Told Mrs Notgrownup I might consider a GW w/CSC

[Notgrownup]

She said as long as she was paying half of it the front will not be a Goldwing. She said you can trike an Ultra if you want or even a Road Glide but not a Goldwing..lol. I guess that settles it then.

 

[HDUSA1]

Funny, my wife said the same thing….

I learned many many years ago never to question mama. What’s the saying, happy wife, happy life? (I figured it out later when she handed me a Christmas list full of Harley apparel why she wanted an HD!)

 

[Trail boss]

She said as long as she was paying half of it the front will not be a Goldwing. She said you can trike an Ultra if you want or even a Road Glide but not a Goldwing..lol. I guess that settles it then.

A suggestion. Take the Boss on a long text ride on the WING and the ULTRA. if someone like Papa Zook builds you a WING, it (WING) will ride like a Cadillac. There’s several things you can do to the ULTRA to make the ride better (see DK Customs) but comfort ain’t cheap. If the Boss is still set on getting a HD trike, say “ Yes Dear” and let it go. I don’t mean to brag but I’ve been happily and faithfully married for 43 years and I’ve been right twice.

 

[Ironhorse54]

I agree with trail boss 100%. I drove a Harley trike for eight hours and did not like it at all. Very bumpy with lots of vibration. The Harley has a solid rear end Axle with no suspension. I then drove a goldwing trike and immediately fell in love with it. The Goldwing CSC kit has independent rear suspension and much much smoother. And very shortly after that, I had my Goldwing converted over with a CSC trike kit. Just saying…

 

[Marc H]

She said as long as she was paying half of it the front will not be a Goldwing. She said you can trike an Ultra if you want or even a Road Glide but not a Goldwing..lol. I guess that settles it then.

Didn't one once say she was more pro Harley than you were. At least she is ok with a conversion so at least you can get a better ride.

 

[Notgrownup]

Converting a Harley will be the only way. But I have maxed out the comfort mods except for me. Independent rear suspension is the only other upgrade for her, for me, a rake kit. She says 5he Goldwing is way to quiet. I can do sun up to sun down now on-the current set up.

 

[Notgrownup]

A suggestion. Take the Boss on a long text ride on the WING and the ULTRA. if someone like Papa Zook builds you a WING, it (WING) will ride like a Cadillac. There’s several things you can do to the ULTRA to make the ride better (see DK Customs) but comfort ain’t cheap. If the Boss is still set on getting a HD trike, say “ Yes Dear” and let it go. I don’t mean to brag but I’ve been happily and faithfully married for 43 years and I’ve been right twice.

34 years now married. I’ve done the ultimate seat, tour pak relocator, passenger pegs, 14” pro action shocks, sheepskin. The bike runs great. We’ve done a test ride on a Wing with CSC and she agreed that it was nice and rode great, just not a Harley. I will wait a while until I get closer to retirement in 5 years then I might look at a converted Harley turnkey. For now we shall enjoy our current new to us 21 Tri glide.

 

[Notgrownup]

Didn't one once say she was more pro Harley than you were. At least she is ok with a conversion so at least you can get a better ride.

lol, she is the die hard Harley gurl. I’m simply a motorcyclist…

 

[Notgrownup]

I agree with trail boss 100%. I drove a Harley trike for eight hours and did not like it at all. Very bumpy with lots of vibration. The Harley has a solid rear end Axle with no suspension. I then drove a goldwing trike and immediately fell in love with it. The Goldwing CSC kit has independent rear suspension and much much smoother. And very shortly after that, I had my Goldwing converted over with a CSC trike kit. Just saying…

You were already a Winger, that’s the difference, we’ve been on a touring Harley since I bought my 07 Electra Glide and put 112000 almost trouble free miles on it. Only reason we bought our first trike was my knees starting to give out. We bought out first Tri Glide January of 21 it was a used 2014 with 35000 miles on it and I proceeded to upgrade the suspension, seat, bars and All the needed FARKLES.

When we got back from riding the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia, we both knew we wanted to upgrade. The 21 was sitting there with 1900 miles on it. I traded and swapped a bunch of stuff. We are preparing for a 5 day trip next month and a 12 day trip this summer. Mama is happy now but the suspension could be always better, I am very well aware of that and know the difference as I’ve rode and studied it Ad Nauseum. The only upgrade now might be the Nexgen shocks from DK but I don’t know if the difference is worth the money.

