will be very thankful for every penny spent on it.

I've ridden assorted passengers on my assorted bikes with assorted different seats... including a newer Goldwing with stock seat... and the consensus is that the Springfield with Ultimate seat is the most comfortable ride, by far. If you're heading out to West Michigan, the seat will be well worth it.

Have a great trip!

 

[dirtymike0330]

Thank you! Just got back from Americade (2 days ago), really lucked out this year, zero rain!

K-Star, thanks for posting the excellent pic of the "buckhorn" bars on your bike. Nice!

Since I just had my SDH out, I took a few pics as well (with "buckhorn" bars installed), different color bike, different angles (pics attached).

For reference, I measured the distance from the top / center of the fuel cap, to the underside edge of the handlebar (at highest point of the curve)... see attached photo. Handlebar / front wheel carefully centered. Make sure to look straight on at the tape measure, at the location of the underside edge of the bars. On my Springfield "Classic", this measurement is 6-3/8". This is where the dealer had arbitrarily installed / adjusted my bars when I first got the bike. In my opinion, this is the most comfortable setting and yields the most effortless control of the bike.

When the dealer installed the buckhorns on my SDH, they arbitrarily adjusted the bars at 7-3/8", an inch higher than on my Springfield Classic. I can totally feel the difference. One inch is noticeable. The bars at 7-3/8" are still comfortable in my opinion, I may spend some more time with them this way to see how I like it, but already I am feeling that I will very likely wind up making the effort to adjust them down to 6-3/8". My Classic is just such a dream to ride and so easy to control. It's "perfect", in my opinion, I figure I may as well have the SDH the same way.

I hope this helps. I'd say if your "buckhorn" bar adjustment is over 7.5" (with respect to the measuring method described above and shown in attached photo), you'd likely be very happy you spent the time and effort to bring them down to about 6-3/8". But if you're already within the 6.5" - 7.5" zone, then you're probably as close to ideal as you'll get.

I'm not sure how much lower those bars could be adjusted before they'd start becoming "too low" and having interference issues. To me, 6-3/8" feels about as low as one would ever want them.

These Springfields, with "buckhorn" bars installed, are some of the most comfortable bikes I have ever ridden and handle just beautifully. Such a joy to ride.

Note: just to clarify for those who might be popping in on this thread late:
The handlebar installed on the SDH in the attached photos is the following:
HANDLEBAR, CSC SPRFLD, BLACK
Indian part # 1023152-266
(referred to by some as the "buckhorn")
These were the original stock factory bars on the 2018 Springfield Dark Horse.

View attachment 805792 View attachment 805793 View attachment 805794 View attachment 805795 View attachment 805796

Beautiful bike! Those bars look fantastic on it! I see that I can actually order that part from the Indian website (and probably will right now). Can you advise if any other parts were needed for the dealer to swap out the stock mini apes for the buckhorn bar? I am currently about 1-1.5" too far back from the stock bars and the reach is killing my back. I'm also not a fan of apes in general and much prefer these style of controls. Thanks!

Edit: I see you have these on a '23. I have a '24 DH, any issues there in your opinion?

 

[dirtymike0330]

Thanks for the tip! I feel the same way about the stock bars; so, I just ordered these from the website to ship to my dealer. (From the looks of them, I think they are similar to the one's I'm used to on my Road Star.) Do you know if the stock clutch cable will fit?

Hey K-Star! I am about to order these black buckhorns for my '24 DH and have them sent to my dealer. Did you end up needing to buy any additional parts or were they able to just swap the bars out with the existing cables and hardware?

 

[eagle123]

Beautiful bike! Those bars look fantastic on it! I see that I can actually order that part from the Indian website (and probably will right now). Can you advise if any other parts were needed for the dealer to swap out the stock mini apes for the buckhorn bar? I am currently about 1-1.5" too far back from the stock bars and the reach is killing my back. I'm also not a fan of apes in general and much prefer these style of controls. Thanks!

Edit: I see you have these on a '23. I have a '24 DH, any issues there in your opinion?

Hi Dirty Mike!

Thanks for the kind words!

Swapping out mini-apes for buckhorns is straight-forward, no other parts were needed. All cable lengths etc are fine. It was a simple, direct swap.

