When I first took ownership of the TriGlide I was expecting less performance than I had been getting on the ElectraGlide Ltd I traded in for it, but I wasn’t prepared for it being as bad as it was. I was completely discouraged and frankly really pissed off at the lousy performance and the heat issues. I couldn’t believe Harley Davidson would sell such a machine. I actually talked about setting it afire in the dealer’s parking lot. As it turned out, there was a problem that occurred on the assembly line where an o-ring on the oil pump got torn up as the pump was being installed. The bike was drowning itself in oil resulting in a huge performance drop off. I still wasn’t nearly satisfied so I had a Stage 1 conversion done with 4” Rinehardt exhaust from the motor all the way back. This virtually eliminated the heat that had been frying my right leg. A Fuel Pac tuner was also installed along with a Screamin’ Eagle high flow air cleaner. The results were astounding. The trike performed every bit as well as the ElectraGlide, even with the 300 lbs of additional weight a TriGlide carries. I rode the bike for about 15k miles and was quite pleased with it. Recently I fell into a financial windfall and decided to invest a little more in the trike so I had a Stage 2 conversion done. We installed a S&S 557 cam engineered specifically for heavy trikes and a ThunderMax ECM. I also installed a set of Love Jugs to help cool the motor as it was now running a little too hot. Everything considered, the Stage 2 upgrade ran right around $5k. I must say that the performance increase is amazing and I’m thrilled every time I get on the bike. It is an absolute joy to ride. I hope this answers your questions. Again, good luck with that beautiful bike.
When I first took ownership of the TriGlide I was expecting less performance than I had been getting on the ElectraGlide Ltd I traded in for it, but I wasn’t prepared for it being as bad as it was. I was completely discouraged and frankly really pissed off at the lousy performance and the heat issues. I couldn’t believe Harley Davidson would sell such a machine. I actually talked about setting it afire in the dealer’s parking lot. As it turned out, there was a problem that occurred on the assembly line where an o-ring on the oil pump got torn up as the pump was being installed. The bike was drowning itself in oil resulting in a huge performance drop off. I still wasn’t nearly satisfied so I had a Stage 1 conversion done with 4” Rinehardt exhaust from the motor all the way back. This virtually eliminated the heat that had been frying my right leg. A Fuel Pac tuner was also installed along with a Screamin’ Eagle high flow air cleaner. The results were astounding. The trike performed every bit as well as the ElectraGlide, even with the 300 lbs of additional weight a TriGlide carries. I rode the bike for about 15k miles and was quite pleased with it. Recently I fell into a financial windfall and decided to invest a little more in the trike so I had a Stage 2 conversion done. We installed a S&S 557 cam engineered specifically for heavy trikes and a ThunderMax ECM. I also installed a set of Love Jugs to help cool the motor as it was now running a little too hot. Everything considered, the Stage 2 upgrade ran right around $5k. I must say that the performance increase is amazing and I’m thrilled every time I get on the bike. It is an absolute joy to ride. I hope this answers your questions. Again, good luck with that beautiful bike.
Sounds like a beautiful machine, I haven’t noticed much of a performance issues on my stock 2016 with the 103TC motor. I am going to do a stage one and put some Harley Street cannon mufflers on it which is what I had on my 2018 Street Glide.
The one major difference I have noticed is the 107 M8 motor was a lot smoother then my 103TC is, but that’s to be expected with the newer 4 valve per cylinder heads and singe cam design.
But, the twin cam is a fine and proven design and has enough power to get me down the road and in the passing lane. Being I am retired and on a fixed income now, everything I do has to be value added, so the first two things will be new exhaust slip ones and shocks for the rear which will be a good start.
So far after a solid couple of weeks and 400 city miles, I love this machine and don’t regret trading my 2018 Street Glide for it one bit and looking forward to the summer riding season. Now my brother calls me Tri Glide Ron and my friend Michael who has a 115th anniversary model is Mike the Trike, should be a great summer.
My riding partner bought his '16 Tri-Glide used (in the winter of '17) and only rode it 4 miles to his house in freezing weather
We met for lunch one day (his first real ride) last spring and he was telling me about a hard "bump" that he had experienced and that he could still feel it i and that he was starting to regret buying the trike (he still had his Ultra at that time).
He has many medical issues (along with a lot of metal in his body) and the following week he was in his doctors office (chiropractor)being treated due to that initial ride.
I started following the comments about trikes on this website and started giving him some suggestions as to how he might make his trike ride softer and one was the DK Lift Kit and new shocks.
Once he got those installed he said it was like riding a totally different machine and he was thrilled!
Sine then, I've (we've) also bought some other items (tour pack relocation brackets, extended rider floorboard kits, wind deflector kit) from DK that really enhanced our riding comfort.
When I got my '18 last fall, that was on the list of first "mods" that I had planned, along with Heli-bars, a rider back rest, highway foot pegs and a proper height recurve windshield.
I've done many other "add-ons" (mostly appearance items) but getting it (or any bike) to fit the ride properly makes all the difference in the world, especially on longer trips!
I do agree with your friend about the bumpy ride with the stock shocks. I live in Michigan which has the worst roads in the nation and I honestly believe there are no smooth roads left here anymore.
i have already inquired about new shocks and a lift kit for the rear and probably progressive springs in the front end which should improve the handling and ride a bunch. Thanks for the tips.
My tri glide was a great ride until Saturday and another driver took us out i spent 2 days in ICU followed by 4 days in trauma care , my wife spent 5 day in trauma care we are home now and useless our daughter is caring for us , I have 5 broken ribs and a damaged right shoulder my wife has a crushed left ankle and her arms look like she fought a grizzly , I am going to a urologist to have my damaged kidney checked out , but we still love our 2017 trike god smiled upon us to let us live
Howdy Y'all! It's been awhile since Ive been on this forum. Im bookmarking this thread, primarily for the subject. OPs comment about being retired, on a fixed income, is where IM about to be in 2-3 yrs. I bought in, and ride a '16 Tri Glide, Silver. Plan is to have it paid for by retirement. Didn't ride most of '18 due to "other" things going on in my life, but now it's time to get back with the program. Haven't done any performance upgrades, but I have purchased the DK lift kit....just haven't installed it yet. Not confident about jacking up the trike with my motorcycle jack. I can turn nuts and bolts, but I'm NOT a mechanic.
I want V&H mufflers (love the sound), but not necessarily a tuner. It's got enough power for now.
Anyways, Im enjoying y'alls comments!! I'll be watching.
Billy G
(PS - I don't mean to HIJACK your post!!!)
Last edited by BillyG0856; 05-24-2019 at 11:27 AM.
04-26-2019, 10:14 PM
