And so it begins

Mar 7, 2016
22
35
Georgetown, TX
Name
Rick
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.
 
Sounds like you got the maneuvering down pat! I think you will be pleasantly surprised at just how hard you can push it in the twisties, and just as surprised the first time you lift a wheel in a tight turn;).

You are gonna love the trike... ride it like you stole it! Welcome to the forum!
 
Welcome aboard,Rick. Glad to see another Texas triker on the site. Hope to see you at our Hill Country Gathering in Kerrville,in October.
 
Your going to enjoy it! You and I sounds like we almost ran the same path growing up with bikes and now we enter the bike world on the same day! Had mine since that Friday and have never looked back!:pepper: Of course now I have an extra bike sitting at my house to get rid of..... both sons want to sell their Sportys and buy it!!!! Wonder when they will get the hint and trike it?
 
You have a fine start to great adventure there, MSgtRick. Congrats!ThumbUp
Do you have a rider's backrest? A backrest to lean against on the slow speed turns will take a lot of work out of the process. A backrest give you something to push against rather than using only the upper body strength to keep you steady. Takes a lot less effort with a backrest, but as you can guess, the lack of something between you and the mentioned lady friend can also enhance the ride.;)
 
LOL - That is by far the longest "First Post" ever! Good read and great to hear ya did your homework. Good luck and welcome to Trike Life.

jc
 
cool!!

You got this no problem ride safely enjoy fearlessThumbUp
 

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Thanks for the welcome...

Yeah, it was a rather lengthy first post; I sometimes get a little carried away at times. ;)

My first mod during the break-in was adding a backrest. I kept the one from my ’99 Road King and it fit perfectly. I’ve found it helps maintain a better posture than riding without one. On the Trike I discovered it helps keep me in the saddle by giving a little more with leverage while turning. I also added the three pocket pouch on the fairing. I really like having a place to stash my glasses, gas receipts, ear plugs, etc.

As far as handling and putting it up on one rear wheel – that probably ain’t gonna happen anytime soon. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the thing did handle. It scoots around corners much better than I’d imagined. The sales guy told me a customer put a 120 inch S&S motor in his 2014 trike. I guess that thing would pull wheelies all day long.

One thing I did ask the service manager was the option of going to Stage I with cat-free pipes and mufflers with high flow air cleaner and tuner. His off-the-cuff quote was $2,600 with labor, etc. I thought that was rather steep so I’ll set my eye on something from Fuel Moto. Jamie set me up back in ’08 with slip-ons, air cleaner and PC-III.
 
Welcome from Florida Rick, I really enjoyed your post, you should have been a writer, lol.
 

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