production harley trikes

[BlueTrinity]

Harley Tri-Glide

Ron,

I wouldn't get to uptight about the Tri-Glide depressing used prices, unless of course, you're dead set on a Lehman. In that case, a new Tri-Glide versus a conversion probably makes $en$e.

If however, like many of us, you find another brand preferable, then you probably won't be hurt at all. I wouldn't give up my CSC just to save a couple of grand. If I wanted to do that I wouldn't have bought it to begin with. I could have had the Lehman conversion for a heck of a lot less money.

You're right about pricing. There won't be a $30,000 out the door TriGlide. and as you've pointed out, unless you're a plain vanilla type of rider, you're going to spend a ton more for add-ons.

I think we'll still see a lot of DFTs, CSCs, MotorTrikes being built and if you're right and I'm wrong, there will be a lot of them for sale at a good price.

That's my two cents worth, but I probably should get a penny change.

Dave

 

[Ron H]

Tri-Glide

I didn't elaborate, but there were other factors at play when I opted to convert my Street Glide (vs buy a new Ultra). I'd invested some money in chrome controls and handlebars to fit the bike to me and to get it looking good, and I'd have had to start all over again with a new bike. I really liked the distinctive DFT styling and independent suspension, which were the prime reasons I chose DFT over Lehman, Champion and several other conversions.

Most of the trikes I saw for sale at dealers were Champion conversions done on older (pre-2007) Harleys, and those trikes are the ones I'd expect to see depreciate with the advent of the Tri-Glide. I've only been involved in the trike world for less than a year, but it certainly appears to me that a lot of people buy one (or have one done) and then discover it's not exactly what they wanted. This explains why it's not difficult to find a used Harley trike. The same should apply to the Tri-Glides -- there should be a healthy supply of used ones available in 1-2 years.

 

[WEB]

Hey Ron H,I had my trike dyno tuned at Solenburg&Smith in Shelbyville,they are the only one with a trike dyno around here.The telephone number is 317-398-8010.

 

[Papa Zook]

Does anyone know when the Tri-Glides are supposed to be released?

 

[WEB]

I don't know a release date but my dealer said they are getting 4 for the year and 3 are already sold.

 

[Papa Zook]

I don't know a release date but my dealer said they are getting 4 for the year and 3 are already sold.

I guess by 4 for the year they mean for this year is in 2008 right? That must mean they are coming out this fall. Wonder if they will be serialized as 2009s?

 

[WEB]

I don't know when but my dealer said they were getting 4 all year and 3 are already sold.

 

[WEB]

Sorry guys,I thought the other post had not gone through so I posted again,dumb huh.

 

[John Luciano]

RON,

You can't even begin to compare what you have (DFT Trike ) with the Harley trike. Yours is so distinctive , unusual, and modern looking. The New factory trike to me looks so old school.

 

[Papa Zook]

Talked to the local HD dealer in length today and he said dont look for the Triglides to be selling for $30K. Im not sure what he meant by that but thats what he said so I assumed that either HD would be tacking on more to the price or the dealers would be.

 

[grimm]

dealers will be tacking on their usual markup. bet on it....

 

[John Luciano]

I read that only 1,500 will be made ( 2 per dealer MAX ) I bet there will be a bidding war for them. Plan on $40,000 more like it. Remember When HONDA/Acura came out with the NSX Sports car. People were buying them and jacking up the price 5 or $6,000 and selling them. I also remember when VW came out with the diesel Rabbit. Dealers were selling them to the highest bidder.

 

[Papa Zook]

When I was talking to the GM and the owner at the Local Harley Store yesterday, I took it that the availability would be low for a while so the price would be jacked. These guys have always been pretty fair on their bikes if you can call it fair to charge full list and add all kind of accessories that you HAD to buy to get a bike. But this was when other dealers were do the same AND charging $2-3K over list so they still always seemed fair considering. Those days are gone on the two wheelers, so I guess they will get that loving feeling back by jacking the trikes for as long as they can.

The GM (who is a little younger than the owner and is always real straight forward) said though that the new HD Trike wasnt nearly as good looking as the 2008 Champion Conversion Ultra I was sitting on in his parking lot at that moment.(two-tone sunglo red) Also said the fenders were bolt on separate from the body...kinda strange. Cant tell it in the photos Ive seen.

 

[WingDinger]

Still doin ok with two wheels but may have to get some trainin wheels.Not sure i can hack a threewheeler yet.If i do ill be doing my old EG.Anyone make a kit that I can install myself?