 

[cycle7447]

Somehow I think you guys are missing his point. Not a TriGlide but an ultra converted with a CSC or Roadsmith.

I have one - and, I had a GoldWing trike in the past. I promise you - the ride is just as nice.

 

[Papa Zook]

Somehow I think you guys are missing his point. Not a TriGlide but an ultra converted with a CSC or Roadsmith.

I have one - and, I had a GoldWing trike in the past. I promise you - the ride is just as nice.

But have either of you ridden a new, Gen Six Goldwing DCT CSC or RS conversion? If you have not, you'd be in for a big surprise. These have prompted way more devoted, lifetime Harley owners to make the switch than you'd imagine.

 

[cycle7447]

But have either of you ridden a new, Gen Six Goldwing DCT CSC or RS conversion? If you have not, you'd be in for a big surprise. These have prompted way more devoted, lifetime Harley owners to make the switch than you'd imagine.

I have not ridden one - so, you might be right. I was a devoted GW rider until 2004 - that's when I moved to Harley. Since then, I have had all Ultras - 2004, 2011, 2014 and now the 2021.

In 2014, my son had finished college, I was retired, and we were preparing for some long trips. At that time, he had a 2009 Suzuki - so, I asked him what he wanted.

Not a Harley, but a 2014 Suzuki Blv Boss. Took him to the Suz-Honda dealer, found what he wanted and saw a nice GW. Asked if I could take a ride - dealer said the battery was dead, make an appointment. I did just that for the next weekend.

Came back to the dealership (and by the way, I rode in on my Harley) - dealer said he does not like doing test drives. I thanks him - and never looked back.

I was a lifetime GWRRA member. When they dissolved, GWRRA promised to refund the money I paid for what was called Rescue Plus. They promised and promised - have several e-mails, many of which said the check was mailed.

Well, you probably can imagine the rest. GWRRA is not Honda, and the Honda dealer is not the manufacturer - but I would have to go to them for work.

I did ask - convert it and there is no warranty work, I said - what about the non-changed items engine, radio -was told the extra weight would affect the engine.

I am sticking with the Harley

 

[Notgrownup]

But have either of you ridden a new, Gen Six Goldwing DCT CSC or RS conversion? If you have not, you'd be in for a big surprise. These have prompted way more devoted, lifetime Harley owners to make the switch than you'd imagine.

What I rode was a DCT with CSC conversion I believe as it was in around 2019. I also rode an Indian with the CSC because they didn’t have a Harley with the conversion on the Demo truck. As I have said before, we couldn’t complain about the ride and the performance. It was a serene ride. My wife said, we might as well buy a convertible. We probably will buy at least another trike in our lifetime lord willing. We shall see then.

 

[WindyOne]

Gen Six Goldwing DCT CSC
$54,687.00 is what stops me from even thinking about getting one.
I'll suffer my ride at half that cost.

 

[NJMike]

I am a GW CSC guy and love it. But….the Harley bike, after the CSC conversion, will have independent rear suspension….

 

[Ironhorse54]

True dat, NJMike. I was thinking of the Harley trike from the Harley factory.

 

[Notgrownup]

I did my due diligence in studying what I wanted and what I have. Keven visited the CSC factory and was given the tour by their engineer. Class act. It would’ve cost me a whole lot more than what I have in my 21 Tri Glide. At the time this is what I was going to spend. I have a very nice ride. Warrantied, low miles and I can ride anywhere with it. It is what counts for me.

 

[Trail boss]

But have either of you ridden a new, Gen Six Goldwing DCT CSC or RS conversion? If you have not, you'd be in for a big surprise. These have prompted way more devoted, lifetime Harley owners to make the switch than you'd imagine.

I just got the TITLE to ROJO in the mail today. All I’m waiting on is to win a small lottery and I will consider having the Tri Gilde converted to a CSC or just piece meal upgrades on the current suspension. Love Harley (til it became WOKE) but the WING is a smoother ride no matter what Harley does. IMHO Harley needs to specialize in touring baggers and cruisers (beer joint bikes). Screw the electric bikes and adventure bikes and sport bikes. Just sayin.

