Ready to take the plunge to 3 wheels, are there any years to stay away from, any particular model years with significant upgrades? Any reason not to buy an early model if I find a deal on one

 

I don't believe it matters the newer one's have more bells and whistles and cost more. Ours is a great machine like all Harley's not perfect but remember it is a Harley. 14's and newer have duel cooled motors more power different gearing than I have. I would not worry about year just look at condition and equipment history. I'm sure many will add in their thoughts. We love our old Trike there have been so many upgrades I do not feel the need to ever trade Old Shiney off, would be like getting rid of a member of the family. ride safely Fearless
PS welcome you may never look back at Two wheels again I don't.

 

I don't know if this is a deal breaker but '09 - '10 conversions were done by Lehman according to Harley specs. Harley sent Lehman a 2 wheeler and received a converted Trike. In '11, HD brought production back to York, PA. The only annoying issue I had was Lehman/Harley leaving the kickstand bracket in place. There was also some water leakage in the trunk but that was fixed with an upgraded gasket seal.

Edit:

Below is a thread which is worth reading. I got bit 800 miles from home with shifter shaft problems.


Has your shifter shaft stripped yet?


https://www.hdforums.com/forum/new-r...ipped-yet.html

 

For me I test road 09-13 and did not want one until I got to ride the 14 and I was ready so I waited a year for a solid red....Miss Mysterious...

 

The kickstand bracket was still there on the Harley built Triglides through the 2013 MY. Early in the 09 was the leaking trunk and it was because the MoCo was specifying the trunk gasket vs Lehman. Once they quit messing around and went to the Lehman gasket the leaks stopped. The shifter shaft can rear it's ugly head on most of them, especially if it gets a touch loose. My dad had his shaft strip on his 09 while on a trip, I got lucky and was able to hog the hex bolt down enough to catch something so he could make it the last 160 miles home.

IMO, I don't think there are really any years to steer clear of. The 09 was the only year which had not catalytic converter in the head pipe, unless it was a California emissions Triglide. 2010 is the 1st year of everyone getting a Catalytic converter in the head pipe, 09 - 10 have a 32 tooth transmission sprocket which some like and some hate. Starting with the 11 my to present the transmission sprocket is a 30 tooth, IMO the 30 tooth makes the Triglide much easier to get rolling and makes for a nice improvement over the 32 tooth.

 

I had a 14 limited. I trade to a 13 triglide . There are a couple of things I miss from the 14 limited. 1) I did like the navigation system. 2) heated grips 3) my heated seat.

 

have heard that there is somewhat of a difference / improovements on the 14 and newer ones. My wife bought a 2012 with just under 5k on it and will have it 2 years as of next month with no issues, other than regular maint ect, but overall it has been good thus far. Last year we went to MB event and with my trl we took it instead. Not enough room in my trl for my bike and trike both. I'm not really a trike guy, but will admit I was more comfy and relaxed in some situations, stone lots, stopping at lights ect. No complaints other than I miss the leaning into turns ect. Good luck on your choices, my two cents and thought I would share. Was going to ride to the event, but we took more gear since we took the trl. but over all it was a good trip.

 

Wife and I have had: '09,' 11, and '14 Tri-Glides, and a '15 Freewheeler. Bought the '09 originally for her, I took it over when we bought her the '11. Got a hell of a deal on the '14 with 240 miles on her, then traded the '09 for the Freewheeler. The '09 was traded with 85,000 trouble free miles. Never stranded us anywhere, always started and ran very well. Very happy with her. The '11 was every bit as reliable as the '09. Basically the same Trike with slightly lower gearing. We bought the '14 because someone bought it, put a substantial down payment on her and couldn't ride it. We made a ridiculous offer to start the negotiations, and they accepted it!!! Wife wanted all the electronics etc. 14,000 miles later she is still in love. I traded the '09 for the Freewheeler. 40 years of Harleys, most choppers, all the 'stuff' in front of me ie. gages, fairings, windshields. When Harley came out with the Freewheeler, I bought the first one delivered to the dealer. ALL are fun as hell to ride. If "gizmos" isn't your thing, and you can get a deal on a pre '14, go for it. You won't have any water cooling to mess with. Like 'goodies' you can find some very low mileage '14+ scoots out there.

They are kick in the pants, lots of fun, and make great week-end explorers. Toss caution, drop the bucks, and DO IT!!

Oh, if you haven't ridden one yet, rent one for the day, a trip around the parking lot is definitely not enough

 

I had an '11 and now have a '14.

Depends on what you're wanting. Starting with '14 there is the whole new inner fairing layout with the Nav system. I like it.

The '14-16 have a bit more power, and the '17's with the M8 are a whole different ballgame.

I did a fairly in depth review of the differences between my '11 and '14 in the thread below...probably worth a read.

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/tri-g...fferences.html


As has been said, I don't think there are any years to steer clear of. Looking at your signature, you may be interested in extra power, and you can get a bit more out of the '14 ups.

 

Had a 2010, gearing is off on the ten's...