2011h-d trike heat

[arnie]

Hi everybody,hope i'm doing this right.My question on the trike heat issue is.If anybody has done any head work,as just porting? No valve inlargement,just porting.I was wondering if this might help cool it down.I've removed the cat,added aftermarket mufflers,& s/e air clener.It all helped but not enough.any thoughts?Thanks

 

[trikermutha]

Hi everybody,hope i'm doing this right.My question on the trike heat issue is.If anybody has done any head work,as just porting? No valve inlargement,just porting.I was wondering if this might help cool it down.I've removed the cat,added aftermarket mufflers,& s/e air clener.It all helped but not enough.any thoughts?Thanks

Have you had the AFR ratio etc changed? The dealer would be able to download some new tables to help with the heat..or use the TTS tuner if you are computer savy

 

[mopar]

head porting didn't change the heat on my trike.

 

[10rhrk]

If you want to reduce the heat without breaking the bank, Take your lower's off, add a Captain Itch Crotch Cooler and a set Fl-Xied-10's to enrich the closed loop. Did this to my wife's 2012 Triglide along with slipon's and air cleaner. She hasn't complained about the heat.

 

[arnie]

thanks all.I had the dealer download,it helped alot.Going to do the tts this spring.& no i'm not computer savy.I'll have assist with that.Hurry up spring! thanks everybody

 

[DakotaTG]

10rhrk you mention putting the FL-Xied-10 on a 2012 TriGlide but when I checked their website about a month ago they said the Xied was not available for the TG for any year as the O2 sensors were changed and their system would not work with the new configuration. Are some now available or did i just get the wrong information? I would like to add the Xied's to my 2011 TG.

I started out with Nothing and I still have most of it Left.

 

[trikermutha]

10rhrk you mention putting the FL-Xied-10 on a 2012 TriGlide but when I checked their website about a month ago they said the Xied was not available for the TG for any year as the O2 sensors were changed and their system would not work with the new configuration. Are some now available or did i just get the wrong information? I would like to add the Xied's to my 2011 TG.

I started out with Nothing and I still have most of it Left.

I have a set on my 2010 and should work on the newer models. Contact them as he was really helpfull when I bought my set..

 

[10rhrk]

10rhrk you mention putting the FL-Xied-10 on a 2012 TriGlide but when I checked their website about a month ago they said the Xied was not available for the TG for any year as the O2 sensors were changed and their system would not work with the new configuration. Are some now available or did i just get the wrong information? I would like to add the Xied's to my 2011 TG.

I started out with Nothing and I still have most of it Left.

I'm running the same set I bought for her 2010 Street Glide Trike. She ran them on it for 13 months and 20K miles. I called Steve Mullen at nightrider.com He said they would be ok for the 2012. The FL-Xied-10 are for 10 and newer with the cat and 02 sensor relocation. here's his email..nightrider@nightrider.com.

Steve is a great guy to talk with. His phone number is 727-420-0896

 

[Spywire]

I am going to run my 2011 tri-glide as long as I can stock. I live in FL, sort of used to the heat and HDs. I got an extended warranty with mine and if this $35,000.00 bike can't be run under normal use and under normal conditions, I am going to make HD earn every cent they got from me on this. I wouldn't accept it from a new car, why should we accept it from a new motorcycle?

 

[Oldmsocko]

I am going to run my 2011 tri-glide as long as I can stock. I live in FL, sort of used to the heat and HDs. I got an extended warranty with mine and if this $35,000.00 bike can't be run under normal use and under normal conditions, I am going to make HD earn every cent they got from me on this. I wouldn't accept it from a new car, why should we accept it from a new motorcycle?

I agree with but I want to wish you alot of GOOD LUCK.You are going o need ti along with patience.

 

[msocko3]

I am going to run my 2011 tri-glide as long as I can stock. I live in FL, sort of used to the heat and HDs. I got an extended warranty with mine and if this $35,000.00 bike can't be run under normal use and under normal conditions, I am going to make HD earn every cent they got from me on this. I wouldn't accept it from a new car, why should we accept it from a new motorcycle?

Hope things work out better for you than it did for me, I was pissing in the wind and my pant legs got all wet. I complained to the dealer and to HD, the dealer said they all do that and HD said its operating as it should. They both could have cared less that my wife and I was being slow roasted as we road. At one point I used a IR temp gun to check the surface of my right calf pant leg and found it to be 140 degrees, enough time at that temp and my calf would have been cooked to a perfect medium.

 

[mark mccallum]

remove the lowers ,put on fork deflecters,and your comfort and heat issues will be abated.it will not help you if you are accustomed to harleys in florida,your legg will fry.

 

[GARYD]

I'm with Spywire. I've never modified any of my Harleys, but I'm now worried about the heat on the trike after reading all the posts here.

In the past I just put up with the heat on my other Ultras and stayed away from situations where heat would be a problem. I even took off the lowers, but can't now because I have HogTunes woofers in them. The only time heat was a problem was sitting at a traffic light, when I was moving I didn't feel the heat.

I just bought mine a month ago so heat was not a problem. I had a local leather lady make me custom leather heat shields like the "Crotch Cooler" I saw advertised, but more custom designed so they wouldn't rub on the side covers. Now I have to wait until next summer to see how they work.

I'm hoping I don't have to do any costly modifications like A/C, pipes, black box's or magical programs.

