New to me 2017 Tri Glide Ultra advice

[Fast Eddy]

I am in the process of buying a low mileage, 7000 mile, 2017 Tri-Glide Ultra from my sister and brother in law. They are giving me a very good deal price wise. I know the miles and history are accurate. They never had any trouble with it at all. Due to health problems they have ridden very little after 2020 and now can't ride anymore. Anyway what I am wondering is what things, other than routine service like oil change in all 3 holes, what update or changes would you recommend ??? I am not a new rider, been riding since age 17. I am wanting a trike because at age 77 my legs are not as strong and when hauling a passenger I am not as comfortable as I used to be. Thanks ahead of time for any input you might have.

 

[Mykneesbehurtin]

Good luck with your 17, I just traded my 17 in this week. Will you be riding solo or two up, for me first thing would be handlebars. Run the rear tires at about 24 lbs for a smoother ride, a set of highway pegs is always good, shorter windshield if you don't like looking thru it. We can find countless ways to help you spend your money.

 

[cycle7447]

Enjoy your trike - they are indeed a lot of fun.

The bike is a 17 with just 7000 miles - means it has been sort of sitting for a while. Not sure if the 5000 mile check was done - and, based on miles, the 10,000 is not ready yet.

Still, just to make sure all is OK, perhaps consider having the bike fully services. Also, the tires are 9 years old. My bet is there is plenty of tread left - however, 9-year-old is a lot of tires drying. Consider changing them.

Now, ride it and enjoy. Sorry to hear that your sister and bro-in-law can no longer ride.

 

[Rogue1]

Ride it for a couple thousand miles the way it is and then figure out what you do and don't like about the trike.

 

[Notgrownup]

Nice. I went to 3 in 2021 with a used 14 and in September of 23 I bought a very gently used 21 with only 1900 miles. .Love it.

 

[HDUSA1]

By chance, do you have any of the service history on the bike and know what accessories have been installed?

2017 was the first year on the M8 motor. It was overhyped, but a few had issues with the the oil sumping. Was curious if yours had been updated with the new style oil pump. If not, just be mindful of it and perhaps talk to a dealer and have them run you VIN number to see what shows up on it. If you’re not having issues, I wouldn’t replace it unless you decide to put a cam in and have the cam chest open.

Would definitely do a 3 hole oil change. Lots of opinions on what oils and filter to use but I’ll leave it to you to do some searching and form your own opinion.

Definitely would flush the brake fluid and antifreeze as well. Consider changing the fuel filter in the tank if it’s had old fuel that’s been sitting for awhile. Check the battery, if it’s got some age run a load test on it to see if it needs replaced.

Regarding tires, you’ll get arguments but I’m in the camp of replacing them on a motorcycle once they get some age on them regardless how much tread is left. As rubber ages, it gets harder and traction decreases and I want peace of mind knowing I’ve got good traction when cornering. If budget is limited, definitely change the front tire and keep an eye on the rears.

Post some pics and welcome to the Trike world!

 

[JUSTME1951]

Brakes okay? Rear pads will go first. Harley is big bucks. After market hard to find.

 

[Old Road Dog]

Stage II: Replace/ upgrade, oil pump and cam plate, inner cam bearing, torque cam, Hylift Johnson Direct Shot lifters from Larry's Motorcycle and Machine,and air cleaner and slip on mufflers. Rhinehart DBX 4 inch sound great. Yes you need a tuner. From DK Customs get an breather bypass and oil filter relocation kit. Get the Nexgen rear shocks. This should get you started. Oh.. get a new battery, yeah yeah it's fine. GET A NEW BATTERY!

 

[pwhoever]

Welcome to TrikeTalk Lonnie. I'm sure you are going to enjoy this new trike.

 

[hardwickbv]

My 2017 has 93000 miles on it now. I have done most of the maintenance myself.
It has been through a deer collision at ~75000 and had the forks replaced and I had to have the engine replaced at around the same time due to an incompetent dealership. (That is a long story in itself not worth going into.)
Following is what I have learned about Tri-glides from riding as much as I have.
1.Suspension especially the rear can be much better. I did not change mine until around 70000 and wish I had done it first. Lots of opinions but I went with Nextgen 14" and Comfort lift from DK Customs. Also changed front suspension.
2. I did change my bars to 2+2 wide bars to help with back problems. Also did a rake kit from Papa Zook. Both of these helped steering greatly.
3. I have done most everything to cool the engine and in turn the rider and passenger. Not necessarily in this order
a. oil filter relocation
b. cooling wings
c. 2" tank lift
d. Floorboard extenders
DK Custom has reports on their website that explains the issues with heat and their recommendations to mitigate them.

Some of these options are cheap and some are not so cheap.
I ride a lot and also ride in the winter down to 20 degrees, so I have also added heated grips.
I am afraid to add up everything I have done but do not regret any of the options or work I have done to except the one situation already indicated.

