I too had never done any performance work on my 2011 Tri Glide until last week when I bit that 1,800 dollar bullit, Screamin Eagle Super Tuner and air cleaner with Fulsac ceramic catless true duals and RC X-Haust pipes.....INCREDIBLE difference... like I am on a different machine!!
2011h-d trike heat
- Thread starter arnie
- Start date
Hey Gary.... take the doors out of the lowers. It only takes a few minutes and will make a little difference.
Most don't know that you can do this. Most sliding doors in the lowers will close via vibrations while you ride. There is an adjustment just inside the glove compartment, take a 1/2" socket and tighten the nut to make them harder to move so they won't close by themselves or just take them off during the summer riding season.
Most don't know that you can do this. Most sliding doors in the lowers will close via vibrations while you ride. There is an adjustment just inside the glove compartment, take a 1/2" socket and tighten the nut to make them harder to move so they won't close by themselves or just take them off during the summer riding season.
The before and after grin is dynamic, yes?
My grin is too big to fit in my helmut !! LOL
The real test will be this August when we go to Sturgis...if my Tri-Glide fails or is just miserable to be on I will kick it to the curb and get somthing else. I have spent enough money over the years on HD to know when to pull the plug on a bad model before it takes you down with it. So far I havent had any heating problems problems but it is not summer yet. I will probably do some minor up-grades, synthetic oil, maybe slip-ons, crotch cooler, etc. But as far as the 2-3 grand up-grades no way. I can put that money into one of my other bikes and get more satisfaction out of the money spent. I admit that I am new to the HD trikes but I have had HDs for a while and know the history of the heating problem all to well. I will not be biased after reading some of these posts and give the trike a fair trial and see what I come up with.
First I ride a 2008 FLHTP "Cop Glide". I got this bike rite after it came out of service from the Illinois State Police Department. In September of 2009. I waited in line for the Thundermax Auto Tune for TBW for about seven months. I also added D&D true duals when the tuner was put in. I had already been running the D&D four inch mufflers and SE air cleaner prior to that. The program has way more stuff in it than I know what to do with. The bike runs great, cool and wicked fast if I need it. I average 35 mpg, however I ride. And I always keep the stock ECM handy in my saddle bag, just in case. I got about $2500 in that set up.
Forward to September 2010, my wife decided to ride her own bike. Well it ended up being a 2011 TG. I put the first 600 to 700 miles on it, with her on the back. Cooler weather no heat issues. She had surgery in December and did not really start riding it till the spring. As she was riding around local the heat got to be an issue. She was learning no trips just around the neighborhood. This is about the second trip we took, she did not want me working on it, but after this she said " do what you gotta Do" or something to that extent:
This was after we made it back home. This was less than a 200 mile round trip:
I put the Fuel Moto head pipe in it and the Jackpot mufflers, the SE air cleaner and the PCV. The PCV just plugs into the diagnostic port, you copy and save the stock map and download the custom map into the ECM. Unplug the PCV put it in your pocket or leave it at home. I got $1800 and some change in that set up. She gets a little less mileage than me, around 34 mpg. But it made the bike wake up and the heat is no longer an issue.
We did have to do some other things to make the bike "fit" her better and they helped to manage the heat as well. She had the dealer put on 2 inch pull back handle bars, they fit her better and got her back off the top of the motor. As well as the highway pegs. Removed the lowers. And I added an "EVO" style air cleaner cover to keep her short legs off the breather. That made a big difference in itself.
I know it's not the iron butt of the year award but she managed to get 5000 miles on the bike the first year. We made some nice overnight trips a few times. And a 1500 mile/ 8 day round trip from here to Savannah Georgia then Florida and back home thrue Alabama. If not for the heat mods, I'm not sure she would have made it.
Forward to September 2010, my wife decided to ride her own bike. Well it ended up being a 2011 TG. I put the first 600 to 700 miles on it, with her on the back. Cooler weather no heat issues. She had surgery in December and did not really start riding it till the spring. As she was riding around local the heat got to be an issue. She was learning no trips just around the neighborhood. This is about the second trip we took, she did not want me working on it, but after this she said " do what you gotta Do" or something to that extent:
This was after we made it back home. This was less than a 200 mile round trip:
I put the Fuel Moto head pipe in it and the Jackpot mufflers, the SE air cleaner and the PCV. The PCV just plugs into the diagnostic port, you copy and save the stock map and download the custom map into the ECM. Unplug the PCV put it in your pocket or leave it at home. I got $1800 and some change in that set up. She gets a little less mileage than me, around 34 mpg. But it made the bike wake up and the heat is no longer an issue.
We did have to do some other things to make the bike "fit" her better and they helped to manage the heat as well. She had the dealer put on 2 inch pull back handle bars, they fit her better and got her back off the top of the motor. As well as the highway pegs. Removed the lowers. And I added an "EVO" style air cleaner cover to keep her short legs off the breather. That made a big difference in itself.
