Papa Zook's TriGlide/RG3 Rake Kit Reviews Thread with Pics

[14TG]

Yes I got the kit from Papa Zook. It is the 9 deg. rake. and it is painted black.

Thanks for clarification.
I actually have no plans to add a tank lift, but nice to know the compatibility.

I assume you did see a noticeable difference in steering with the rake kit?

 

[Ray55]

If you ride the speed limit through the twisties, you can almost steer it with one hand.

 

[14TG]

If you ride the speed limit through the twisties, you can almost steer it with one hand.

Nice!!!!
Thanks for the info!!!! I’ll definitely be doing this over the upcoming winter.

 

[Rogue1]

If its not the best mod you've ever added to your TriGlide I will give it to you for free. How's that for a guarantee?

I ordered The rake kit from Papa Zook this morning. Expect to receive it in a couple days. It's going to have to be a hell of a lot cooler before I start putting it on. Right now it's 99* in central North Carolina.

 

[Jack Klarich]

I ordered The rake kit from Papa Zook this morning. Expect to receive it in a couple days. It's going to have to be a hell of a lot cooler before I start putting it on. Right now it's 99* in central North Carolina.

Money well spent IMO

 

[Ray55]

Rogue wrote: "I ordered The rake kit from Papa Zook this morning. Expect to receive it in a couple days. It's going to have to be a hell of a lot cooler before I start putting it on. Right now it's 99* in central North Carolina."

Whenever you put it on and torquing the top clamp, I think that Harley calls for 22 ft/lbs of torque, but I torqued mine to 40 ft/lbs and it turns just fine.

 

[Rogue1]

I ordered The rake kit from Papa Zook this morning. Expect to receive it in a couple days. It's going to have to be a hell of a lot cooler before I start putting it on. Right now it's 99* in central North Carolina.

Busted up my knee a couple weeks ago. MRI today, will know results in several days. Started tearing down the trike this afternoon, should have everything in a day or so. Easy peazy.

 

[Jack Klarich]

Busted up my knee a couple weeks ago. MRI today, will know results in several days. Started tearing down the trike this afternoon, should have everything in a day or so. Easy peazy.

Go easy on that bad knee

 

[Rogue1]

Go easy on that bad knee

Thanks Jack. It blew up on me on the 6th, couldn't get MRI until 25 then they changed it to the 26th. Sure glad it wasn't an emergency. Am going easy on it. Not bad enough to keep me from wrenching.

 

[Rogue1]

I ordered The rake kit from Papa Zook this morning. Expect to receive it in a couple days. It's going to have to be a hell of a lot cooler before I start putting it on. Right now it's 99* in central North Carolina.

Finished the install of Randy's (Papa Zook) rake kit yesterday. Easy install and any questions I did have were answered by Randy quickly. No pics, if you have seen one trike with the fairings off, you have seen them all. Took it for a short ride yesterday. Very impressed. Went for a long ride early this morning and was just as impressed!

The kit set me back a little in the seat, tracked true, took half the effort to steer. Did not have to relocate the rear reservoir. I had the install done earlier in the week but had to wait an extra four or five days until the lower fairing skirt came in--which I didn't know I needed until I received the kit. Other than that, no problems. Randy, I will NOT be asking for a refund LOL.

 

[Papa Zook]

Glad you're liking it Dale.

 

[14TG]

Just got my rake kit from Papa Zook (also got a Müller hydro clutch kit)

I will be installing this combo in a few weeks and can’t wait to feel this new rake kit!

 

[PosseRider]

Just got my rake kit from @Papa Zook (also got a Müller hydro clutch kit)
I will be installing this combo in a few weeks and can’t wait to feel this new rake kit!

Don't know about the clutch... but the rake is worth it's weight in gold. I rode to Zook's shop & he installed it for me.. on the way to the shop 250 miles was about all I could do because of recent shoulder surgery.. After Randy installed it rode 350-400 miles a day out to grand canyon & home to Ohio. One of the BEST upgrades I have... Thanks again Zook! you need to show up at Maggie gathering.....

