Thanks Kevin, I'll order one in a couple of months time, Bit short of cash at the moment Because I've just ordered one of those new Ducati Scramblers ,

 

It showed up yesterday. Great packaging as always. The pictures do not do this thing justice. It is VERY nice!! I love how everything is loomed neatly together. Unfortunately I'm swamped this week and wont get to install it until probably Sunday.

 

Wow! Time flies.

Been riding and enjoying the TG.

I should have my one-off "slip-ons" done with the high heat finish (black) soon, and then will install them with some custom end caps.

Here's a pic of the end caps. Not 100% sure why, but I'm pretty excited about getting these on the TG. They're aluminum and still need to be polished.

 

As I noted months ago in this thread, I have not been satisfied with how much the Oil Bud oil cooler actually cools down the oil. I have not taken the time to remove the Oil Bud and replace it with a Jagg oil cooler.

However, the other day I did a little experiment.

I took a funnel, cut it in half (and did a few little fitment cuts) and then attached the two halves to the frame, underneath the water pump cover. The theory was that they would scoop air and push it across the oil bud.

It is a jerry-rig for sure, but I was happy to see it lowered the oil temps a solid 10 degrees, so that is giving me a solid 25 degree total drop out of the Oil Bud. Not nearly as much as I expected, but better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

I do not see this as a long term fix, and the funnel halves are the lowest point now, so they may possibly get ripped/knocked off at some point, but until I take the time to remove the Oil Bud and decide where to put a Jagg cooler, it is what I am going to be running.

Here's a pic-



It should be noted that on bikes with no water pump assembly and shroud, I have seen the Oil Bud deliver impressive drops in oil temps, as it should for the impressive price. However, my experience with the waterheads has been less than satisfactory, and it is understandable, the pump & shroud are blocking the flow of air over the unit, whereas with no pump and shroud the unit is directly in the wind.

 

Back earlier in this thread I mentioned how Mary did not like the stock backrest, especially on longer rides. I removed it for her, and she made a lower profile backrest, with no arms. She was Much more comfortable.

However, with the TP relocated back a ways, she decided she wanted some more padding going all the way down.

Here is what she had made prior to our Fall Colors Trip last year.






This picture shows her latest modification. She's ridden with it for about 1,000 miles now and says it's perfect.




On the exhaust front...I have ants in my pants to get my new end caps. The ones I pictured earlier....



....were not long enough. So some new ones are being made. I should have them in a day or so. Then I'll be able to get my slip-ons on with the new end caps. btw, ended up using rattle can ceramic coating (black) on them. So, the little bit of the pipe that is visible will be black, then have the Polished Aluminum end caps.

 

Many thanks for the greatly educational thread. Have been looking hard at this year's trikes, and am even more interested now, as I'm getting on a bit myself. All the best.

 

I was pretty excited to get my new exhaust tips and install them. Even had plans for manufacturing them in different sizes for sale.

I really liked the look of them-






But after riding with them I realized they was a significant drop in power with them over what I had been using.

So I put the Ripper Tips back on, MPG went up, and Power went up significantly.





I have not totally given up on some nice polished end caps. But they definitely are no good, power-wise, for the slip-ons I'm currently running.

At some point I will be testing them on more conventional (larger) slip-ons. We'll see how they do.

 

Figured it was about time to update this thread with some news.

I've been running a rear tire, reversed, on the front for about 12,000 miles now.

Not only is the rubber holding up really well...I may get 25-30k out of it. The most I've gotten out of the stock tire is 18k.

It also has far more grip than the stock front tire. I've ridden in several downpours, and it does better than the stock tire, even in 2 inches of water.

It is the Dunlop American Elite.






At 24k miles it is running great. With no headwind and staying between 65-70 mph, I am getting 37-38 mpg. If I stay at 55 or less, it jumps into the low 40's.

I have not had it on a dyno yet, but it is stronger than my 2011, and that was putting out 97 ft. lbs of torque.


I still need to do something with my oil cooler, and the exhaust sounds ok while on the bike...not great, not bad, but it sounds terrible when I am following it. Still want to do something about that.

I will be doing the 25K service soon and will take pics of the neck bearing fiasco that HD botched in their design.

I have gotten used to the new look of the Tour Pak, and really like the extra room it has.

I will NOT get this color again, or anything like it. It looks fantastic under direct light, but even in the middle of the day, if it is cloudy, it is a boring bland dark blue.

We are both really happy with it comfort wise, reliability wise, power wise, and the handling is just fantastic.

 

Another thing I meant to add to the update-

It's been almost a year and a half, and 24k miles. and the clear coat that I put on the rear wheels is holding up well. There are a few small spots where the clear has been chipped off, probably by riding on gravel roads, and there is only one small spot that is stained...that happened while at a HD dealership.

It certainly has been nice to spend 30 seconds a wheel to wipe them clean with pledge periodically.

 

Sat down with Devin yesterday, and looked over this '14 TG from nose to rear, top to bottom.

In the last 3 years, we've done 1 "Project Bike" a year.

Two Sportsters and One Softail.

We are almost finished with our Current "Project 48" bike, and are deciding what to do next. You can see the Project 48 Build Report HERE.


We are seriously considering making this Tri-Glide our next "Project Bike".

If we do, it will be with an emphasis on:

Power
Longevity/Reliability
Rider/Passenger Comfort
Handling
Looks (nothing radical)

We'll be making a decision within the next couple of weeks.

............................

We are days from being done with the Project 48, and 98% sure that the Tri-Glide will be next.


btw, I know some here think I'm a bit of an aggressive rider, I am actually quite mellow compared to Devin (the "D" in DK).

Here are some pics he texted me this afternoon from a Harley Dealership.













Once he got the tire sticky...check out this video by clicking the link below-

CLICK THIS VIDEO LINK




Should be fun!