Only issue I encountered... I had heated grips on my original mini-apes, the dealer said that one of the heated grips (which gets glued on) was impossible to remove without destroying, so I had to buy one new heated grip. Other than that, it didn't take them long to do the swap and it all turned out perfectly.

In my opinion, the buckhorns made a world of difference. The bike is so easy to control now and handles beautifully. Not so much with the mini-apes. Mini-apes are solely about aesthetics. Ergonomically I think they're terrible.

As for `23 vs `24, I think everything is the same. I don't know this 100%, but I'd say it's a very safe bet. If you want to know for sure, just do some research to see if the mini-ape part number for the `23's is the same as that for the `24's, if so, you should have zero issues.

Good luck! Post pics of your bike once the buckhorns have been installed!

 

[dirtymike0330]

Hi Dirty Mike!

Thanks for the kind words!

Swapping out mini-apes for buckhorns is straight-forward, no other parts were needed. All cable lengths etc are fine. It was a simple, direct swap.

Only issue I encountered... I had heated grips on my original mini-apes, the dealer said that one of the heated grips (which gets glued on) was impossible to remove without destroying, so I had to buy one new heated grip. Other than that, it didn't take them long to do the swap and it all turned out perfectly.

In my opinion, the buckhorns made a world of difference. The bike is so easy to control now and handles beautifully. Not so much with the mini-apes. Mini-apes are solely about aesthetics. Ergonomically I think they're terrible.

As for `23 vs `24, I think everything is the same. I don't know this 100%, but I'd say it's a very safe bet. If you want to know for sure, just do some research to see if the mini-ape part number for the `23's is the same as that for the `24's, if so, you should have zero issues.

Good luck! Post pics of your bike once the buckhorns have been installed!

The part numbers for the 23 and 24 mini-apes match! I went ahead and ordered the buckhorns! I also just got back from the dealer (dropping something off) and sat on a '24 Springfield Classic while I was there, to get a better idea of what the new bars will be like... suffice it to say that I am very excited about getting this swap done. My dealer said they had to call Indian and speak to his techs about if they can install, since the part is technically listed as "does not fit", but I'm confident this will work out based on this thread.

This will likely also be a slightly cheaper option for me than buying the Ultimate Seats reduced touring seat, which would probably also work since being 1.5ish inches closer to the mini apes would fix the reach issue, but I just really am not a fan of the aesthetic of them (and the stock seat on the '24 seems pretty comfortable tbh).

Will post pics when it's all said and done, thanks for the quick reply.

 

[eagle123]

The part numbers for the 23 and 24 mini-apes match! I went ahead and ordered the buckhorns!...

Nice!

Just remember, the handlebar adjustment is important for yielding ideal comfort and handling. My dealer had initially adjusted my new buckhorns about an inch "too high", seemingly very minor, but I could totally feel it when riding and was not happy. So I re-adjusted the bars myself and now it's perfect for me.

But if you want to avoid having to re-adjust the bars yourself (which can be a little bit of a pain), see if you can go into the shop while the dealer mechanics are doing the work and have them let you move the bars into the position that is best for you, before they torque everything down and button it up.

Best of luck! Again, post pics!

 

[K-Star]

Hey K-Star! I am about to order these black buckhorns for my '24 DH and have them sent to my dealer. Did you end up needing to buy any additional parts or were they able to just swap the bars out with the existing cables and hardware?

Hi there! It looksl like your questions have been answered. The buckhorns I ordered went on without the need for additional parts. It does make a world of difference! Good luck!

 

[dirtymike0330]

Hi there! It looksl like your questions have been answered. The buckhorns I ordered went on without the need for additional parts. It does make a world of difference! Good luck!

Haha yep, I was covering my bases in case one of you wasn't active anymore Thank you!

 

[dirtymike0330]

Well, I can confirm the 2018 buckhorn-style bars work on a '24 SFDH! Between that extra pullback and the reduced reach seat from Ultimate, my ride home from the dealer ended up being in the perfect riding position and I felt like I could do it all day (I'm 5'10 for reference). Took a second to get a feel for them after being on the stock mini-apes, but I really like the perceived difference in comfort and control. Big thanks to this forum!

