Electric Reverse

[Ironhorsepilot]

I am thinking about putting in a "geared" reverse on my TG. What would be the recommended brand? After hearing about another electric reverse failure with injuries, I am real leery of the thing. I would hope HD would come up with a recall. Every time we mention it to the dealers, they have heard nothing. I have heard of at least 3 and that is 3 too many. Seems it engages while traveling down the road.

 

[tfdeputydawg]

Being electric-not sure how it would have enough power to cause a problem going "down the road" if there is some way it could possibly engage. I would think it would be over powered and damage to the reverse motor might happen.
Any verification of these "happenings" or are they he said/I heard stories?
Did hear of some reverse motors coming loose, even falling off but saw no proof of that either!

 

[Gorilla]

I am thinking about putting in a "geared" reverse on my TG. What would be the recommended brand? After hearing about another electric reverse failure with injuries, I am real leery of the thing. I would hope HD would come up with a recall. Every time we mention it to the dealers, they have heard nothing. I have heard of at least 3 and that is 3 too many. Seems it engages while traveling down the road.

Joan, Ultra Boy has "AIM" reverses. I purchased mine from him. Champion also sells a reverse. They both are similiar. I like my AIM and it does the job when needed. I do not use it often. HD is not admitting the weakness, but they did re-design and re-locate the breaker in 2010.

 

[Bikerbozo]

On my 2010 Tri-Glide, I heard Reverse motor coming on randomly, but not engaging. Local dealer was aware of problem and replaced Starter Button and Ignition Switch. Might also be with Reverse starter switch. Once again, The Factory knows of a problem but you will rarely hear of a recall. worked fine since fix.

 

[tfdeputydawg]

Recalls are for use when the suspected failure mode can happen to the majority.
Sometimes a root cause process can isolate a certain run of a certain part. Then vehicles within a certain vin range will be flagged for a recall because they might contain some of the suspected parts.
Apparently this concern has not reached the recall level yet.
However, if someone has real evidence of injures cause from defective reverse motors on Harley's, by all means present it.
I don't have a Harley but, I certainly know how to get things moving at the MoCo as I was a Field Rep for GM both in Reliability and in Product Engineering.
HD was a customer for many years. We provided the lamps to HD for a long time til they found out, they could buy cheaper from over the pond!
Service bulletins are issued often to correct issues that are rarely seen.
Whom at what factory would be aware of this "problem"?

 

[Maryland Triker]

I had a champion reverse on my 2004 HD w/motortrike kit and hated the darn thing.:Monster: It worked best when cold and once you rode & engine was hot I would almost invariably burn my knuckles putting it in reverse (5 spd tranny). I love the electric reverse on my TG don't have to worry about making sure u take it out of reverse before putting in first gear or putting it in reverse (TG won't go to reverse unless in neutral) HD did a great job on that at least.epper:

 

[Ironhorsepilot]

There is a new guy on here (forgot his name) that was on the chat forum the other night and said that his TG (either a 2010 or a 2011) went into reverse at 55 mph and threw them into oncoming traffic. His wife was badly injured! Would THAT be enough for a recall? There have been others on another forum that it has happened to, but at a lower speed. Hubby says he doesn't want to see me splattered all over the interstate.....me either.
But I really don't want true duals as I have heard they really kill the power on the TG. So can it be done without the true duals? UB?

Also, I PM'd the man it happened to, but haven't heard back. Like was it raining out? Did they hit a big puddle? I have heard that the problems with the 09's were after a rain or otherwise wet conditions.

 

[Oldmsocko]

There is a new guy on here (forgot his name) that was on the chat forum the other night and said that his TG (either a 2010 or a 2011) went into reverse at 55 mph and threw them into oncoming traffic. His wife was badly injured! Would THAT be enough for a recall? There have been others on another forum that it has happened to, but at a lower speed. Hubby says he doesn't want to see me splattered all over the interstate.....me either.
But I really don't want true duals as I have heard they really kill the power on the TG. So can it be done without the true duals? UB?

