Been watching the forum for a year or so trying to glean a bit of information on the experiences and opinions of the forum participants on the HD Tri-Glide. But, as Edgar Allan Poe once said, “Believe only half of what you see and nothing that you hear.” That being said, I’ve found much of what I’ve read here enlightening, informative, and, at times, humorous. As for me, I’ve been riding since 1962 when a friend and I came up with $35 and bought a 1954 Cushman Mustang with a gen-u-wine chrome megaphone. We rode the snot out of that thing until the chain snapped and sliced the back of my leg to the tune of about 30 stitches. As per the dictates of my parents, my riding days were over until I saved enough to buy a 1966 Honda 90 Sport. Can you say, “bad ass biker?”
After two Hondas, two Yamahas, one Kawasaki, one Ducati, one Benelli, one stupid Jawa my cousin said I owed him $200 for (I never paid him and gave that POS back) and four Harley’s I decided to, as they say, go “all-in,” and graduate to three wheels. Not exactly sure why I gravitated toward three vs. two wheels because my ’07 Electra Glide was shiny as a new penny, ran like a kitten and was just getting broken in with a tad over 50K on the odometer. All that being said, three weeks ago Friday I entered the twilight zone and went to the local HD shop, saw a black over silver Tri-Glide I really liked and haggled a deal.
Again, not sure why I bought the thing but a bucket of Pine Sol and steel wool couldn’t get the grin off my face. Talked to the sales guy and service dude for about 20 minutes about how different the trike would feel and steer compared to a two wheeler. I sat there and tried to soak it all in as best I could. My previous experience with a Harley trike was in high school on a mid 50s flathead Servi-Car that a guy named “Turtle” let me ride for an afternoon. Yep, the 3 speed gearbox and suicide clutch is something only a purist can appreciate. As I recall it would do pretty good donuts in a gravel parking lot as long as you could master the 1-2 shift without falling off. Acceleration and brakes, however, were both an afterthought on the old 45. I was trying to conjure up a flashback to the old Servi-Car and how it handled but all I could remember was that dude Turtle and his stupid WWI doughboy helmet painted like a desert tortoise. Oh well, I’ll figure it out.
So out comes the service guy with the new Tri-Glide. The sales dude goes over a few things about the “Infotainment” system which is all well and good but I bought the Trike to ride, not to listen to Iron Butterfly. I strap on the old helmet and climb aboard. First thing I notice, no kickstand - this is a good thing. Being somewhat vertically challenged my first thought was the Trike and I were going to get along real well. I cranked the thing up, put it in first and took off. My first inclination was, holy sh@t, this thing doesn’t want to turn! My instincts told me to lean in and counter-steer – that kinda doesn’t work with the Trike. The grill of a brand new Dodge Ram pickup was staring me in the face so I figured I should perhaps go to the open parking lot next door and practice a few figure eights. Being an old Air Force missile guy I thought it would be a good idea to recalibrate the old GCA (gyro compass assembly) and reload a new FCP (flight control program) before the LITVCS (liquid injected thrust vector control system) took over and soiled a perfectly worn out pair of jeans.
I spent about 10 minutes stopping, starting, turning, reversing and generally getting a feel of how the Trike would handle on the road. I was feeling pretty confident so I took off on the interstate access road and merged onto the freeway. My first observation was the thing has plenty of power, not as much as my Stage I Electra Glide, but certainly more than adequate. Second observation, it takes quite a bit of upper body strength to maneuver at slower speeds. Third, like a doofus, I put my feet down at the first stop light I came to – old habits are hard to break.
After three weeks and about 800 miles I have a few more observations. The Trike handles very well on the open road. It tracks straight as an arrow with no hint of pulling either left or right. Tight left and right hand turns at slow speeds does take some effort not only with pushing/pulling the bars but keeping one’s butt firmly planted in the saddle. A few days ago a lady friend and I went for a short 100 mile ride for lunch. We happened to be going through Killeen near Fort Hood. A soldier rode up next to us and said he liked the Trike and asked how I liked his Honda Boulevard. Uh, ok, uh, thanks – nice Honda (?).
So now the adventure begins.
After two Hondas, two Yamahas, one Kawasaki, one Ducati, one Benelli, one stupid Jawa my cousin said I owed him $200 for (I never paid him and gave that POS back) and four Harley’s I decided to, as they say, go “all-in,” and graduate to three wheels. Not exactly sure why I gravitated toward three vs. two wheels because my ’07 Electra Glide was shiny as a new penny, ran like a kitten and was just getting broken in with a tad over 50K on the odometer. All that being said, three weeks ago Friday I entered the twilight zone and went to the local HD shop, saw a black over silver Tri-Glide I really liked and haggled a deal.
Again, not sure why I bought the thing but a bucket of Pine Sol and steel wool couldn’t get the grin off my face. Talked to the sales guy and service dude for about 20 minutes about how different the trike would feel and steer compared to a two wheeler. I sat there and tried to soak it all in as best I could. My previous experience with a Harley trike was in high school on a mid 50s flathead Servi-Car that a guy named “Turtle” let me ride for an afternoon. Yep, the 3 speed gearbox and suicide clutch is something only a purist can appreciate. As I recall it would do pretty good donuts in a gravel parking lot as long as you could master the 1-2 shift without falling off. Acceleration and brakes, however, were both an afterthought on the old 45. I was trying to conjure up a flashback to the old Servi-Car and how it handled but all I could remember was that dude Turtle and his stupid WWI doughboy helmet painted like a desert tortoise. Oh well, I’ll figure it out.
So out comes the service guy with the new Tri-Glide. The sales dude goes over a few things about the “Infotainment” system which is all well and good but I bought the Trike to ride, not to listen to Iron Butterfly. I strap on the old helmet and climb aboard. First thing I notice, no kickstand - this is a good thing. Being somewhat vertically challenged my first thought was the Trike and I were going to get along real well. I cranked the thing up, put it in first and took off. My first inclination was, holy sh@t, this thing doesn’t want to turn! My instincts told me to lean in and counter-steer – that kinda doesn’t work with the Trike. The grill of a brand new Dodge Ram pickup was staring me in the face so I figured I should perhaps go to the open parking lot next door and practice a few figure eights. Being an old Air Force missile guy I thought it would be a good idea to recalibrate the old GCA (gyro compass assembly) and reload a new FCP (flight control program) before the LITVCS (liquid injected thrust vector control system) took over and soiled a perfectly worn out pair of jeans.
I spent about 10 minutes stopping, starting, turning, reversing and generally getting a feel of how the Trike would handle on the road. I was feeling pretty confident so I took off on the interstate access road and merged onto the freeway. My first observation was the thing has plenty of power, not as much as my Stage I Electra Glide, but certainly more than adequate. Second observation, it takes quite a bit of upper body strength to maneuver at slower speeds. Third, like a doofus, I put my feet down at the first stop light I came to – old habits are hard to break.
After three weeks and about 800 miles I have a few more observations. The Trike handles very well on the open road. It tracks straight as an arrow with no hint of pulling either left or right. Tight left and right hand turns at slow speeds does take some effort not only with pushing/pulling the bars but keeping one’s butt firmly planted in the saddle. A few days ago a lady friend and I went for a short 100 mile ride for lunch. We happened to be going through Killeen near Fort Hood. A soldier rode up next to us and said he liked the Trike and asked how I liked his Honda Boulevard. Uh, ok, uh, thanks – nice Honda (?).
So now the adventure begins.