 

[Dwight]

My dealer says he will have one (Blue only and equipped with reverse) in about 2 weeks and will recieve a 2nd one after the first of the year. I'm riding an 07 Ultra/CSC and I'm a little dissapointed with the Tri Glide. I was afraid, when they announced that they were teaming with Lehman, that we were in for a straight axle trike. No disrespect for Lehman, I've put together about 6 of them and they are a good kit but I really hoped for a independent suspension. I'm also not to happy about only 4.5 cubic feet of storage in the trunk, that's just a little more than half of what I have in the CSC. Also we've had enough problems with add on electric reverse that the shop no longer will install them. The Champion manual reverse is much better and not any more expensive. Now, with all of that said, I haven't seen one yet so I'll remain open minded about it. I told them not to sell the first one until I had a chance to look it over, we'll see!
Dwight

 

[BlueTrinity]

Harley Tri-Glide

Had a chance to visit the Lehman plant while at Sturgis and got a first hand look at the Tri-Glide, saw a dissected machine and talked at length with Lehman engineer.

Lots of good things here. New frame is great and will provide a much smoother ride. Access to the trike mechanicals is a snap, thanks to bolt-on fenders. Four engine mounts, take away the heavy shaking but leaves the typical Harley feel. At idle and low speed, it feels more like a SoftTail than an E-Glide. Seat is wider, more plush and very, very comfortable.

The bad? First off, you can get just three very uncreative colors -Black, dull Blue and Red - no white and and no two-tones. No decision on expanding that for 2010 and beyond. Styling is disappointing. Looks like a typical Lehman, no distinct Harley styling touches apparent. (Has Willie been asleep?)

If you can live with the drab colors and are willing to plunk down a deposit, you can order one. But don't expect to ride it soon. Lehman says all the 2009 and 2010 production is sold out and while dealers are taking orders, if you place the order, you can figure on getting a 2011.

By the way, Lehman is cranking out lots of Victories in addition to their Honda conversions, and the colors on both are sparkling.

As I see it, you can do a lot more individualization if you go the conversion route. The only thing you lose is the bolt-on fenders and couple of grand that Harley saves from not producing the swing arm, wheel and fender assemblies. All of the other new features are common to the ElectraGlides.

 

[Lady Triker]

Blue,
Thanks for the interesting post.
I'm curious...do the fenders look like they're bolted on, or do they look like they belong on the trike?
The dealer here in Alberta, Canada says that he is getting 4 in by Christmas.
No ideas of colors etc., but they are all going to have the reverse on them.
I guess one of the major hurdles is, the actual shipping of the Tri-Glides. Many of the transport companies for motorcycles are not equipped (yet) to transport a much larger machine...i.e. trikes.
So, I guess that will be an excuse to raise the price of the delivery costs, which will be passed on to the consumers.
It sounds like, from your post that you actually drove one?

 

[BlueTrinity]

Harley Tri-Glide

There was no availability to ride one. I have however ridden the new bas FLHT and it is definitely improved. That is what I based the "feel" comments on.

No, while there are seams, the fenders do not look bolted on. It's a very smooth looking trike. I just expected a more creative design that would be exclusive to Harley.

I forgot to mention that the new below-the-frame exhaust crossover system really works well on the trike and provides a much cleaner drive side look.

While the reverse is an "option", I got the impression that they aren't making any without it. It is single speed electric motor operated from an additional rocker switch on the handle bar.

I don't think dealers are initially getting any choice of colors. Lehman had about 30 Tri-Glides ready to go out the door. One was red and the rest were black.

 

[trike lady]

Harley Production Trike

Hello all,
I have heard the rumor of the Harley trike for going on two years and I figured it was going to be like Big Foot, a UFO or an Elvis sighting; the recent news of the trike finally surfacing is great.
Do I like the trike? Yes.
Do I think it will sell? Yes
Are trikes cool? YES!!
It's about time and I think it is a great choice that they chose Lehman to create the trike. Now I want to see the real trike, not just a picture.
Thank you,
Trike Lady

 

[BlueTrinity]

Pull in the fangs there Kodiak. I didn't realize this was a Harley haters forum.

I'm not in love with those ChunFeng scooters you're building either, but to each his own.

Make you a deal... you don't buy American and I won't buy Chinese...then let's not criticize each other's tastes.

Heck, I'll even ride down the road with you! It's not WHAT you ride...it's THAT you ride.