 

[Rogue1]

Just got my rake kit from @Papa Zook (also got a Müller hydro clutch kit)
I will be installing this combo in a few weeks and can’t wait to feel this new rake kit!

You will love it.

 

[14TG]

Welp!….. tomorrow I’m dropping off my Tri Glide at my “Indy’s” shop, (who is a close friend) for him to install my Papa Zooks 9* Rake kit, along with the Müller hydro clutch kit.

I can’t wait to see how it steers after it’s installed!
I will be leaving for vacation and he’s going to install it for me while I’m away.

@Papa Zook, I’ll probably do another thread after I pick it up and put a few miles on it, but wanted to chime back in on this thread with the update.
Just opening up the box, you can see the quality of this kit!!!

 

[Terry51]

I have been messaging back and forth with papa zook and I have watched a you tube video about this rake kit and I've been following this thread. I'm only about 8 1/2 hours away, so I'm going to take my trike to him this winter and have this rake kit installed along with some 12' bars. These stock bars absolutely kill my neck if I ride more than 30 minutes. Hoping all this will help.

 

[14TG]

I have been messaging back and forth with papa zook and I have watched a you tube video about this rake kit and I've been following this thread. I'm only about 8 1/2 hours away, so I'm going to take my trike to him this winter and have this rake kit installed along with some 12' bars. These stock bars absolutely kill my neck if I ride more than 30 minutes. Hoping all this will help.

You will absolutely love the results!!
It’ll be totally worth it.

I just got mine done about 2 weeks ago & absolutely love it!

 

[PosseRider]

I have been messaging back and forth with papa zook and I have watched a you tube video about this rake kit and I've been following this thread. I'm only about 8 1/2 hours away, so I'm going to take my trike to him this winter and have this rake kit installed along with some 12' bars. These stock bars absolutely kill my neck if I ride more than 30 minutes. Hoping all this will help.

I have zooks kit now for 2 yrs or so. great!!! I also went to his shop on out bound trip to have him install... another thing I have is HD pull-back bars on last 4 bikes ..big difference!

 

[iditchmycar]

Good Choice

Randy (Papa Zook) (CUT-N-SHOOT CUSTOMS) asked me to do an honest review of the rake kit he sells that I installed on my 2013 Tri-Glide. After mods ROAD TRI-GLIDE

This request was made after I had already committed to purchasing it so there is no incentive to give anything but a fair review. First I would like to give you a basis for what my Tri-Glide is like. I ride solo most of the time and I weigh in at 210lbs. I purchased it new in August of 2013. I had the dealer install a factory S.E. 110 motor before I even took delivery.

I run a 21in front tire with 18 in tires on the rear all on Performance Machine (PM) wheels. I then installed a TTS 100 cam and a TTS self-tuner. I did a road tune. A good low end torque cam is the way to go. I also changed the front sprocket to a 32 tooth to improve overall performance. I can pull a 7% grade in 5th gear at 50 mph on cruise control with no loss of speed. Same grade in 6th gear at 65 mph with no loss of speed. That’s at 2400 to 2600 RPM’s.

I have a Vance and Hines true dual exhaust. All though a 2-1-2 would be better according to most experts. For improved cooling I installed Love Jugs (From Randy) a remote relocation oil filter, 1.5 gas tank lift kit (from DK) and removed left side HD heat deflector.

I also installed Progressive 414 coil over shocks (13in) along with the standard shock lift kit. I had previous experience with these shocks on my 2007 Street Glide with a Champion conversion done in 2009. Coil over shocks is the way to go for a great ride. See DK Customs for the current suggested mod in this area. The ride and steering with my setup was already pretty good and I really had no major complaints about heavy steering as I was used to this setup. The 21 in front rim and the rear shocks and with lift kit gave the trike a 1 in higher seat height. I rode this way for about 50k miles.

I installed Randy’s Tri-Glide rake kit 3 weeks ago and am currently on a long road trip up here in the Smokie Mountains starting from Key Largo Fl. The ride up here on both expressway and secondary roads was VERY MUCH noticeably SMOOTHER and the steering is also smooth and very stable. I did a 150 mile ALL TWISTY ride today, even did the Tail of the Dragon twice, once each way.