 

[screwball]

Well, I'll chime in again. I must be blessed. I live on the Southern California desert. Wife and I ride relatively stock '09 and '11 Tri Glides. With the exception of Rush and Reinhardt slip-ons, a stage 1 air cleaner, and computer re-map the scoots are stock. I added oil temp gages. We have not encountered oil overheat, and the pipes aren't much hotter than the 96" E-Glide and her Deluxe. Neither of us have burned a leg, and oil temps rarely get close to 300*. In the summer I take off the lowers, actually I leave mine off. Earlier this year we rode to Las Vegas, through Death Valley in 118* heat, up the Baker Grade (6% upgrade) at 70 mph and the oil temp on either bike held around 280*. The cats are still in, stock oil cooler, no fans, deflectors, or auxiliary coolers of any kind. the '09 has 27,000 miles, the '11 has 11,000. I'm 67, wife will be 60 pretty soon. She has been on Harleys since the 90's, me the 70's. Maybe we are just not sensitive to the heat, or got lucky with a couple of 'cold' scoots. I've read a lot on these boards of people having heat problems, just not us.

Good Luck

 

[msocko3]

Well, I'll chime in again. I must be blessed. I live on the Southern California desert. Wife and I ride relatively stock '09 and '11 Tri Glides. With the exception of Rush and Reinhardt slip-ons, a stage 1 air cleaner, and computer re-map the scoots are stock. I added oil temp gages. We have not encountered oil overheat, and the pipes aren't much hotter than the 96" E-Glide and her Deluxe. Neither of us have burned a leg, and oil temps rarely get close to 300*. In the summer I take off the lowers, actually I leave mine off. Earlier this year we rode to Las Vegas, through Death Valley in 118* heat, up the Baker Grade (6% upgrade) at 70 mph and the oil temp on either bike held around 280*. The cats are still in, stock oil cooler, no fans, deflectors, or auxiliary coolers of any kind. the '09 has 27,000 miles, the '11 has 11,000. I'm 67, wife will be 60 pretty soon. She has been on Harleys since the 90's, me the 70's. Maybe we are just not sensitive to the heat, or got lucky with a couple of 'cold' scoots. I've read a lot on these boards of people having heat problems, just not us.

Good Luck

You might have a combination of both, you and your wife may be more tolerant to the heat and you may have a couple gems from HD. I remember when I thought about trading my 06 Ultra in on a then new 07, I was on one of those new HD each year kicks. My 06 at the time was a simple stage 1 with SE 1 piece mufflers with the displacement still at 88". I took a 07 Ultra for a ride and the 1st stop and go traffic I run into I thought someone bolted a blast furnace to my ass because my 06 never got that hot. Over time I bumped the displacement on my 06 to 95" and the dyno come out at 104 hp 100ft/lb torque, never got real hot with this build. For the most part my oil temp never gets above 230 with no oil cooler, of course I'm installing a 10 row Jagg once I install the 120" engine. When I took delivery of my Triglide I once again experienced the blast furnace on the ass syndrome. Maybe I'm more sensitive to the heat because of the climate I live in, to me anything over 85 degrees ambient is to dang hot.

 

[Mr.Wizard]

Hey guys... just for grins and giggles.

For you guys that still ride stock. Locate someone with relatively the same trike with a more efficient motor with pipes, mufflers and a decent tuner. Ride theirs and check the difference.

Yes, there is a cost involved but what is your riding experience worth? Can you put a dollar value on it?

 

[Trent]

I am with you on that one Wiz.. I am so much happier now that I have made mods to the motor..got rid of cats, went to V&H Power duals.. Ness Big Sucker,,Screamin Eagle Tuner...255 Cams and lifters put in ...= Way cooler running motor. Cannot feel any heat on my right calf now. It was unbearable before. Oh...You gotta get the latest computer downloads installed. They make a very noticable difference too.

 

[msocko3]

Hey guys... just for grins and giggles.

For you guys that still ride stock. Locate someone with relatively the same trike with a more efficient motor with pipes, mufflers and a decent tuner. Ride theirs and check the difference.

Yes, there is a cost involved but what is your riding experience worth? Can you put a dollar value on it?

:Agree: If someone was to ride mine or my dads they wouldn't look at their stock one the same way after that.

 

[Mr.Wizard]

I really wasn't trying to be a S/A but I've seen the faces of the before and after way too many times.

Harley doesn't make bikes that are efficient, they make them to comply with government rules. This inefficiency = heat and power loss.

 

[GARYD]

Just spent $32k. I'm not looking forward to another $2k or $3k, which I don't have anymore) to make it somewhat cooler. I will have to wait until summer to really compare the difference between an Ultra w/lowers and the trike. I do have a custom made crotch cooler to start with. I can't remove the lowers because I have Hog Tunes woofers in them.
Another post suggested wrapping the pipes. That sounds a lot cheaper.
I hate modifying my bike, never have in the past, don't really want to do it now, but comfort will dictate that.

It would be nice if someone with these mods were close by to compare.

 

[WILDBILLPHIN]

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!!

 

[Mr.Wizard]

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.

 

[Mr.Wizard]

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!!

The before and after grin is dynamic, yes?

 

[WILDBILLPHIN]

My grin is too big to fit in my helmut !! LOL

 

[Spywire]

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.

 

[MontgomeryLittle]

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.

 

[Spywire]

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?

 

[Oldmsocko]

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.

 

[msocko3]

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.

 

[Spywire]

Has anyone tried wrapping the pipes? This forum is not making me excited about my new Tri-Glide. Anyone have any good news?