 

[trike lady]

New Harley Trike

Hello All,
The new Harley trike arrived at the local dealership on 9-4-08 and was sold before it even got to the sales floor. I believe the person who bought it must have been calling all the dealers until they found the dealer that had one and then rushed in to get it. That person is certainly going to be the envy of the HOG chapter. Those who didn't get to see the trike are certainly going to be disappointed.
This trike is certainly going to have a waiting list. If you want one you're going to have to put your name on a list and wait .
Thank you,
Trike Lady

 

[WEB]

I test rode a new tri glide at the harley 105th anniversary,you got the full test on the test ride because you rode on back streets and interstates.I thought the ride was not too bad for the suspension that it has.Some of the side streets beat you up pretty bad but it might not have mattered what you was on,the road was bad.I enjoyed the trike,the fenders shaking without the rest of the body doing it was a little strange.The reverse was handy but not very smooth operation,jerky when first turned on.The interest was big and the line was long for the test ride.

 

[Papa Zook]

Production TriGlide Problems - Two Recalls?

I talked to a friend of mine today who is service manager at a large Harley Store in Oklahoma. He said the new Tri-Glides are having some problems, one being that there is already a recall on the new Twin Cam 103 V-Twin engines. He said HD dealers feel that in a not-so-typical Harley move, this motor setup was rushed to market and not thoroughly tested as has been typical on other Harley machines. He said there is also a recall on the electric reverse system. Not sure what the problem is, but all are being recalled for an upgrade.

He said that there are other smaller issues they are dealing with but didnt go in to detail on those.Those who were kicking themselves for not waiting on the Harley trike can rest their boots now. You made a good decision after all. Not saying these wont turn out to be a good machine, just think it wise to wait a while until the bugs get worked out.

 

[Papa Zook]

Follow Up

Responding to a PM-

To follow up on my last post, Im not in any way trying to downgrade the new Harley trike, or discourage anyone from buying one, just passing on information. Harley Davidson`s quality is normally top notch and is therefore seldom questioned. I just wanted to communicate known issues with the TriGlide so potential buyers are aware of them. Thats it.

 

[katfish16]

As with anything new or different there might be problems. the good part is they are trying to fix them.

 

[Dwight]

My shop has one on the showroom floor, already sold but I did get some time to look it over. Its a nice clean looking trike. If they sell them for msrp $29995 they will sell a lot of them. I not real enthused with the electric reverse and I see from above post they are already having issues with it. For about the same dollars you could buy the Champion manual reverse, of course you would have to install it yourself or pay them. The big dissapointment for me was the use of the air cooled motor. It seems like they just don't want to do anything else with the V-Rod motor, its a shame, its water cooled and actually has "real" horsepower. In their favor they did equip it with a 103" motor so you don't have to spend another bunch of dollars for more horsepower. I'll probably hang on to my CSC for another year or two and see how this factory trike plays out. It sitll looks like a pretty good deal to me.

Dwight

 

[O'le Guy]

I just got back from the local HD dealer..they had one on the floor for $37,+++.00 dollars. Sure was pretty. They loaded it up with $4,+++.00 of chrome. Told me if I bought it today, I couldn't have it till November. They want to display it and have other people and their kids sit on it. Right!!!! Anyway, it has a straight axle and I'm leaning towards an independent suspension on a GW. But, it sure was pretty.

 

[Nana]

We stopped at an HD dealer in South Carolina. There was a new TriGlide on the floor. They wheeled it into the parking lot and let us test drive it. Here is my husband checking it out. He says it was smooth and the steering damper helped. He liked that the fenders come off for service. The electric reverse was not impressive at all! It will be interesting to see how well they get the bugs out as the production progresses.

 

[threewheeled]

Pull in the fangs there Kodiak. I didn't realize this was a Harley haters forum.

I'm not in love with those ChunFeng scooters you're building either, but to each his own.

Make you a deal... you don't buy American and I won't buy Chinese...then let's not criticize each other's tastes.

Heck, I'll even ride down the road with you! It's not WHAT you ride...it's THAT you ride.

I Trike allot of HD's, it was not meant to sound that way. The base bike is Chinese that I build a Trike out of and we mfg the Transmission and Rearend and this Chinese bike put 7 americans to work and BMS made it so the average person could own a trike.
Honda= China
Yamaha=China
Suzuki=Korea
Harley=Mexico
United Motors=Korea
The Biggest and most famous motorcycle engine MFG in the World for most all of the above...??? Lifan, in China....
I trike them all and do not love or hate any of them so I am sorry you took it that way. I ride for me only anyway and you can ride a bicycle and I will ride with you and have fun....
RIDE TILL YOU DIE BUT, DON'T DIE RIDING!!!
I'LL RIDE MY BIKE INTO MY GRAVE, WITH MY LAST WORDS BEING,,,"DAMN, WHAT A RIDE!!!
KODIAK

 

[Ironhorsepilot]

Maybe because the Tri Glide is having problems is why mine has been pushed back to Jan. or later. I am sick. Was due in November. Of course, I want it right!! Our winters can have some good days, and was looking forward to practice rides before Daytona.