We will be picking up a black 2010 Tri-glide in a couple of weeks & would like to hear from some other experienced lady Tri-glide riders for their suggestions & advice. My girlfriend, Christine, is 5' 4", 105# with limited 2 wheel experience but with many thousands of miles as a passenger with me, & she has experienced all types of weather, conditions, & challenges of cross country travel as well as local daily riding. She has wanted to take control & ride her own bike for quite some time now & feels the trike is the safer way. We have tried out & ordered a reach seat with an adjustable back rest to bring her closer to the controls, & that made her feel more comfortable just sitting on one at the dealer. She has also completed the safe rider course & is in overall good shape & health. We will start out slowly & on back roads less traveled & progress as her confidence & comfort increases. We are open to & will appreciate additional advice & pointers.

 

At 5'4" beside the reach seat she may need to get pull back handlebars that are narrower for her also.

Riding a trike is all push/pull just like riding a 4wheeler. She is will need to work on her shoulder and arm strength also. The trike steering is weighty at slow speeds and can work yah till you gain the strength to manage it

Open highway riding is easier a start in my opionion because of the wider lanes and straighter roads till she get use to how the trike feels then she can work on roads with sharper turns and uneven pavement contours. Many secondary roads will roll to the shoulder and she need to be ready for the sudden pull of the trike towards the shoulder when it happens. Also heavily traveled secondary roads may have "tire ruts" that will in no other way to describe it as " pulling you into it" and can be handful at times

She will need to learn to shift her weight to the inside of turns when she does them at posted speeds. Many roads tend to roll outward from the turn and she will feel like she will roll over for sometime until she gains experience and knows the limits of her trike

Riding a trike she will also encounter wind resistance and push from cross winds. Sometime it takes a lot of upper arm and shoulder strength to counter the push from the wind and will wear yah out, especially when its gusty wind. ( I had a 40 to 50 mph cross wind to fight for 200 miles and Im 6' 3" and it wore me out )

One thing she will need to keep in mind is the width of her trike riding around other objects

The most important thing I would like to stress is.... Get into the habit of always parking your trike so you can pull out. Better to do it first before you park it then have to figure it out later

I hope you all have many miles of riding, be safe and enjoy your new trike

PS The rider floor boards have a upper and lower position, I would have them moved to the upper position at the dealer for her before you take delivery

 

I am 5'1 and also had limited two wheel experience. It is true that the contour of the back roads will "wake" you up and it is especially surprising when it is in a curve. The main thing is to slow down before entering and if you ride behind her on your bike, realize she will be slowing down. With my hubby behind me, i felt "safer" slowing down as #1 he was prepared for it and #2 he kept the tail gaiters off of me. The TriGlide is very easy to get used to, so it shouldn't take her long. Don't fight the steering when cornering which I was doing. Leaning to the inside (my body, don't try to lean the bike) really helped me. Also, while pulling on the handlebar in the direction of travel and pushing the opposite is the way to do curves, I found it was a slight movement with the easy steering on the TG. I pulled too hard one day and went in the opposite lane, but quickly was able to correct it. No harm done, luckily no traffic. I have found that when cornering, if I slightly pull and kept a steady but slight press on the opposite bar, I had better control. It just takes practice. I spent a few days in a large parking area doing lots of cornering to get the feel. Then went to back roads with little traffic. I found that riding in those type of situations made main road travel feel easy and helped to build my confidence.
I got a reach seat and that really helped! I have not had to change out my handlebars. The clutch can be a little hard for a woman, or man, with small hands. I got a Variable Pressure Clutch and that helped also. Gook Luck! once she has the feel of the trike, it is such an awesome experience! She will love it.

 

Thanks so much for responding to us in such a timely manner. We appreciate your comments & insight. In regards to your Variable Pressure Clutch (VPC), is that an AIM VP70T or 84T? When I tried out the reach seat, I noticed that the clutch did seem stiffer than the clutch on Bob's SE Ultra. We want to call the dealer to add the VPC prior to picking the bike up. Also, do you know if HD offers any pull-back handle bars for Tri-Glides? We checked the accessory catalog, but the description of the pull-backs said that they were not for Tri-Glides. Do you have a back-rest on yours? Bob has an adjustable back-rest on his bike, & with the reach seat & adjustable back-rest we have coming on the trike, I believe I will be more comfortable. Thanks again for responding, & we would appreciate any other comments you might have.

