First, I have about 400,000 miles on various bikes including 1 GL-1800 trike. At the time I had the GL1800 trike I just wasn't ready for a trike and went back to 2 wheels. My current ride is a 2012 Victory Cross Country Tour. Now looking at trikes again as my wife no longer wants to ride on 2 wheels.
So, today I test rode a Free Wheeler and thought I would post my thoughts. This is a great looking trike and one of them caught my eye last week at a local watering hole and after reading posts on this forum off I went to ride one.
On the good side: this trike is great looking and runs strong. Plenty of power in stock mode. Since it was a new trike I didn't wind it out but kept it at 3,000 RPMs or less and it has plenty of get up and go. Handling was good. Very responsive. Trunk is plenty big, more room than I thought and with a luggage rack would be able to take all needed for a trip. Stock exhaust sounds good. Not too loud but also not too quiet; a good throaty exhaust note. I would consider leaving the stock exhaust on (at least for awhile). Paint, fit and finish looked top notch. Liked that it has a reverse and parking brake. Instrumentation was OK, did not like that it didn't have a regular tach; hard to read the digital tach and watch the road. This trike is like driving a sports car!
On the bad side: Short wheel base makes for a bit of a harsh ride. Also, my previous trike had IRS and the Free Wheeler is a straight axel. The good side of this is there are less moving parts to break but it does contribute to the harsher ride. The ergonomics felt "crowded" ( I am 6' 1" tall) but would probably get used to it after installing rider's back rest, highway pegs, adjusting handlebars, etc. so could stretch out a bit. I did like the mini apes. Did not like the brake pedal position, it takes up a lot of space on the floorboard. Would probably put on an extended brake pedal and also remove the heel shifter as it also makes the floorboard crowded. They did put on a windshield for the test drive but they only had a 16" in stock and it is way to short for me. Lot of wind in the face. A 20" shield is available but none in stock yet. Since this is a midyear introduction, Harley has not got all of the accessories out to the dealers yet according to the salesman. I wanted: 20" windshield, rider's back rest, passenger back rest, luggage rack, engine guard and rear bumper. The dealer (this is largest HD dealer in Houston) only had 16" shield, rider's back rest, no passenger back rest, no luggage rack, no engine guard and no rear bumper. Dealer said they might could pull some from their other store. Salesman said on the ones they have sold they had to send them out with most of the accessories on back order.
Pricing: Dealer wanted MSRP ($24,599) for bike and accessories mentioned above totaled $1,700. Then add in freight and prep and taxes.
Overall feelings: I would probably buy one if I could get the right deal. It was a fun bike to ride for sure. However, since this would be my only ride I don't know if I would be happy with it for a long trip.
Sunman
So, today I test rode a Free Wheeler and thought I would post my thoughts. This is a great looking trike and one of them caught my eye last week at a local watering hole and after reading posts on this forum off I went to ride one.
On the good side: this trike is great looking and runs strong. Plenty of power in stock mode. Since it was a new trike I didn't wind it out but kept it at 3,000 RPMs or less and it has plenty of get up and go. Handling was good. Very responsive. Trunk is plenty big, more room than I thought and with a luggage rack would be able to take all needed for a trip. Stock exhaust sounds good. Not too loud but also not too quiet; a good throaty exhaust note. I would consider leaving the stock exhaust on (at least for awhile). Paint, fit and finish looked top notch. Liked that it has a reverse and parking brake. Instrumentation was OK, did not like that it didn't have a regular tach; hard to read the digital tach and watch the road. This trike is like driving a sports car!
On the bad side: Short wheel base makes for a bit of a harsh ride. Also, my previous trike had IRS and the Free Wheeler is a straight axel. The good side of this is there are less moving parts to break but it does contribute to the harsher ride. The ergonomics felt "crowded" ( I am 6' 1" tall) but would probably get used to it after installing rider's back rest, highway pegs, adjusting handlebars, etc. so could stretch out a bit. I did like the mini apes. Did not like the brake pedal position, it takes up a lot of space on the floorboard. Would probably put on an extended brake pedal and also remove the heel shifter as it also makes the floorboard crowded. They did put on a windshield for the test drive but they only had a 16" in stock and it is way to short for me. Lot of wind in the face. A 20" shield is available but none in stock yet. Since this is a midyear introduction, Harley has not got all of the accessories out to the dealers yet according to the salesman. I wanted: 20" windshield, rider's back rest, passenger back rest, luggage rack, engine guard and rear bumper. The dealer (this is largest HD dealer in Houston) only had 16" shield, rider's back rest, no passenger back rest, no luggage rack, no engine guard and no rear bumper. Dealer said they might could pull some from their other store. Salesman said on the ones they have sold they had to send them out with most of the accessories on back order.
Pricing: Dealer wanted MSRP ($24,599) for bike and accessories mentioned above totaled $1,700. Then add in freight and prep and taxes.
Overall feelings: I would probably buy one if I could get the right deal. It was a fun bike to ride for sure. However, since this would be my only ride I don't know if I would be happy with it for a long trip.
Sunman
