Since trading in my 2012 RG Ultra on a 2016 TG in mid October of this year, I performed the recommended 500 mile break-in and then proceeded to rack up the other 500 miles in short order to self-perform my 1000 mile service.


I am likely pretty slow but it took parts of three days to complete everything that Harley lists on their 1k service checklist. I am not sure how the dealerships really do it in 2-3 hours? Like I have read, I suspect that some techs do an eyeball inspection and don't put a torque wrench on too many parts?


This past week was forecast to have nice weather in the Southeast and I took the opportunity to do a 1300 mile ride from North Florida, to Charleston, SC, and then on to Wrightsville Beach, NC before meandering home while visiting two more friends. The TG performed flawlessly! On one leg, I was following my buddy to his vacation home and he elected to run 75-80 mph for most of the trip. I was worried that I would get tagged by a road cop but felt compelled to keep up. I do not ordinarily speed excessively because our local cops around the country are in a big-time revenue mode and especially on interstates, it is like shooting ducks in a barrel for people that speed excessively. Oh well, didn't get caught and the trike didn't mind the speed one bit.


I am not sure why people are so riled up about the Infotainment system? Other than two weird calls to turn, the GPS worked flawlessly. To me, it seems like a pretty decent system but it took a lot of reading and experimenting before the trip so that I was able to use all of the features. I also had installed the headset in one of my helmets and so could listen to music via the headsets or speakers at will. Pretty decent tunes coming from the FM radio. I know that the stock mufflers are supposedly rated for 80 db but when really twisting the throttle, the sounds coming out the back end seemed much louder?


Gas mileage ranged from a low of 30 mpg to 35 mpg depending on the winds and terrain. It did not basically burn any oil on the trip. All in all, this trike purchase is one of the best things I have done in my 50 years of riding just about every kind of bike that has ever been built.

 

Good for you Captain Bob. Wife and I are on our 2nd generation of Harley trikes. Loved each and every one of them. The '09 and '11 were outstanding and gave us over 50K miles of flawless service. So far her '14 Tri and my '15 Freewheeler are more fun than a person should have. It tends to get old on the trike boards listening to everyone complain about everything on their trikes. We just got back from a 700 mile 'dinner' overnight.... in the rain. LOVED every minute


Ride it like you stole it!

 

Congratulations on your new ride. We are enjoying our s too as much as possible. Our only complaint is that work gets in the way of our plans. Four more years and that snag will hopefully be gone. I don't understand about the entertainment complaints either. We both use the wired headsets and have had no problems with what we use it for. Maybe we are just a couple of hayseeds who don't realize how bad it really is.

 

You think you're hayseeds... I got a 2011 and I have never even turned the radio on and STILL don't know how to use cruise control. This thing's just got more bells and whistles than I'll ever use in a hunnert years!

Clutch 'er, gas 'er, rider 'er and watch 'er.

 

Congrats on your new ride. Glad you are enjoying it and already making some good memories.

 

Thanks Kevin, I know I will never get her to go on the extended rides I like to take like you and your wife do. Yesterday was the second time that she rode on the back of the trike down to the Gulf Coast to look at the waterbirds and a bunch of larger alligators with a couple of them sunning on the shore that were in excess of 10' long. We then had lunch overlooking the St. Marks river with some friends that we met up with who rode their 2015 TG with us to the National Wildlife Refuge and then on to lunch and a beer. She is getting more comfortable sitting on the back and mentioned to me that the Rushmore fixes for wind diversion were to her liking in terms of helmet buffeting. She is getting more comfortable with the passenger grab rails if she feels a need and I am not hot rodding the bike with her on the back to keep her comfortable.


I also bought her a Bell 3/4 helmet that has a built-in deployable sun visor as well as a clear pull-down shield and she said that the helmet was very much to her liking. Her hair reportedly does not creep out of the helmet and whip her face. All in all, the TriGlide and the helmet were the best "investment" I could have made to keep motorcycling with out any drama.

 

Very cool! The TG is very confidence inspiring for passengers, that is for sure. Glad she is liking it more.