Also, I PM'd the man it happened to, but haven't heard back. Like was it raining out? Did they hit a big puddle? I have heard that the problems with the 09's were after a rain or otherwise wet conditions.

You are correct about wet conditions. I had a problem with my reverse and it happended after riding in heavy rain for 2 days. The dealer replaced my starter switch, kill switch and related wiring. Haven't had any problems since then.

 

[Ironhorsepilot]

There was someone else too. It freaked them out so bad that they took the trike back and traded it in on a 2 wheel HD and put a side car on. I forgot about yours Mike. Was there anyone else that you can remember?

 

[msocko3]

If I was to go the geared reverse on my Triglide I'd go with the AIM product, I like the looks of how it is designed and ease of installation vs other brand reverse kits,

 

[John Luciano]

Wow I would cut the wires off that thing. I have rev on the wing and I might use it 5 times a year. ( sometimes just to show off ) careful parking, think of a situation before you park and you may never need it . Aint that what the co rider is for? <LOL>

 

[Ironhorsepilot]

Wow I would cut the wires off that thing. I have rev on the wing and I might use it 5 times a year. ( sometimes just to show off ) careful parking, think of a situation before you park and you may never need it . Aint that what the co rider is for? <LOL>

Well, I don't have a co rider on the trike, plus I use the reverse every time I ride. I need it to get out of the garage. I am short and my feet don't reach the ground, so no way I am going to be manually pushing the trike.

 

[BinIdaho]

Hmm, haven't had any problems with reverse on my '09 TG...even rode in pouring down rain. Rarely use it. The only ones that use the parking brake is when TG serviced.

 

[Ironhorsepilot]

OH! How kind of you, Dave! Thanks. You guys on here sure give great customer service. Now, if it doesn't cost a billion $$$ and is easy enough to do ourselves.

Joan

 

[Ironhorsepilot]

Hmm, haven't had any problems with reverse on my '09 TG...even rode in pouring down rain. Rarely use it. The only ones that use the parking brake is when TG serviced.

Barbara, mine has been fine, too! It has never let me down, even backing up hill and with me accidently putting brake on while backing, it never tripped. I am just doing this as a preventative. I would not want to be on that trike going 60 mph and that is the day it decides to screw up. It may never......but if my hubby worries about it, then I listen. He doesn't worry about much.

 

[bigballer]

Haven't had any problem with my 09 either. Knock on wood.ray:

 

[Gorilla]

Joan it's not that difficult to install. I think George should be able to handle it. You also if you can wield a wrench. Good instructions. You can actually download the instructions from their site to get an idea.

 

[Oldmsocko]

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<img src="images/misc/quote_icon.png" alt="Quote" /> Originally Posted by <strong>Ironhorsepilot</strong>
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<div class="message">Barbara, mine has been fine, too! It has never let me down, even backing up hill and with me accidently putting brake on while backing, it never tripped. I am just doing this as a preventative. I would not want to be on that trike going 60 mph and that is the day it decides to screw up. It may never......but if my hubby worries about it, then I listen. He doesn't worry about much.</div>

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</div>Joan: If he is that worried than changing it is the right thing to do. Every once in a while I certainly consider it. I haven't had any problems since the first time. Just keeoing my fingers creoosed. Possibly my problem has been resolved and never to return.

 

[Boom]

Joan, I think there was a post last year on another forum about someone's reverse motor actually falling out! The bolts had come loose and it wasn't caught by the service tech. Don't like to throw a scare into anybody but do what you feel is right.

 

[Ironhorsepilot]

Re: Electric Reverse UPDATE

I hope that this member doesn't mind me sharing this PM, but I feel like I need to. I am not giving his name for privacy and he can pipe in if he wants. <br />
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Quote:<br />
"We had no warning, just a grinding noise and it engaged almost immediatly. She broke a hip, compond fracture of the ankle, broke her plevis in 2 places and broke ribs. She was in the hospital for 5 weeks and lots of therapy. She will never be the same. Harley says it can't happen. It had to be driver error!!!!!!!<br />
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He was traveling at 55 MPH and was thrown into oncoming traffic and ended up in the ditch.<br />
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Anyone figure out how it could be "driver" error? I can't.