The steering is definitely easier than it was previously without the rake kit, but that kind of road naturally still requires some effort, just not nearly as much! Steering effort below 25/30 mph is also really greatly improved. Overall there is a very noticeable improvement over the stock trees. On a stock, unmodified trike, I would expect the improvement to be even more noticeable. I would recommend this change to anyone looking to improve the steering/ride of their TRI-GLIDE.

Thanks for sharing your story. I bought recently my first tri glide and came with a whooping 21 wheel at the front. I was debating should I go to stock rims until I heard about Papa Zook. As soon I recovered from my shoulder replacement surgery I will be visiting Papa Zook shop to install a rake. Hoping I can keep that 21inch at the front. Because I really like the look.

 

[Gorilla]

Very Nice ride enjoy

 

[Reinie2025]

What with my upcoming shoulder surgery I would like to make my 2023 Freewheeler easier to steer. Looks like the Papa Zook triple trees would do the job nicely. I looked on the Cut-N-Shoot website and they're still $849 with free shipping.

 

[k-dog]

had my rake kit installed, should i leave steering damper on?

 

[14TG]

had my rake kit installed,should i leave steering damper on?

Negative…. Leave it off.
@Papa Zook will also confirm this but it is not needed anymore.

 

[Hotrod_]

@Papa Zook Is it possible to install your rake kit backwards? I was having a discussion with my mechanic and he swears it brings the wheel closer to the bike because he couldn’t re-install the damper which I told him was no longer needed. Now I’m worried. I am sure the wheel is further away from the frame now.

 

[Gorilla]

@Papa Zook Is it possible to install your rake kit backwards? I was having a discussion with my mechanic and he swears it brings the wheel closer to the bike because he couldn’t re-install the damper which I told him was no longer needed. Now I’m worried. I am sure the wheel is further away from the frame now.

The rake kit will move the tire further away from the frame. That is by design. I don't think you could even ride the trike if the rake was installed backwards. The fall off would be hard to control.

Send a pic of the trees installed.

 

[Hotrod_]

The rake kit will move the tire further away from the frame. That is by design. I don't think you could even ride the trike if the rake was installed backwards. The fall off would be hard to control.

Send a pic of the trees installed.

That is what I thought. I ordered it from Papa Zook and it could only go on one way imo. It is so much easier to steer my trike now. The upgrade was worth it. However, I feel I can’t corner quite as aggressively as it doesn’t seem the front tire “bites” the road quite as much.

 

[Papa Zook]

That is what I thought. I ordered it from Papa Zook and it could only go on one way imo. It is so much easier to steer my trike now. The upgrade was worth it. However, I feel I can’t corner quite as aggressively as it doesn’t seem the front tire “bites” the road quite as much.

Give me a call.

 

[Papa Zook]

That is what I thought. I ordered it from Papa Zook and it could only go on one way imo. It is so much easier to steer my trike now. The upgrade was worth it. However, I feel I can’t corner quite as aggressively as it doesn’t seem the front tire “bites” the road quite as much.

You're going to have to get used to it. The front tire's grip or bite does not change, and most notice that they can take corners with much more ease due to less steering effort.

 

[Papa Zook]

@Papa Zook Is it possible to install your rake kit backwards? I was having a discussion with my mechanic and he swears it brings the wheel closer to the bike because he couldn’t re-install the damper which I told him was no longer needed. Now I’m worried. I am sure the wheel is further away from the frame now.

Nope, not possible!

 

[14TG]

@Hotrod_ , I’m going to chime in on my personal experience with a rake kit on my 2014 Tri Gide.
Mine is absolutely amazing. Not only is the steering so much easier and minimal effort, but I personally had Better handling afterwards too.

Now, while I had my forks off, I also had a ProAction fork kit installed so unfortunately I didn’t have a true before & after comparison since I did it all at the same time while it was all apart.

But any fork upgrade of your choice whether it’s ProAction, DK Intiminators, progressive monotubes, just to name a few, will certainly add to the front end handling.

That’s always something you can upgrade at a later date, but it’s a very noticeable difference to help improve the front end.