Installing JayBrake Forward Controls - Forward Thinking

There was a time, not too long ago, when baggers were considered an old man's bike or "the bike my dad rides." Well as you may have noticed, on the road, in the dealerships, at events, and even in our own magazines, more and more younger riders are experiencing the benefits of a bagger. For most who have jumped on the touring train, their reasoning is long distance comfort and more storage.

One thing recent bagger converts may be missing from their old ride however are forward controls. Sure one of the biggest comfort attributes of owning a bagger is the varied foot positioning floorboards offer. Some new bagger owners however, may find the floorboards obtrusive in both looks and performance-interfering with the lean angle.

While in Sturgis this past year we were standing in the JayBrake booth catching some shade when a fairly young guy pulled up on a '02 Road King and started snooping around. The RK owner mentioned how he had just sold his old Softail and picked up the RK, in fact this was his first long ride on the new bike. He commented on how he enjoyed the long ride on the RK, but he really missed the forward controls from his Softail. The owner had heard that JayBrake offered forward controls for baggers and was ready to make the purchase right there. We took advantage of the situation to shoot the install; and still hang in the shade under the JayBrake awning.