 

[Wmitz]

Some years ago, I thought I read somewhere that Harley was working an IRS setup for the trikes. I asked the dealer about it, he has heard of it as well. Don’t know if it is a patent issue or is cost prohibitive. I’ve talked with a couple of people with IRS conversions with no issues, one was over 50k with his conversion. Maybe Harley is just waiting it out to raise the price of trikes high enough to cover the costs of the change over.

 

[PFWiz]

I tested a 2021 Wing DCT with as CSC kit....

On Monday I test rode a 2021 Gold Wing California Side Car trike. So does this mean I am not sure of going to Harley Hell when I die?
Anyways I thought I would share all my impressions with everyone....

My wife and I stopped at a Trike builder about 2 hours from our house. We had hoped to get a test ride, but it decided to rain. Anyway we got to look at and sit on a new GW CSC trike.

1) The trike is very pretty. Maybe a little less macho than a Harley trike, but very pretty. Kind of like comparing Dom's Charger in the Fast and Furious to a curvy Ferrari.

2) All the buttons and switch's seem overwhelming. Probably no more or not much more than on my CVO, but I will have to learn them and their locations all over again.

3) At first sitting on the bike bothered my hips, but that went away after a few moments. My wife was ok with her seating position.

4) Handle bars are too far forward and maybe down for my tastes. Fortunately Helibars makes a widget to correct that.

5) Foot rests and the brake pedal seem much farther aft than on Harley. Not sure if I like that, but with the DCT I am not sure how much it will really matter.

6) Trunk is huge, my wife gave it her official seal of approval.

7) I like the phone storage and the other cubby just to the right better that the fairing storage cubby on my bike.

8) I like the adjustable wind screen, but I am not sure it is wide enough.

9) Trying to figure out where Highway pegs will be mounted. There are several locations on a GW where they can be mounted. On a Harley the actual mounting location is the same for almost all of them.

10) I will have an aux fuel tank. For me that is a requirement. I don't want to suffer from fuel anxiety and when riding with our group I don't want to be the bike with shortest legs that everyone has to keep stopping for.

11) Having a hard time believing just how few accessories are available for the GW when compared a HD. That goes triple for performance mods.

12) One thing my wife is not happy about is the lack of GW clothing, (Tshirts, jackets...etc). Say what you will about HD bikes, their clothing while expensive is extremely well made. Our HD HiVis rain suits are second to none IMO, my heavy HD leather jacket could stop zombie bites.

We went back last Monday when the weather was nice and took the trike for a ride...
Got a test ride yesterday with the wife on a 2021 GW DCT CSC conversion. It was a good ride, maybe 10 miles. I understand that my comparisons will be against my non triked CVO Limited and therefore not always apples to apples, but I can only compare it what I know....

13) At every stop - "Who stole the damn clutch?"

14) The DCT ranks somewhere between very good and great. Shifts were crisp and fast both up and down. In Sport mode they make bike seem more powerful than I think it really is. That said 7th is geared way too high. I see it as being useless except at highway speeds (and only fast highways at that). At 60 the bike was turning about 2000 rpm and was nearly unable to accelerate without down shifting. My CVO turns about 2450 at 60 mph and has at least some useful acceleration available from there.

15) The engine - Smooth as silk, but not nearly as powerful as I expected. I must admit from all I have heard over the years I expected this thing to cause the earth's rotation to change when I twisted my wrist. Didn't happen. With the slick DCT snapping through the gears it accelerated pretty well, but it did not change my life. While the power comes on lower than my CVO I don't think that ultimately there is much if any more to be had. Pretty sure that if I put an after market cam in my bike ( about 115 hp and 130 Tq) and triked it, it would be able to eat the GW trike's lunch from a rolling start. From at standing start that DCT would be pretty hard to beat.

16) Exhaust sound - I never expected it to sound as good my bike, but sheesh... The best thing I can say about it is when cruising it is pretty quiet and that makes it harder to hear how bad it sounds. When I got on the throttle it just sounded terrible. It seriously made me not want to goose the throttle just so I would not have to hear the terrible exhaust note. I would absolutely have to put after market mufflers on it. I am not one of those idiots who believes "loud pipes saves lives", but I want an exhaust that sounds good and powerful, kinda like a purring tiger not a snarling wombat with a sore throat.

17) Where is that damn clutch?

