I had been thinking about a set for a while. Since I have a 2500 mile trip coming up next week I decided to take the plunge. Cornish, ME (where they are located) is about 100 miles from me or two hours. I made the appointment for today and when I arrived one of the owners, Harry, showed up in shorts and sandals and tells me he is going to do the build. Needless to say he knows all there is to know about motorcycle steering and it shows. He first showed me around the facility and informed me how they make the bars and what part each of their vendors plays. All of the bars looked first class but the ones for the big Harleys really were "amazing" (to use an over used term). Part of his tour was to show me his brand new BMW K1600B and R9 T. They will make bars for them and also use them for personal steeds. However, Harry has personally owned 3 Wings. He was impressed with the F6B.
The build took 2.5 hours and was complicated. Helibars make and use two special tools to remove heated grips. After watching him for the whole time I was impressed with his knowledge and the importance of having some one familiar with those type kits to do the work. If you want a local guy to do it make sure this isn't the first kit. I have a radar detector and Garmin GPS he had to work around but no problem. The best part was when he fitted the bars for me. He had me sit and assume different locations that I might use while driving. Once I was comfortable he set each of the locks for my position. I then packed up, paid and thanked him for 2.5 hours of learning, talk of motorcycles and airplanes. His parting words were "the bike will feel funny at first" and off I went.
Well, feel funny was an understatement. I drove out of the industrial park and stopped because the bike felt so weird. It wasn't uncomfortable but it certainly didn't feel like all the thousands of miles I driven in the past. I stopped for gas and a quick bite and off I went again. Most of my roads were rural plus some I-95. Then the feel of the bike changed as I road. As I did different maneuvers I really notice the improvements. By the time I got home I was certain this was the best improvement I had done to the F6B.
So is it worth the $800. For me it is a bargain; however, for the guys who only drive a few thousand miles a year nor ever go on "adventures" cross country you need to drive one to be sure. For the guys/women who put on the miles and do cross country it's a slam dunk.
In any case, you install one because it looks so cool!
