Been thinking of a Triglide lately. I’m 70 and have been riding 2 wheels over 60 years. Not as strong as used to be and with wife on in spots harder to stand up bike. By myself have no problems. In fact leaving the 14th of July for 9000 mile ride to Alaska.

Today went in and rode a Triglide for few miles. Was ready to turn around in first block. It rode like a lumber wagon. Bounced side to side on cracks and bumps. I felt everything in the road. It seemed like it wanted to follow the groves in the road.

Is this normal? Can’t even imagine what it would or could be like with wife on. My limited rides nice. Not sure I would’ve even considered a ride to Alaska on this Triglide. There’s so many on the road so is it something you just get used to?

 

Did you test ride a 2019 or an earlier model? If it was a 2019 what was the adjustable shock set to same if was an earlier model with air shocks? For an optimal rode the suspension needs to be set for the load. Try a ride again but have the sales person read the owners manual and set the suspension correctly. You maybe surprised how much better the ride can be. Don't forget tire pressure 26 in the rear tires.

 

It was a 19 model and dont know what anything was set at. It was their demo model which had 80 miles on it.

 

Might even give 22# in those rear tires.

 

Yea 22 in the rear 26 is to much

 

As bad as it was bouncing around on every little spot in road I felt totally unsafe at 55 mph. Couldn’t imagine what it would’ve felt like at 70 on interstate

 

First time I rode a trike was a demo on the Rider's Edge training course. Totally freaked me and my wife out. They had us doing 'figure 8s' and other tight turns which looking back I think was entirely the wrong thing to do to a trike newbie. So when I did get my TG in the fall of 2017 I was a bit concerned. But I thought 'heck thousands of others including brand new riders ride these things with no problem and I can too.' It only took a very few miles and I became familiar with how the trike handled and rode and was very comfortable with it. It became second nature in a very short time. So please don't project to the future based on your bad demo ride.

As others have said 26# is too much in the rear tires. 22# or 23# is much, much better. And be sure the rear shocks are properly set up for either solo or two-up as the case may be. I haven't ridden a 2019 with the new shocks but I can tell you the older air shocks were horrible in both my and my wife's opinion. We immediately added the DK Customs 14" Pro-Action shocks and have been very happy with them.

Couple things I noticed on the first ride on my 2018 TG. It takes a lot of effort to turn the trike at low speed and it was disconcerting at first. Also it doesn't take much movement in the handlebars to translate to quite a movement of the trike on the road. But after a couple rides I was totally accustomed to these things and don't even think about them and they are not a concern at all.

It is a shame that the dealership folks either don't know or don't care about how to properly set up a trike and give demo riders a bit of instruction before putting them on the road.

Sure hope you will give it another try and hopefully we have helped you be better prepared.

 

I just came off the road a few days ago from a 2000 mile ride to help a friend get first light on a huge telescope. My spine has still not recovered from the bucks and jolts I received on the ride atop my 2019 TGU. The tire pressures had been set to 22# and crept up with warmer weather to 23# which is frankly a bit overinflated. I also turned the new preload setting on the fluid filled shocks to setting number 5 and I think it was still too much for the amount of weight I had on the trike. Additionally, it seems like the state of our major roads is in need of some serious repairs. The heavy 18 wheelers are helping to really accelerate the rate of decline in the road surfaces.

With three wheels, the trikes tend to ride fairly rough. However, this being my third Tri Glide, running down the road at 75 mph was not scary or weird at all! DK Customs sells some aftermarket shocks that have in the past reportedly made quite a difference in ride quality and they are currently in the process of testing these shocks on their new 2019 TGU test motorcycle.

 

They take some getting used to, but they are much more stable than 2 wheels...in the straight and in the curves. Below are a couple of videos illustrating that.

The 2019's are smoother riding than the previous years, but they do need some help.

21-22 psi in the rear tires helps.

Improvement to the rear suspension with the Trike Series Shocks™ makes a significant improvement.

btw, we took a ride up thru Alaska to the Arctic Circle on our Tri Glide. You can see a Ride Report on that HERE.

Have fun on your trip to Alaska!!!

 

Thanks for the post on your trip. As stated above the demo ride i took was so bad i kept thinking how could anyone ride one of these things. My plans are to try another ride at my dealer and have them set it up pryer to my ride. On your shocks how does one adjust them each time you ride either for solo or with a passenger with them under the bike?