18) Kept thinking that the bike was going fall over on it's side every time I turned. Actually seemed worse at slow speeds. I know that it won't, but you need to remember that this is the first trike that I ridden in at least 5 years. I kept telling myself that I was being irrational, but it was hard to overcome. My wife said I kept trying to lean every time we turned. I expect the feeling would go away after a few rides.

19) The foot position wasn't as bad I originally feared. On my bike the foot controls farther forwards so that is what I am used to. After a few minutes I started to get used to it and I think after a while it would probably be OK.

20) The brake pedal - did the cost of the brake pedal come out of some engineer's wallet? It is tiny! One of the first things I would have to do is pu a much larger afer market pedal on.

21) Still can't find the damn clutch!!

22) The ride - My wife (the only one who matters in this category) says in general it rides great, very smooth. She did say when we went over some RR tracks while there was very little up/down movement she felt as if the back of the bike was "slithering" (her word). Overall she was pleased. I noticed that you see the front suspension working even when the ride was smooth. I guess that means it was working.

23) The stereo - The stereo volume was totaling underwhelming. The sound quality was fair, but the stereo just could not generate enough presence even at full volume at just 60 mph. My CVO has what Harley calls the Boom 1 system. It is the first level of factory upgrade (max is 2) and came stock with the bike. Personally I think it just barely acceptable to me and it beats the GW system hands down. When I am riding in difficult situations (a mean thunderstorm on the Million Dollar Highway in Colorado comes to mind) I blast Classic Rock. The worse it gets, the louder my music goes. When I was riding the Dragon 2 up, fully loaded through the rain you could hear me coming long before you saw me. I will definitively have to put some cash into the stereo system. If I can't butt dance through the rain on the highway at 75 mph I am not going to be happy.

24) The windshield - I like the electric mechanism, but the windshield was way too narrow for me. Gonna have to buy an wider aftermarket one.

25) Buffeting - it sucked. Momma was not happy.

I will say that it was fairly windy during our ride and I tried to take that into account. I will also admit the all of my Harley's took a fair amount of work to get the buffeting under control (new wind shields, fork fangs, dog dish...etc). My wife was not even a little bit pleased. this was her single biggest issue with the bike. I explained to her that after market wings and things are available to alleviate the issue and I reminded her about what I had to do to get our Harley to the point it is now.Now this bike was 100% stock as far a buffeting controls go and I understand that, but there is a lot of work I am going to have to do to make this right.

26) The seat - The shape was not bad but both of us thought that it was quite hard. Hopefully it will break in after some riding, because heated touring seats are quite expensive. The CVO only seat on our bike is most comfortable motorcycle seat I have ever tried. That said I have an Air Hawk pad for long rides because it still isn't perfect.

27) Reverse - Slower than I expected, but smooth and quiet. Much better than the electric reverse on Tri-Glides.

28) Still trying to grab the clutch at every stop....

29) Color - This was the black one, except it really isn't black, more like a very dark grey with lots of tiny metal flakes. It was very pretty in the sun, my wife liked too. I swore that I would never own another black bike (Black is not a color, it is a commitment), but his one makes me want to rethink that.

30) Seating position - Compared to my bike it feels like I am seated higher and farther forward than on my bike. Not sure if this is good or bad, just different.

31) Screen controls - The controls in the center are probably better and more intuitive than the hand controls on my CVO. That said, my bike (2018) which does not have the latest model system is touch screen which makes up for a multitude of sins.

 

[Notgrownup]

I tested a 2021 Wing DCT with as CSC kit....

On Monday I test rode a 2021 Gold Wing California Side Car trike. So does this mean I am no sure of going to Harley Hell when I die?
Anyways I thought I would share all my impressions with everyone....

My wife and I stopped at a Trike builder about 2 hours from our house. We had hoped to get a test ride, but it decided rain. Anyway we got to look at and sit on a new GW CSC trike.

1) The trike is very pretty. Maybe a little less macho than a Harley trike, but very pretty. Kind of like comparing Dom's Charger in the Fast and Furious to a curvy Ferrari.

2) All the buttons and switch's seem overwhelming. Probably no more or not much more than on my CVO, but I will have to learn them and their locations all over again.

3) At first sitting on the bike bothered my hips, but that went away after a few moments. My wife was ok with her seating position.