I know it's not the iron butt of the year award but she managed to get 5000 miles on the bike the first year. We made some nice overnight trips a few times. And a 1500 mile/ 8 day round trip from here to Savannah Georgia then Florida and back home thrue Alabama. If not for the heat mods, I'm not sure she would have made it.
Has anyone here tried using the kevlar chaps or half chaps? You can get them from Colorado Chaps. Colorado Chaps I was wondering if anyone has tried them or had any other ideas on body protection besides re-working the engine or exhaust system?
It is more involved than just trying to improve rider comfort. One of the other major problems is the engine just plain runs too hot in standard form. When I first got my 09 TG it was nothing to see 300 degree temp on my oil temp gauge.
As she was riding around local the heat got to be an issue. She was learning no trips just around the neighborhood. This is about the second trip we took, she did not want me working on it, but after this she said " do what you gotta Do" or something to that extent:
Looks like a little slow roasting from the Triglide, if you called Harley customer service they would tell you thats normal. When I took the 1st trip on my 2010 I was ready to kill something, ticked off was an under statement. I called Harley and crabbed to the dealer till I was blue in the face, they all just said it was normal. So I had to take matters into my own hands to solve their engineering short comings. They have some serious heat going on, I know a guy who took a cooking from his 2010 2 wheel Ultra.
you can wrap the pipes or not and install the nightrider.com" XIEDS" if you want to spend as little as possible to cut down on the heat. The XEIDS are simple plug and play install and can be removed without the dealer even knowing you had them on the bike.
Before doing anything ride the bike if it gets hot try Nightriders cheap fix with the Xieds it fools the computer..
Ride the bike awhile as each area has a better or worse type of gas in there areas. as for us midwest riders we are going to run hotter with all that ethenal they put in the gas and whos know what else..
Yea all vehicles have some kind of issues but I tell ya the TRi GLide is one nice bike if you like to cruise the open rodes..
I feel the way you do Spywire. My wife has a 2012 Triglide. The darn thing cost so much I hate to spend more money than needed. I'm also hesitant because I hear the low gas mileage people are getting with trikes after doing all the upgrades.
Her Triglide is stock except the Jackpot slipon's, Arlen Ness A/F, FL-Xied's and Captain Itch Crotch Cooler I took off her 2010 FLHXXX (Street Glide Trike). She has over 7K on her 2012 and so far she hasn't mentioned excessive heat. We are in Florida on Vacation. Riding these flat roads, she's getting 42 MPG. I also took the lower's off because she don't like the look. She is happy with the stock power of the Triglide.
Thank you for some positive outlook to this thing.....I just feel that people are loosing focus that this is an air cooled engine, it is a Harley Davidson, it has all the latest EPA $#@& on it and is covered in fairings. What do you expect? I will bet Wizard, that if you took all of the cosmetic stuff off of it you wouldn't have any heat issues at all, my other HD's don't but they are basically Bare Bones......If you wanted a water-cooled engine may-be you should have gotten somthing other than a Harley....I wonder what some of you do when your barbeque grills get to hot....moving on.
Re my post #14. When I first started reading this site and the other trike site I would have been sure that I just spent $33,000 for a rolling piece of s**t. Ulless I put on a 30 tooth sprocket, tuner, catless head pipe, 6 row oil cooler, fan, cams, and God knows what else my bike would: melt, fall apart, set my leg on fire, could never use 6th gear, couldn't beat a wheel chair in a drag race, had no power, and gas mileage sucked.
If you are mechanically inclined, and love to tinker GO FOR IT. I did that for years on my Softails and Dynas. If you are paying for all the work to get done, just how much is that extra 3 or 4 HP worth?? You can spend 4 or 5 hundred bucks for that 30 tooth sprocket and installation, or you can down shift. Oh, when you change the sprocket, your speedo becomes inaccurate, and your gas mileage goes down (a little) so you can spend a couple hundred more for a tuner that re calibrates your speedo, and MAY get your mileage back up. If you change your head pipe, keep them so if your state starts inspecting motorcycles you can put it back on. Your car has a catalytic converter, have you taken it off the car yet??? I haven't
My Norton was for drag racing, the Ducati raced through canyons and curves. The trikes take us on long rides. Now that I'm old, the carving the canyons and 'wheelies' are a thing of the past. If your trike is burning your leg, SOMETHING IS WRONG!!! If you are constantly running 300*+ oil temps, SOMETHING IS WRONG.
Actually I know a gentleman who owns a 2010 Ultra Classic, he received a nice burn on his right calf while on a trip due to the heat coming off the catalytic converter. Lots more air flow across a 2 wheeler than a trike, guess he shouldn't have been burned then. I know when I took the 1st trip on my Triglide I would have gotten burned if I wouldn't have had the highway pegs to put my feet up on to get away from the cat.
Felt heat opinions are almost like oil threads, everyone has and opinion and some experience. I can say without a doubt my 2010 Triglide is the hottest running in both felt heat and oil temp of all my presently owned or past HD baggers. My 06 Ultra with 95" build which made 104 hp 100ft/lb torque will only get to 230 degrees without an oil cooler, a stock Triglide could never hope to do that without a oil cooler. My dads 09 was regularly running 300 degree oil temps before we made some mods to cool things down.