 

[hauswir]

When our accident happened it was a clear beautiful day. There was a grinding noise for a split second and then a terrible left side drag. We had had the grinding noise before and took it back to the dealer. He said it was nothing and reset the breaker and sent us home. Fifty miles later the accident occured. The trike had 312 miles on it. Harley said it couldn't happen. They won't do a thing about it. I have ridden bikes all my life, but will never get on another one. The ring gear and starter have damage on them.

I sure hope nobody else gets hurt, but that is what it will take for them to do something.

 

[Ironhorsepilot]

Thanks for telling your story, hauswir. Hopefully, it will save someone else from getting really injured. I will keep riding mine until my other gear comes in, but I should have it installed before spring long distance riding weather. Also may help to know what year your trike is.

 

[hauswir]

Sorry I did not discribe the trike; 2010 Tri Glide Ultra classic.

 

[Gorilla]

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<img src="images/misc/quote_icon.png" alt="Quote" /> Originally Posted by <strong>hauswir</strong>
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<div class="message">When our accident happened it was a clear beautiful day. There was a grinding noise for a split second and then a terrible left side drag. We had had the grinding noise before and took it back to the dealer. He said it was nothing and reset the breaker and sent us home. Fifty miles later the accident occured. The trike had 312 miles on it. Harley said it couldn't happen. They won't do a thing about it. I have ridden bikes all my life, but will never get on another one. The ring gear and starter have damage on them.

I sure hope nobody else gets hurt, but that is what it will take for them to do something.</div>

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</div>Wow, I would be seeking legal advise on that. Even if it was driver error and I'm sure it wasn't, The system should of been designed as to not allow reverse to engage while driving down the road in forward. Something shorted causing the reverse motor to engage. I hope you have the damaged parts to show the cause.

 

[msocko3]

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<img src="images/misc/quote_icon.png" alt="Quote" /> Originally Posted by <strong>hauswir</strong>
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<div class="message">When our accident happened it was a clear beautiful day. There was a grinding noise for a split second and then a terrible left side drag. We had had the grinding noise before and took it back to the dealer. He said it was nothing and reset the breaker and sent us home. Fifty miles later the accident occured. The trike had 312 miles on it. Harley said it couldn't happen. They won't do a thing about it. I have ridden bikes all my life, but will never get on another one. The ring gear and starter have damage on them.

I sure hope nobody else gets hurt, but that is what it will take for them to do something.</div>

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</div>I'd have a lawyer after both HD and the dealer, you can't imagine how much I'm fuming from just reading your story right now. Over the past year and a half I have lost a lot of faith in Harley Davidson and the crummy dealer we used to do business with. Electronics are not foolproof, they can and will fail at times. They may feel so sure that their little computer and interlocks are going to keep reverse from activating, I'm not sure they should be so smug because water in the right places can make bad things happen. Kind of makes me wonder if I should unhook mine and go to a AIM mechanical unit as much as I hate thinking about pulling the exhaust off again, just had it off when I changed the cams.

 

[Ironhorsepilot]

I'd have a lawyer after both HD and the dealer, you can't imagine how much I'm fuming from just reading your story right now. Over the past year and a half I have lost a lot of faith in Harley Davidson and the crummy dealer we used to do business with. Electronics are not foolproof, they can and will fail at times. They may feel so sure that their little computer and interlocks are going to keep reverse from activating, I'm not sure they should be so smug because water in the right places can make bad things happen. Kind of makes me wonder if I should unhook mine and go to a AIM mechanical unit as much as I hate thinking about pulling the exhaust off again, just had it off when I changed the cams.

Looking at the instructions, it doesn't look like you have to pull the exhaust off.
Look at part # MB002-003.