4) Handle bars are too far forward and maybe down for my tastes. Fortunately Helibars makes a widget to correct that.

5) Foot rests and the brake pedal seem much farther aft than on Harley. Not sure if I like that, but with the DCT I am not sure how much it will really matter.

6) Trunk is huge, my wife gave it her official seal of approval.

7) I like the phone storage and the other cubby just to the right better that the fairing storage cubby on my bike.

8) I like the adjustable wind screen, but I am not sure it is wide enough.

9) Trying to figure out where Highway pegs will be mounted. There are several locations on a GW where they can be mounted. On a Harley the actual mounting location is the same for almost all of them.

10) I will have an aux fuel tank. For me that is a requirement. I don't want to suffer from fuel anxiety and when riding with our group I don't want to be the bike with shortest legs that everyone has to keep stopping for.

11) Having a hard time believing just how few accessories are available for the GW when compared a HD. That goes triple for performance mods.

12) One thing my wife is not happy about is the lack of GW clothing, (Tshirts, jackets...etc). Say what you will about HD bikes, their clothing while expensive is extremely well made. Our HD HiVis rain suits are second to none IMO, my heavy HD leather jacket could stop zombie bites.

We went back last Monday when the weather was nice and took the trike for a ride...
Got a test ride yesterday with the wife on a 2021 GW DCT CSC conversion. It was a good ride, maybe 10 miles. I understand that my comparisons will be against my non triked CVO Limited and therefore not always apples to apples, but I can only compare it what I know....

13) At every stop - "Who stole the damn clutch?"

14) The DCT ranks somewhere between very good and great. Shifts were crisp and fast both up and down. In Sport mode they make bike seem more powerful than I think it really is. That said 7th is geared way too high. I see it as being useless except at highway speeds (and only fast highways at that). At 60 the bike was turning about 2000 rpm and was nearly unable to accelerate without down shifting. My CVO turns about 2450 at 60 mph and has at least some useful acceleration available from there.

15) The engine - Smooth as silk, but not nearly as powerful as I expected. I must admit from all I have heard over the years I expected this thing to cause the earth's rotation to change when I twisted my wrist. Didn't happen. With the slick DCT snapping through the gears it accelerated pretty well, but it did not change my life. While the power comes on lower than my CVO I don't think that ultimately there is much if any more to be had. Pretty sure that if I put an after market cam in my bike ( about 115 hp and 130 Tq) and triked it, it would be able to eat the GW trike's lunch from a rolling start. From at standing start that DCT would be pretty hard to beat.

16) Exhaust sound - I never expected it to sound as good my bike, but sheesh... The best thing I can say about it is when cruising it is pretty quiet and that makes it harder to hear how bad it sounds. When I got on the throttle it just sounded terrible. It seriously made me not want to goose the throttle just so I would not have to hear the terrible exhaust note. I would absolutely have to put after market mufflers on it. I am not one of those idiots who believes "loud pipes saves lives", but I want an exhaust that sounds good and powerful, kinda like a purring tiger not a snarling wombat with a sore throat.

17) Where is that damn clutch?

18) Kept thinking that the bike was going fall over on it's side every time I turned. Actually seemed worse at slow speeds. I know that it won't, but you need to remember that this is the first trike that I ridden in at least 5 years. I kept telling myself that I was being irrational, but it was hard to overcome. My wife said I kept trying to lean every time we turned. I expect the feeling would go away after a few rides.

19) The foot position wasn't as bad I originally feared. On my bike the foot controls farther forwards so that is what I am used to. After a few minutes I started to get used to it and I think after a while it would probably be OK.

20) The brake pedal - did the cost of the brake pedal come out of some engineer's wallet? It is tiny! One of the first things I would have to do is pu a much larger afer market pedal on.

21) Still can't find the damn clutch!!

22) The ride - My wife (the only one who matters in this category) says in general it rides great, very smooth. She did say when we went over some RR tracks while there was very little up/down movement she felt as if the back of the bike was "slithering" (her word). Overall she was pleased. I noticed that you see the front suspension working even when the ride was smooth. I guess that means it was working.

