recently did an extended trip (4200 miles) in the western US. The performance of my 2016 trike was very disappointing at freeway speeds when I encountered a fairly steep hill or mountain. It was unable to maintain speed. Wondering what the least expensive (retired so on fixed income) mods are to improve performance in the 3,000 to 4,000 rpm range even when downshifting.

Thx

 

Complicated issue.
A good starting point for performance improvement is replacing the OEM exhaust (and catalytic converter) with an aftermarket (true dual exhaust) free flow exhaust, air cleaner and a fuel tuner, Commonly referred to as a Stage 1 upgrade.

The next step would be a "camshaft" upgrade that would improve your mid-range torque and you would actually feel a difference when your twist the throttle.

Keep in mind that any performance upgrade will negatively effect your MPG's, and that you're also pulling and extra 300lbs of weight more than a Ultra Classic and there's a limit as to how fast you can go up a mountain regardless of how much work you have done to your engine.

The other thing that you have to be aware of (if you have and ESP) is that some upgrades may void your warranty so ask questions before doing any performance work done to your trike.

 

The TTS100 cam is a great upgrade. It starts great torque from very low RPM'S and carries on through the entire RPM range.You would need to tune afterwards no matter what cam you choose.
While you are in 6th gear it takes a lot of HP & TQ to pull that extra weight up hills. Just shifting down might be a good idea too.LOL !

 

I noticed the same thing when I was on a trip with a friend the first part of the year. He was on two wheel Ultra and as we went through some steep hills I just couldn't keep up with him. He thought I was breaking down. If you are not in a group it's not as big of a deal, but still a PITA. I wondered if it was the altitude (about 6,000 at the time), but his Ultra was the same year as my TG, 2016.

 

 

You are heavier than 2 wheels and driving bigger wheels and more of a drivetrain with the same engine. Do a Stage one and downshift in the mountains and enjoy the ride.

 

....the transmission is a wonderful thing.

 

even downshifting didn't help. I still couldn't keep up. As to the altitude, when riding in the west, a lot of the riding is well above 6000 ft. It is almost 5000 where I live. We covered 9 states and had little control over the octane of gas. Maybe I should have taken some octane booster with me just to be sure it was as good as possible. Some of the freeways out here have an 80mph speed limits and the group typically rides 5 over. At 85 I had little room for additional power. Level ground and twisties were not an issue, just fairly straight stretch with altitude changes. I don't have much money for upgrades but was hoping for something fairly low cost that would help a little. Guess maybe I should lose some weight.

 

For very little effort, and not much money, you can have your Trike running strong.

My Stage 1 Tri-Glide (no cams or other expensive mods.) can run, 2-up, fully loaded, up a mountain pass as fast as I want it to go, certainly much faster than the speed limits. See some of our Ride Reports HERE.



What you can do-

As with anything, the foundation is the most important aspect, otherwise anything else is on shaky ground.

With our HD Trikes, heat is the largest robber of power. They simply run too hot from the factory, and this excessive heat robs power.

Before anything else, get the heat under control...many times that will give a person all the power they want. If after getting the heat under control you want more power, then do some mods then. BUT, if you do "power" mods prior to getting the heat under control, you are putting the horse before the cart.

Here are two Reports on inexpensive things you can do to reduce heat. This will increase power, and increase engine longevity.

REPORT LINK 1

REPORT LINK 2

 

So you don't feel to bad,85 on any trike is hauling ***. Keep in mind your two up loaded trying to keep up with what you don't say. Your probably running just fine if you were riding with other trikes.
You don't say how many miles your trike has . Does it need new spark plugs? Do you have a plug wire bad? . Your bike from the factory will not melt down or explode start with the little things your on a fixed income so a intake and 3% is noting and a waste of money without a good tuner . What you can do is a TTS tuner and a good dyno or a map from Steve Cole or Steve at Fullsack.