Has anyone tried removing the rear wheels from their Tri-Glide?

I attempted to remove the rear wheels on my TG; because the Tri-Glide is so low I was unable to get my big floor jack under the TG so I tried using a smaller compact floor jack but it did raise the TG high enough. I managed raise the TG about 6” off the ground but because of the narrow wheel well opening in the fender; the tire will NOT come out through the wheel well and MUST drop out the bottom! But how do you get the TG high enough to do so?

I have no doubt that a Harley dealer has the capabilities to properly raise the trike enough to remove the wheel; however, my concern is…what if you have a flat tire, will the average road service truck, gas station or tire dealer have a jack that is compact enough to fit under the TG, yet capable of lifting it high enough to drop the tire down!?!

This is how I finally accomplished what SHOULD have been a simple task: I backed the trike up on a set of car ramps, thus allowing me to position the large floor jack. This worked but made the trike scarey high and life should not be this difficult! If any one has any suggestion, please chime in.

Like many of you have stated in the past: “I too absolutely love my TG”; however, every time I work on it, I shake my head in bewilderment…the engineers certainly did not make things easy!

 

I would think a standard floor jack would be low enough to get under the rear to raise it. I can on my Motorike.

Most likely at the dealer shop they use a motorcycle lift with side extensions, once its up the put a scissors jack to lift the rear up

 

I don't think that is a TG specific problem. My Renegade kit is the same way, you have to jack it up pretty high. I always considerd that if I had a flat out there on the road and could not get a plug in the hole...it would mean a call for the wrecker. But...that would also be the case with a 2-wheeler also.

I jack it up and then block it with stands...then put some blocks on top of the jack and jack it on up to where I need to for wheel removal.

 

I had the same problem with mine. My small hydrualic floor jack just fit from the front of the wheel on the frame member close to the wheel. I only jacked it up about 4" then managed to get the wheel out at a slight angle. Royal pain in the ----

 

I just ordered a 2010 Tri-Glide and was wondering where the jack is to be placed to remove the rear wheel.
I know the steel axel tubes are not made for jacking and was wondering where the correct jack point is located.

 

There are not a lot of options in terms of “jacking points”; space is extremely tight under the trike ! About an inch and a half in front of the rear axel, there are two ¼" x 3” steel plates that appear to join the rear half of the trike to the front; this is the only place I found comfortable using as a lifting point; (and was able to get a jack to) as I stated…there just aren’t a lot of good options!

Congratulations on your new Tri-Glide; if you have been following this thread, you know that the TG is not perfect but you would also know that most everyone that owns one loves it! It will be interesting to hear you report on your 2010 to see if they were able to “DEBUG” the quirks of the first model year?

 

I will be reporting on the various points of the TG as i become familiar with the machine.
I also get into the why's and how's of anything i purchase so i am very curious about all aspects of mechanical, appearance, and handling of the TG.
I can't wait to get my hands on this TG. It will be a learning curve at first as i have only owned two wheeled bikes up untill now.
I will also keep everyone posted on how the dealer fixes and maintains things on the checkups.
It will probably be a month or more before the TG arrives. In the meantime i will be loging miles on my 09 Road Glide.
I will be monitoring this part of the forum in the meantime and in the future hope to be able to contribute meaningful data and thoughts on the TG.
It appears to me and HD that the TG will see more people interested in Tri-Glides as the population is not getting any younger. Even if a person is not a baby boomer the TG offers a lot to like.

 

I have a table lift that I use to use with my 06 Ultra. I bought the jack that came with the table lift to raise the rear up.It works perfectly to raise up the trike. You must lift it in the same manner you do with a 2 wheeler. Place a jack that goes under both frame rails.

 

Wondering if anyone has anymore input. I just had to have the Tri-glide hubcaps for my new ride but didn't realize you had to remove the rear wheels. Since it's so new, I hate to inflict any damage by lifting it the wrong way. I've heard something about tying the front wheel to the floor before lifting; I have no way to do that. I have the silver Craftsman ATV jack from previous bike that has 1500 lb capacity. Will that get the trike high enough to drop the rear wheels and is it safe enough?

 

Poke-around back up in the post on this thread and you will find an answer. It is not that hard. Get a jack under a frame member, like a shock-mount and just jack the side you want to remove the tire. They do have to come up rather high and depending on your jack, you can jack it up a few inches and stick some blocks of wood under the wheel and let it back down on the blocks, then block-up your jack to gain some lift and jack her up again until you can get the wheel off. You will not turn it over or hurt a thing. Just jack it in a spot that is solid like the shock mount area. Obviously....say away from the exhaust and fiberglass components. You can do this one wheel at a time. Yes...your 1500 pound capacity jack will easily handle one side at a time.