My wife took a demo ride on a Tri Glide and it was difficult for her to steer.

She finds that turning the Tri Glide is causing her to put extra strength into the turn.

She is thinking of putting a rake kit on. We find them for sale on the internet, but don't know if that will make it turn the bike easier.

I know some Goldwing trikes have a raked out front end.

Anyone have a Tri Glide with a non stock fork rake? Is it easier to steer?

 

TriGlides are already raked from the factory.

 

According to my research, the fork rake on a Ultra Classic and Limited is 26 degrees.

The Tri Glide fork rake is 26 degrees.

Am I wrong?

 

Someone makes a kit to raise the rear of the Tri-Glide to ease the turning. Check into that also.

 

If so done has trouble with the force required to steer a stock TriGlide...IMHO nothing out there is going to reduce the steering force to a manageable level. Although I hate saying this, maybe she should try out a Can Am Spyder that comes standard with power steering.

 

I personally did not have problems with the harder steering, however there are things we have modified that helped ease the steering some.

• Lift kit: by DK or Triglide Stuff. Real purpose to level the trike for aesthetics, and keep the tail pipes from scraping, however does help comfort, and steering some.
• Multistage shocks: Progressive multi stage shocks help better smooth out rebound and ride comforts, however also even out the pressure being applied to the front wheel and helped some with steering force.
• Handle Bars: There are pull back, and mini apes that are wider. This helps a lot with the leverage.
• Just getting used to the difference 2 wheel steering technique and 3 wheel steering technique. On a 3 wheel use push, and pull method. It is almost a reverse of 2 wheel, but each person gets to their own comfort zone how to balance how much to pull into the turn at same time pushing with opposite arm.

I personally would not rake the Tri Glide any more than it comes from the factory. I would be concerned with wheel lift, shake, and breaking loose in cornering.

 

I have actively researched this. There are aftermarket rake kits that do offer waaaay easier steering. these are raked triple trees & cost aprox $1000 installed. I have test ridden 2014 Indian trikes that are using Roadsmith frames. One can do figure 8's @ 20mph with the fingertips with these units. I dont remember the degree of rake compared to a HD but it is a few more deg of rake.
I have a good buddy that manages a metric dealership that uses 2 different trike kits for they conversions. Both kits come with EZ steer options that include, a raked triple tree.
I am seeing that the lift kits offered here by sponsers are claiming easier steering in addition to more clearance. I am going to try that this winter b4 I consider a rake kit as I need clearance anywho.
www.halfbreedcustoms.com did a 2014 FLHX in a trike that i test rode. very easy to steer. They also told me that when they rake triglides, they recommend removing the steering dampener.

 

FWIW I installed the TriGLide lift kit because I occasionally scraped the ground with the stock setup. No more scraping.


However, I didn't notice any difference in steering forces. Yes it takes effort to steer . . . but I got used to it in the first mile riding. If you have arm/back problems the stock setup will probably not work for you even with a lift kit.

 

TYVM I've been wondering about that

 

You are correct, BUT that is only part of the equation...

The trail on a Tri-Glide is 3.94" and the trail on the Ultra Classic is 6.7"

Trail and Rake work hand in hand, affecting the steering.


There are companies that make kits to rake the TG's even more-

Lehman and Adventure Motorsports are two that you can get a kit and advice from so you don't end up with undesirable side effects.


In addition, as FF mentioned, a Lift Kit will make it a bit easier to steer, and wider handlebars can really make a big difference, the wider they are, the easier.

I have a bum left shoulder, and with the kind of miles we put in I need all the help I can get.

My handlebars being 4" wider than stock makes for much less effort being needed.

That said, a Tri-Glide is always going to require significantly more effort than a 2 wheeled bike.