 

[Sultan]

I love the original chrome handlebars that came stock on my regular 2018 Springfield, I believe they've been referred to around here as "buckhorn" style. Extremely comfortable and offer great control. These chrome bars have come factory stock on all non-Dark Horse Springfield models from 2018 to the present (2023), and are known to Indian as:
HANDLEBAR, CSC SPRFLD, CHROME - part # 1023152-156

I recently received my new 2023 Springfield Dark Horse that came stock with black 12" "mini-apes" / "mid-rise" handlebars. After having ridden with them for almost 500 miles now, I am finding that I do not like them at all. Cool, aggressive, chopper vibe and everything, fun for about 15 minutes, beyond that they cause me a good deal of upper arm / shoulder pain. As well, they make precision low-speed handling / control more difficult, compared to "buckhorn" style bars on this bike.

What I'd like to do is obtain bars that are identical to what is on my 2018 chrome, "classic" Springfield bike (as described above), but will need the bars in BLACK, to match the blacked-out trim of the Dark Horse. I'd rather not have to deal with powder-coating chrome bars if at all possible.

Does anyone know for sure if the bars that came factory stock on a 2018 Springfield Dark Horse are the same exact bars that came on the regular 2018 Springfield, except in black? If so, will these fit on a 2023 Springfield?

Apparently, in 2020, Indian started putting the black mini-apes on the Springfield Dark Horse. In 2018, it appears that the SDH came with more of a "buckhorn" style bar, in black. In 2019, the factory bar also looks somewhat buckhorn-ish. But the part numbers for the black SDH handlebars specified for 2018 and 2019 are different. I wonder how the 2018 and 2019 SDH bars actually differ?

For reference, below are the part numbers for all Springfield factory handlebars:
2016 - `17 Springfield factory chrome bars: HANDLEBAR, BEACH, CHROME - 1021107-156 ("beach?")
2018 - `23 Springfield factory chrome bars: HANDLEBAR, CSC SPRFLD, CHROME - 1023152-156 ("buckhorn")
2018 Springfield Dark Horse factory black bars: HANDLEBAR, CSC SPRFLD, BLACK - 1023152-266 ("buckhorn")
2019 Springfield Dark Horse factory black bars: WELD-HANDLEBAR,CRUISE,BLK - 1023105-266 ("buckhorn?")
2020 - '23 Springfield Dark Horse factory black bars: HANDLEBAR, LOW-APE,BLK - 1025033-266 ("12-inch mini-apes", or "mid-rise")

Any help on how to obtain a 2018 - 2023 Springfield "buckhorn" style bar (1023152-156), but in BLACK instead of chrome, please do enlighten. Thank you!

Hi there, hope all is well.
i have 23 SDH , i want to change the handle. As you mentioned, you got part 1023152-266. But in the website it says if wont fit. Therefore, i wanted to be sure about it .. and if you have pictures. Id like to see

 

[dirtymike0330]

Hi there, hope all is well.
i have 23 SDH , i want to change the handle. As you mentioned, you got part 1023152-266. But in the website it says if wont fit. Therefore, i wanted to be sure about it .. and if you have pictures. Id like to see

Hey, the part absolutely 100% fits! They are on the bike in the 3 pictures in the last post before your reply. I am going to get them lowered a little more on Tuesday when I go in for break-in service. I'll add a couple here for you too

 

[Sultan]

Hey, the part absolutely 100% fits! They are on the bike in the 3 pictures in the last post before your reply. I am going to get them lowered a little more on Tuesday when I go in for break-in service. I'll add a couple here for you too View attachment 847518
View attachment 847517

I really appreciate your reply and the pictures.
they look super cool .. vintage looking.
So this handlebar is the only classic option will be ?

 

[Sultan]

hi dirtymike..
i just read the previous conversation which you had with eagle..

Did you too had an issue with one of the grips while removing it?

 

[dirtymike0330]

hi dirtymike..
i just read the previous conversation which you had with eagle..

Did you too had an issue with one of the grips while removing it?

No issue on my end! The dealer swapped the apes for the buckhorns, and I had them install heated grips while they were doing that. Everything works great!