Added lots of lighting more for safety more than anything

I made it ming and it is up to you to make yours yours.

Enjoy the ride and be safe
Bob

 

[Fast Eddy]

Thanks to everyone for their input and advice, I appreciate it. I do know that I will definitely put new tires on it immediately, because as noted tires that old, regardless of low miles need to be changed. I definitely will never skimp on tires, a blowout on the freeway would such really big time !!! I know they have never had any trouble with this trike but since some of the early M8 motors have oil pump and sumping issues. I will install a new oil pump, cam plate, inner cam bearing, a good torque cam, and tuner. I am thinking Power Vision tuner. Oil change in engine, primary, and transmission. Also I want to put a free flowing intake air filter and exhaust on it to get rid of some heat from the stock exhaust with cats and help engine breath better. Speaking of a torque cam, what would you recommend for a cam for a trike ??? Thanks again for you advice and input !!!

 

[Notgrownup]

Woods WM8-22X with a good tune would wake it up. Looks great on the early torque …

 

[Mykneesbehurtin]

Thanks to everyone for their input and advice, I appreciate it. I do know that I will definitely put new tires on it immediately, because as noted tires that old, regardless of low miles need to be changed. I definitely will never skimp on tires, a blowout on the freeway would such really big time !!! I know they have never had any trouble with this trike but since some of the early M8 motors have oil pump and sumping issues. I will install a new oil pump, cam plate, inner cam bearing, a good torque cam, and tuner. I am thinking Power Vision tuner. Oil change in engine, primary, and transmission. Also I want to put a free flowing intake air filter and exhaust on it to get rid of some heat from the stock exhaust with cats and help engine breath better. Speaking of a torque cam, what would you recommend for a cam for a trike ??? Thanks again for you advice and input !!!

I had an S&S 465 cam put in my 17 along with a Fullsac Sportpipe head pipe, SE air cleaner, SE street cannon mufflers and a TTS tuner with a full dyno tune. Rear wheel numbers where 90 HP and 106 torque. At 2200 rpm it made 102 ft lbs of torque. The dyno guy said that a trike will produce about 10 hp and 10 torque less than a 2 wheeler because of the parasitic drag of the rear wheels.

 

[Notgrownup]

It’s a lot of power to turn that big drivetrain.

 

[HDUSA1]

You are going to get lots of opinions on cams. A lot of it is going to depend on who is going to install it.

If it’s your local HD dealer, then they will push their Screaming Eagle stuff. Nothing wrong with it, but personally I think they are overpriced for what you get and there are better choices out there.

If you or a local independent shop is going to install it, give Fuelmoto a call and ask for Bob. Have an open mind and listen to what he has to say. He’ll ask you a few questions about your trike and your expectations on how you want it to run. Basically, you can have a noisemaker or a stump puller.

I chose the stump puller route and installed it myself. Went with a Wood WME-22XE cam with roller lifters, adj pushrods, improved inner bearing, and S&S lifter cuffs.

While I was at it, installed a Jackpot stainless 2-1-2 catless header pipe, Jackpot M8 Outlaw Street mufflers, AC/DC air cleaner with stock cover adapter, and Powervision PV-2B tuner with Fuelmoto map. A Baker compensator, Screaming Eagle aluminum intake, and NGK iridium spark plugs rounds it out.

Mine is a 2020 after they fixed the oil pump, so I left it alone. If you are changing the oil pump & plate, he’ll guide you on that.

I’m really satisfied how mine runs throughout the entire RPM range. At idle it has a nice lopey rumble, it has a nice bark when hard on the throttle but not too loud, and best of all it has a fairly quiet tone without droning for peaceful long distance rides. My wife & I can easily hear each other on the intercoms, listen to music, and take hands free calls.

Best of all, it got rid of the heat problem with the catless header pipe and proper tune.

Couple of other things that greatly helped was the 1” floorboard extenders, heim jointed shifter rod, and rear shift lever extension that I ordered off of Amazon.

If you have a hydraulic clutch, I installed a Rekluse hydraulic slave cylinder that eliminates the grabby clutch when taking off from a stop and reduces the clutch pull effort for older achey hands.

I also installed the Khromwerks 2+2 Narrow Sweeper handlebars which let me sit back in the seat nicely and reduces wrist fatigue with a flatter grip angle. A Freedom Shields FLH Touring 9” Light Grey Tint windshield helped tremendously with helmet wind buffeting for both driver and passenger.

 

[Gorilla]

Welcome aboard Lonnie. You have a lot to ponder

 

[Miner]

Greetings,
I would suggest that you change out the coolant. If it is over 2 (?) years old it may be starting thicken / gel and may then burn out the coolant pump. Learned that the hard way.