I just picked up a 2013 Tri Glide today with only 7000 miles from the original owner, and it included an American Legend trailer. I rode it the 400 miles home today and it seems so underpowered and thirsty for fuel. I was mostly unloaded otherwise (besides the empty trailer), but in 6th gear it would only hold about 70mph and that was about it with a 20-30 mph crosswind. I really don't think it could have gone any faster than that. I was also stopping for fuel every 100-110 miles. Does this seem right??

I'm coming from an 03 Heritage Softail Classic and that bike has a lot more get up and go than this tri glide. Does the weight and trailer make that much difference, or do I have engine problems on this new bike?

Edit: The fill-ups were around 4 gallons, so I was getting about 25mpg roughly

 

Sounds like a plugged up air cleaner or just needs run to get old fuel out of it get it tuned up it will run much better than that. It sat longer than usual I would think it needs a good tune up. Change all three holes and a set of plugs new air cleaner etc. The trailer doesn't help either try it without the trailer. Keep us posted. travel safe Fred

 

You have to keep in mind you are driving a big wind board down the road, and with a 20-30mph crosswind against you and the trailer both, that wasn't too bad. Especially for a stock bike.
You have at least twice the wind resistance as a two wheeler just with the trike. Plus having the throttle wide open most of the time , there goes any mileage.
You would most likely do much better in 5th gear and let the engine run free and not lug it down in 6th.

 

I also ran 5th gear for awhile but it wasn't much better. I'll try it tomorrow without the trailer.

 

We had a '13 Trike. Power was acceptable and I think it averaged something like 33-35mpg. I'm guessing the trailer & crosswinds had an affect on the performance and fuel mileage you experienced. Like someone else mentioned, you are pushing a lot of air out of the way with the trike. We now have a '17 and it does have considerably more power. Not enough that it was the only reason we moved up, but it is noticeable. Fuel mileage is a bit better too.

 

I have a '13 Tri-Glide....lugging engine in 6th gear @ 70 mph with cross wind pulling an empty trailer doesn't help. I'm able to run 6th gear at 60 mph...but that's on flat roads. Keep each gear no lower than 2000 rpm's. Like others have mentioned, good tune-up would help. The Tri-Glides are heavier than your Heritage....don't compare apples to oranges! Enjoy the ride.

 

Well, I've been riding it for a couple weeks now without the trailer. It's better without the trailer, but it's still way slower than my completely stock 03 Heritage Softail with 90,000 miles. I replaced the spark plugs, and checked the air filter. It burns zero oil. Anything else I should check, or is it normal to be way slower than an 03 Heritage? I can't imagine riding in the mountains, 2-up, towing a trailer. I don't think I could keep up to 18-wheelers...

 

Take a half sheet of plywood cross-way behind you & put another 300#+on the seat with you then compare the two. LOL !

 

Congrats on your "new to you" Tri-Glide.

The power is between 2800-4500 RPM, if you are riding in that range and don't have good power, then something is wrong. You should be able to ride at 70 mph and hit the throttle and have no problem passing a semi...I do that regularly, bumping up to 85-95 mph while passing.

You should be able to set the cruise at 80 mph and have zero issues with it holding there, with more to draw on, if needed.

You should have much more power than your describing. There are a variety of reasons why you may not-

Could be as simple as not having a proper Stage I. Here's a LINK to some info.

Could be as simple as not having a good tune. Here's a LINK to some info on that.

Could be that there has been some heat damage. Yes, it can happen in less than 10k miles. A leak-down test will show if that is the case. It happened to me with my 2011 TG at less than 10K miles. HD replaced the entire top end of the engine under warranty.

After I got it back with the new engine I took steps to cool it down and prevent any further problems.

Since then we've ridden over 100k miles on Tri-Glides with plenty of power.

Below are a couple of links regarding Heat, power & longevity.

Link #1

Link #2

 

I had stage one done and then couple years later had dyno tune done. It was like night & day. You may want to have it tuned