Yes.

Anyone can test their suspension fairly easily. What's needed-

BumpRecorder which measures bump height, width, length, both on compression and rebound
Duct tape (or paint)
A road with a variety of bumps on it with little traffic
Cruise control makes things easier
A lot of time

Once the road is located, put some paint or duct tape leading up to the spots you want your front wheel to be on when riding over the bumps. That way it is repeatable as you try different suspensions/suspension settings

Cruise control so that you can be in the same gear and same speed, while hitting the bumps in exactly the same spot (duct tape guide)

Make sure you have the bumprecoder in exactly the same spot, with same retention on every run.

Then you will be able to compare the depth the bike moved, how sharp it was, how long it took to return to neutral after each bump.

 

Why go out and replace a good coil over shock for a aftermarket coil over shock. I know the ProAction shock well I have owned them and Legends and progressive . The new rear and front are a leap
for HD on the trikes. My trike rides just as smooth as my CVO, with ProAction and Legends front.

 

I hope my 2109 Tri glide rides as well as my 17 CVO with Ohlins, I am addingthe rear lft kit and will try the OEM Showa's first. We are still in deep winter here in Northern NY, feet of snow and still dipping in below zero temperatures. Spring can't come soon enough, especially since we started getting snow in early October.

 

Capt. Bob...Best wishes on your rehab from the shoulder surgery. I had a torn rotator cuff repaired about 10 years ago, and it was a bitch. But, by following the doc's rehab recommendations, and then some, I was back to 100% in about 6 months. Shortly after my surgery, we had four other guys at work that had shoulder work done. The best advice I could give them?: Before you get cut, practice wiping your *** with your left hand! I figured that one out the hard way.

 

Everybody has different levels of acceptable comfort. I believe you are familiar with the 13" PA's...there is a very nice step up when going with the 14" Trike Series Shocks™...which may or may not make a difference to you if you are already completely comfortable.

But. you ask why...lots of folks are in situations that need them to have the absolute smoothest ride possible, no jarring, even on big bumps...most of the time this is due to neck or back issues. Other folks, like myself and Mary, are getting older, but we still log long mileage days, day after day. For us, the smoother the ride is, the more we enjoy it. So replacing a good shock with a great shock, that results in a smoother ride...for lot's of folks it's worth it.


Hoping for good weather your way soon. Time will tell if you are happy with the OEM shocks and the Comfort Lift™, it is certainly an improvement over previous years.

 

Well, Road over to Daytona International Speedway this morning and looked up Don and his wife from F4 Customs windshields. They are making a new recurved windshield for Harley Tri Glide Ultras that come in all different sizes. I elected to get the same 10" height but with the recurved lip, the airflow reportedly goes about 1.5" higher making it act like a 11.5" windshield without having to add the extra height and thus not have to look through the windshield.

As many of you know, Don uses aircraft grade polycarbonate with hard coatings that makes these windshields almost indestructible and distortion free. I think they are without a doubt the finest aftermarket windshields that one can buy and they will install them for free at Bike Week. F4 is located just to the left of the main entrance to the track off International Blvd. and in between the Honda and Yamaha factory setups with Hannigan Trikes pretty much across from them toward the track.

 

random Q, but seems like a good thread to ask, wife is considering a trike due variety of factors (she's 5'0 nothing)

-should we just get a 2019 for $28ish OTD,
-or get a used 2016 or so for $20ish?

GPS: can we get a TriGlide with the Batwing, and then remove the tourpak,
or is the Freewheeler the only option to not have a Tourpak?

I am just thinking if she REALLY gets to using the bike, GPS is a must have for getting around. and it's cheaper to buy it right the first time, than to add crap onto it.


post up your guys thoughts, i will send her a link to this thread.

 

6 bolts remove the Tour Pak. I rode without mine for quite a while.

If you are not pinching pennies, the '19 is nicer, the navigation is larger and faster on the '19 than the '16.

photo of the Tri with the Tour Pak removed-

 

Rode down the coast via Hutchinson Island yesterday to visit the Elliott car museum in Stuart, Florida for the first time. What a fantastic museum and a very unique system to display some rare vintage cars. Rode the TGU with my new 10" F4 Customs smoked windshield with the recurve lip that I picked up at Bike Week. The recurve makes it act like an 11.5" windshield in terms of wind deflection. This proved to be a very nice improvement in terms of helmet buffeting. As some of you know, F4 uses a high-grade polycarbonate and then puts on a special hardening treatment that makes them practically impervious to scratches. The costs of the windshields is in the $150-200 range depending on how tall a windshield you want and whether you want clear or tint. Highly recommended and I have no financial interest in the company.

 

thanks guys

we went to Daytona HD

Skully is the Internet Manager, and he has a "trick"
if you are test riding a bike without a fairing,
he takes the same bike WITH a fairing

and half way thru the test ride, he SWAPS bikes.

so the OL rode a WORE OUT Freewheeler, and it was miserable (it pulled to one side when she used the front brakes, is that normal on un-linked Trikes, or is that bike thrashed?)

and he had he ride a 2019 Tri Glide and she LOVED it, they went in the parking areas and really did a LONG test ride, u turns, backing up, all kinds of stuff.

so thanks for the advise. she's made up her mind, now i just have to convince the bank....