 

The experienced guys here will tell you VP70T.

 

I have learned that when ordering parts for the Tri-Glide, it is best to order by phone or in person rather than by computer! I guess because the Tri-Glide is so new there seems to be a lot of misinformation. For example: I have experienced cases where the Harley web-site and/or parts catalog will specifically read: “fits ’09 FLHTCUTG” and the part will not work! Also the opposite is true: “fits ’09 Touring Models (except Tri-Glide)” and after doing some research you find that the part will in-fact work on the TG! I have learned to question everything.

I would call a dealer and have the parts manager call Harley to see if the "pull-back" handle bars you are interested in diffidently will not work on your TG. In my experience; if a part works on the front half of a ’09 Touring Model, chances are it will work on the TG!

Good luck!

 

Yes, I have a back rest and it helps tremendously, except it isn't adjustable and I have a hard time reaching it. If I have luggage on the back seat it will push it forward enough so I can use it on long trips. I need to get an adjustable one. If you are 5'4, I am not sure you will need new bars. I would try it first. The reach seat puts you forward quite a bit. I feel real comfy with my bars. I got the 84T, but have since found out the 70T would be your best bet. I have gotten use to the clutch, but took awhile. It is about a 20% reduction in pull, and I believe the 70T is 40%. I was told that the 70T wasn't the one to get at the time I was inquiring. I am happy with mine though for the time being. If I can pull the clutch with arthritis and very small hands, you will do great with the 70T. Now, when i took mine in for service last month, they "adjusted" my clutch and I couldn't pull it. Had hubby adjust it back to where I am comfy. I need it to engage about 1/2 way out and they had it way out to the end. NOT GOOD!!

 

The reason I suggested pull back bars is, if your in a full turn left or right and have a need to react to either brake or pull the clutch in turning left or right you will find with stock bars it can be difficult to do if you dont have long arms.

Just so yah know, the Harley parts book isnt gospel for all parts for bikes. Many aftermarket parts maker tend to make a better product then what Harley sells.

As an example Chubby bars, KhromeWerks bar to name just 2 make different styles for 2008 to 2010 newer Harleys with the fly by wire that will fit the Triglide. The only difference on the front end of the Triglide is the raked triple trees and a longer fork tubes compared to a Ultra Classic Electraglide

I changed mine to a taller Khrome Werks +2 Sweeper bar because of my height in the seat. The bars happen to pull back towards me and make full turning much easier for me with a blown shoulder JMHO

 

[quote=TheJimer;5535188]I have learned that when ordering parts for the Tri-Glide, it is best to order by phone or in person rather than by computer! I guess because the Tri-Glide is so new there seems to be a lot of misinformation. For example: I have experienced cases where the Harley web-site and/or parts catalog will specifically read: “fits ’09 FLHTCUTG” and the part will not work! Also the opposite is true: “fits ’09 Touring Models (except Tri-Glide)” and after doing some research you find that the part will in-fact work on the TG! I have learned to question everything.

I would call a dealer and have the parts manager call Harley to see if the "pull-back" handle bars you are interested in diffidently will not work on your TG. In my experience; if a part works on the front half of a ’09 Touring Model, chances are it will work on the TG!

Good luck!
We are getting the TG with the SE A/C, SE mufflers, & SE super tuner, along with the smart tuner software which is required on 2010 models when the SE super tuner is used, & the dealer will do the tuning. Bob always removes his leg fairings in the summer months on his 2006 103ci SE Ultra. We plan on doing the same for the TG. We've noticed from other threads that you live in the southwest like we do, & that you have had some heating issues as have other TG owners in other areas of the country. What have you done to try to alleviate this problem, & how successful have you been? Any other comments/advice, from anyone, will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Oops! We're still learning how to use this site. Sorry about repeating this. We are getting the TG with the SE A/C, SE mufflers, & SE super tuner, along with the smart tuner software which is required on 2010 models when the SE super tuner is used, & the dealer will do the tuning. Bob always removes the leg fairings on his 2006 103ci SE Ultra in the summer months to help keep the engine, and us, cooler. We plan on doing the same for the TG. We've noticed from other threads that you live in the southwest like we do & that you have had some heating issues, as have other TG owners in other areas of the country. What have you done to try to alleviate this problem, & how successful have you been? Any other comments/advice, from anyone, will be appreciated. Thanks.