Amen.....I think I will concentrate on enjoying my new trike, makes me want to take a Xanax after reading some of these posts. The last thing I need right now is another project.... My 09 Challenger just ran 142 mph stock with a catalytic converter, 6-speed Viper trans, no nitrous, no blowers, but it is water cooled...I did not buy this trike for speed, did get it up to 109 mph with my wife, lost to a CanAm Spyder who got to 121 mph, but I was happy with it.....I have to agree Screwball if your ride has a problem fix it, if you want to tinker with Pandoras' Box and change everything, do it. I have and extended warranty and, just like our cars, will take it back to the dealer if I have any problem. Why treat this any different ? Cost as much as a new car.
We have a 2011 Tri Glide and it does get a little hot. I had a '04 Ultra and a '06 Ultra and they got a little hot especially at low speed. The one thing that bothered me was the pinging I know from the old days that will burn pistons and mess up valves. We have 7000 miles on the trike now and love it . Would I like it cooler yea would I like more power yea. I'm not going to remove cat or anything else that will void waranty. I did put a PCV on with a program from Jammie and it stopped the pinging and come spring I am going to remove the covers and wrap the pipes and put the covers back on. The trike does us fine but we are old and don't want to ride 90mph any more I am fine with 70mph on Interstate. I have had 2 1800 Gold Wing trikes with a Champion kit on them. They were a lot cooler at low speed and a good ride very dependable but I like the looks and sound of the Harley. The Gold Wings were very hot at highway speeds were the air came out the radiator grills if you tried to put your feet on the highway pegs it would burn you up, experience talking. So the thing is to each his own make your self happy , A Harley is hot they are air cooled they have always been hot.
I'm kinda like Screwball. I like to keep my bikes as stock as posible. I'm also 67 and have a somewhat tolerance for heat. Only a few times I've had to get off my bike because of the heat. Unlike Screwball, I can't remove my lowers because my speakers are in them. I have never seen much difference from the old solid lowers and the new ones with the door, yes a little difference - not much so taking the doors off isn't an option.
I do have, and have not seen them mentioned here, floorboard extenders that move the floorboards away from the engine another 1". To me they make a BIG difference.
Screwball, how much did the pipes, A/C and remap set you back? Did you install the pipes and A/C yourself? How much for the remap?
I guess I'll just have to wait until summer to see what I "might" have to do. Hopefully the crotch cooler and the extenders will be enough.
I do have, and have not seen them mentioned here, floorboard extenders that move the floorboards away from the engine another 1". To me they make a BIG difference.
Screwball, how much did the pipes, A/C and remap set you back? Did you install the pipes and A/C yourself? How much for the remap?
I guess I'll just have to wait until summer to see what I "might" have to do. Hopefully the crotch cooler and the extenders will be enough.
The Rush slip-ons and the stage 1 air cleaner for the '09 were about $400. I ordered them when we ordered the bike. The dealer installed them freebie, and did the download. All was done before I took delivery. The '11 was about a hundred more for the Reinhardts. Again, the dealer did the wrench work and download for zip. We have been customers (5 Harleys) and all service work for years. We are kind of lucky, there are 5 dealers within 50 miles of home. I guess the competition keeps them honest.
I hope no one is taking this the wrong way. For years I had a bike stand and did most of the work myself. I usually had the fastest bike in the crowd, when it wasn't broken because I went a bit too radical. I can think of many times I had to trailer my '92 Springer home when it over heated and melted the ignition. I even put points in because I was tired of getting stuck. I just hate to see someone void a perfectly good warranty. There was a guy on this board ( I think it was this one) that had heating problems. The 3rd or 4th time he took it in and bitched they found a malfunctioning compression release (or something) causing the rear cylinder to run lean. Harley bought him a new engine. Had he started changing cams, head pipes, etc HE would have bought that engine. The thing was, he had bitched enough about it, had a paper trail of the problem, and hadn't modified this scoot enough for them to void the extended warranty.
I hope no one is taking this the wrong way. For years I had a bike stand and did most of the work myself. I usually had the fastest bike in the crowd, when it wasn't broken because I went a bit too radical. I can think of many times I had to trailer my '92 Springer home when it over heated and melted the ignition. I even put points in because I was tired of getting stuck. I just hate to see someone void a perfectly good warranty. There was a guy on this board ( I think it was this one) that had heating problems. The 3rd or 4th time he took it in and bitched they found a malfunctioning compression release (or something) causing the rear cylinder to run lean. Harley bought him a new engine. Had he started changing cams, head pipes, etc HE would have bought that engine. The thing was, he had bitched enough about it, had a paper trail of the problem, and hadn't modified this scoot enough for them to void the extended warranty.
I agree with the floorboard extender's. They are usually one of the first mods I do. Easy enough to buy everything you need at the Hardware store and extend them yourself and save a few bucks.
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