Anybody out there have any experience with swapping out the rear suspension on a HD Tri Glide? Have been struggling with the ride on our trike since the day we got it.
We have gone down the route of upgrading the rear shocks, twice, with 13" Supershoks, then 14" Supershoks with exhaust pipe adapter. Each time we gained a slight improvement, but nothing totally comfortable.
We a a elderly couple, riding 2-up, pushing 450+ lbs. We understand that we are probably taxing the design of the Tri Glide's suspension, but come on, a $35,000.00 motorcycle should be able to ride better than a gravel truck.
The roads we ride in southeastern Wisconsin are horrible, and I have major back issues. The jarring ride we have has taken us to the point at which we need to accomplish a system of softer, more forgiving ride, or stop riding and sell the trike.
We have talked to the people at Kool Trikes, North, and like what we see in their product. But, it's a ton of money, and once done, if it does not accomplish the ride we need, there is no going back.
Looking for help, advice, if this route makes any sense, is it worth the money, etc. Sounds like getting away from the original solid axle design, and going to an independent design, is the only way to accomplish a more compliant ride?
Gunner

 

If you have either air (OEM on non-air shocks) you could simply have them improperly adjusted too strong for the combined weight for two riders.

The other thing that I would recommend is lowering the PSI in your rear tires between 22-24 lbs and see that improves you ride.

If none of this works you may want to giver the guys at DK products and see what they have to say.

Keep in mind that sometimes the "nature of the beast" that you're riding.

My last recommendation would be to find a dealership that has Can-AM and or a Honda Gold Wing conversion and see if one of these better fits your needs.

FWIW I have the DK Lift Kit on my '18 Tri-Glide and the only thing that I find "offense" is transition from street level to business parking lots.

 

Kool trikes has a conversion kit to make a TG IRS. I looked into it but for now I have my 14” Pro Action set up pretty good I think. The comfort lift also makes a difference. I probably will play with the rebound clicks on it today before I leave on my trip tomorrow. From NC to PA pulling a trailer. It’s pretty smooth but feel it could always be better.

 

Besides the rear suspension, what also really helped us a LOT was going with the Progressive monotube in the front end. With a trike and three tire tracks you're going to hit every flaw in the pavement, that's just how it is. MUCH better response up there, so good that I now hit all the bad stuff with the front whenever possible and it handles them very well. Less crap for the rear to deal with. The rear work (DK kit and Pro Action properly adjusted shocks (important!), and 22psi) helped quite a bit for my wife, but I was still getting beat up. And it can be felt in the back, too; less "banging" from bumps up front.

If you think about it, there's only three places that are on the pavement; thinking that you need to change only two of them only addresses 2/3 of the issues at best.

Oh, the other thing you can do while riding - Try to hit road flaws such that BOTH rear tires run into about the same variation on the surface, if feasible. You have to get used to "reading" the road. The rear fork mounting design only allows BOTH sides to move up and down together. It's even worse than a solid axle car, because on a car either side can move up and down pretty much independently on it's own spring. The trike might as well have only one spring and one shock. And that causes dramatic side-to-side motion to the seats, particularly the back one. You can clearly feel this best by going over a speed bump with just one side; it rocks the rear end severely as well as moving you up and down. THAT is a motion you never feel in a car or on a two wheeler. And having your bum held between two armrests back there makes you really feel it.

Hitting stuff evenly at least lets the whole rear suspension absorb some of the motion. Turn the side-to-side motion into more just up and down. Trying to help your passenger by only having one rear wheel go over a speed bump and not the other does NOT make it better, it makes it worse!!! In parking lots with the speed bumps with gaps in them, I'd try to only hit them with one side; the wife said STOP DOING THAT, IT HURTS!

I keep bringing that up and can't emphasize it enough, because it seems to not come up in a lot of discussions. Ask your passengers if this doesn't make sense to you; if you ask specifically about the rough ride, they will tell you that the side-to-side jerking is the most disconcerting part. Otherwise they'll just say it's "the bumps," which doesn't really define the real problem.

The rear fork is very rigid. Hmmm, you know, if somebody would make a rear fork with some flexibility built in, or perhaps even just a softer bushing set where it mounts to the chassis, which would allow some independent motion, much of that could be eliminated. You could probably get at least say 33% of the benefit from an IRS from that. It would be a spendy solution, but not nearly that of a full IRS. Oh, Kevin, . . . . . . .!

 

I mean look at this thing, zero flexibility. Any difference in wheel heights, fast or slow, is directly transmitted right to the frame as a rocking motion. It's no wonder there can be a lot of wear on those bearings, too.




Edit: And your passenger's posterior is about a foot and a half directly above the pivot!!! It's like a lever, making it worse.

 

shoot me a pm, im in s.e. Wisconsin and have a road smith conversion {independent}. might try it and see if its worth it for you.