Hey guys. I have a 2013 Triglide I bought new with 98 hundred miles on it now. I have noticed that the past two mornings that when using reverse, the bike will hardly back up at all on level ground and with only one person on board. About the only time I use reverse is to back it up about 3 feet out of my garage until the bike will roll back freely on it's own down a slight incline. I am wondering if it might be time for a new battery. You guys that have owned a Triglide for a while, what kind of battery life have you gotten from the original battery?? The bike starts fine every time and the voltmeter indicates a little over 12 volts when idling and immediately upon accleration, the voltmeter jumps to a little over 14 volts. Everything seems to work fine except for the reverse problem that just occured. Thanks for any input from you guys.

 

I'm willing to bet your battery is ok ... The reverse motor is problematic...
It is at best a back-up assist motor.....And if it is the battery then its the motor weakling the battery not the other way around..

 

You aren't leaving the parking brake on are you? I would be more inclined to believe the reverse motor is going out if it's not the parking brake.

 

No, the parking brake is not being left on. Thanks

 

I haven't had my TG that long, but based on the Ultras I have owned you are at the limit on a 3 year old battery. Add to that the fact that reverse pulls probably a bunch of amps......if it was me I would change out that battery.

 

On my intro to the TriGlide by the sales guy, when he was showing me the reverse procedure, he advised to bring the engine above idle, to at least 2000 RPM.. Watch the voltmeter, it should show above 13 volts if the alternator and battery are OK - it just doesn't charge much at flat idle..

 

I have a 2013 with over 30K now original battery and no issues with reverse. I do keep RPM's up most of the time when using reverse, probably not at 2K but slight increase to about 1,200 RPM. Battery should not only be tested for Volts, but cranking AMP. This determines when to replace, not by how old. I have had them last for over 5 years and still have plenty of cranking AMP and hold voltage.

 

My battery is in its 5th year and I put on charger if not riding for few days could be the reverse motor

 

The reverse motor is a starter; generally they work or they don't. If it is sluggish, most times something else will be the cause. Which means voltage/current, or something is binding.

First, check the motor terminals and make sure they are clean and corrosion-free. Make sure it hasn't loosened up and cocked sideways a bit while you're at it.

FYI, from the manual, for the '14+ trikes, not sure about 13 on back, but to enable reverse you need to have:
-Reverse button made
-Neutral
-Less that 2mph
-Less than 1500 rpm
-No codes that prevent reverse

So while it's a good idea to get the voltage up, but if you rev it a little you might not get it to enable reverse at >1500 rpm. Goose it a little after getting the enabled indicator on first.

Is the trike sitting on a battery tender? I keep my plugged in when not riding. Starting and reverse a maybe just a tad slower after sitting for a couple of days unplugged, but not by that much. If mine goes a week without charging, it gets pretty dicey whether it will start or not.

 

I pulled my reverse motor 3 times and every time i took it apart i found ; For the lack of a better words' The Brushes were all crapped upped........ Cleaned them twice. Rebuilt it the third time.
Went Mechanical the forth time....Problem solved...
Just to add the motor in the Harley is made by Hitachi and its geared down low for torque not starting...