23) The stereo - The stereo volume was totaling underwhelming. The sound quality was fair, but the stereo just could not generate enough presence even at full volume at just 60 mph. My CVO has what Harley calls the Boom 1 system. It is the first level of factory upgrade (max is 2) and came stock with the bike. Personally I think it just barely acceptable to me and it beats the GW system hands down. When I am riding in difficult situations (a mean thunderstorm on the Million Dollar Highway in Colorado comes to mind) I blast Classic Rock. The worse it gets, the louder my music goes. When I was riding the Dragon 2 up, fully loaded through the rain you could hear me coming long before you saw me. I will definitively have to put some cash into the stereo system. If I can't butt dance through the rain on the highway at 75 mph I am not going to be happy.

24) The windshield - I like the electric mechanism, but the windshield was way too narrow for me. Gonna have to buy an wider aftermarket one.

25) Buffeting - it sucked. Momma was not happy.

I will say that it was fairly windy during our ride and I tried to take that into account. I will also admit the all of my Harley's took a fair amount of work to get the buffeting under control (new wind shields, fork fangs, dog dish...etc). My wife was not even a little bit pleased. this was her single biggest issue with the bike. I explained to her that after market wings and things are available to alleviate the issue and I reminded her about what I had to do to get our Harley to the point it is now.Now this bike was 100% stock as far a buffeting controls go and I understand that, but there is a lot of work I am going to have to do to make this right.

26) The seat - The shape was not bad but both of us thought that it was quite hard. Hopefully it will break in after some riding, because heated touring seats are quite expensive. The CVO only seat on our bike is most comfortable motorcycle seat I have ever tried. That said I have an Air Hawk pad for long rides because it still isn't perfect.

27) Reverse - Slower than I expected, but smooth and quiet. Much better than the electric reverse on Tri-Glides.

28) Still trying to grab the clutch at every stop....

29) Color - This was the black one, except it really isn't black, more like a very dark grey with lots of tiny metal flakes. It was very pretty in the sun, my wife liked too. I swore that I would never own another black bike (Black is not a color, it is a commitment), but his one makes me want to rethink that.

30) Seating position - Compared to my bike it feels like I am seated higher and farther forward than on my bike. Not sure if this is good or bad, just different.

31) Screen controls - The controls in the center are probably better and more intuitive than the hand controls on my CVO. That said, my bike (2018) which does not have the latest model system is touch screen which makes up for a multitude of sins.

So are you buying a GW trike?

 

[Notgrownup]

I sincerely hope MOCO comes out with a IRS for the TG. Until then I will ride my TG.

 

[PFWiz]

So are you buying a GW trike?

Nope, that snippet was actually from 2021 and I was testing a brand new GW trike. After much discussion with the wife we decided to trike our 2018 CVO Limited with a Roadsmith kit. The only thing I really miss from the GW was the DCT (that was slick).
After about 20,000 miles we are not the least bit unhappy with our choice. As we speak (or you read) she is getting a full Stage 2 with CR 480MT cam, intake, throttle body, injectors and all the other bits you could possibly want in a stage 2 upgrade.

 

[HDUSA1]

I sincerely hope MOCO comes out with a IRS for the TG. Until then I will ride my TG.

I agree that I wish they would come out with their own IRS. That would probably add another $10k to the bike and kill a lot of sales as it would be about the same as a GW trike. It would also kill the Dealer Service afterwards swapping out parts to make it ride better. Seems they went the opposite direction for ride this year with the bigger wheels with super low profile tires!

PFWiz, really appreciate your in depth review. I had the same impressions when I was looking at a 2023 DCT a year ago. While the GW is the Cadillac, after a lot of thought, it just was not my style. I’m happy with my 2020 Ultra with Roadsmith kit and plan on riding it for a few more years.

 

[Papa Zook]

Gen Six Goldwing DCT CSC
$54,687.00 is what stops me from even thinking about getting one.
I'll suffer my ride at half that cost.

 

[Notgrownup]

Nope, that snippet was actually from 2021 and I was testing a brand new GW trike. After much discussion with the wife we decided to trike our 2018 CVO Limited with a Roadsmith kit. The only thing I really miss from the GW was the DCT (that was slick).
After about 20,000 miles we are not the least bit unhappy with our choice. As we speak (or you read) she is getting a full Stage 2 with CR 480MT cam, intake, throttle body, injectors and all the other bits you could possibly want in a stage 2 upgrade.View attachment 131764

Sweet, that will be awesome.