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Great Looking Bike, OK Ride

I have ambivalent feelings about the tri-glide after more than 2,500 miles.

It takes some getting used to and it is suggested to take it easy until you are familiar with it. There's something inherently insane about having to twist the handlebars at highway speed. It takes more effort and concent...ration to steer it thru a slow speed sweeping turn, than it does through a high speed turn.
In the fuel economy department, Harley got one over on us. Advertised at 48 to 52 mpg, the best I could get under 1,000 miles was about 28 to 30. Now, I seem to be getting around 36 to 38 on the highway with a full load and a passenger.
I'm informed that the EPA wants Harley to water cool their big bores because their engines "are too loud." That would be a significant blow to HD's marketing strategy and they would have to study that one for awhile. As a concession, Harley put a catalytic converter on this bike, which raised the engine heat on the bike's right side about five times more than the heat reflected from the left side. This will no doubt generate huge demands for aftermarket headers and pipes in order to dump the converter. In the meantime, you will invest in some highway pegs just to get away from the heat if for no other reason. My wife is about to stop riding altogether, as this thing has about cooked her right leg. I've got to come up with some way to give her an alternate foot location for the same reason.
On the highway, this trike will pull a half-mile hill in 6th gear with a passenger only if the RPM is approx 3,000 RPM or more. Less than that and you will be downshifting to maintain a reasonable speed. I've had to go down to 3rd gear just to maintain 50 MPH in a 65 MPH zone because the bike simply doesn't have the power, even with the 103 CI engine. This is the largest disappointment with the trike. I shouldn't have to spend $3 to $4K to make $32K machine run the way it should have, right out of the box. At or above 3000 RPM it will take a one mile hill before downshifting is necessary. Even on flat highways, like in Wyoming and Montanna, it takes some effort to maintain a steady 75 MPH pace.
Notwithstanding all the faults, I do like the thing. My knees are all but gone after many hard knocks and years of military service. This thing is a dream in heavy traffic and maneuvering around in tight spots. I had an '08 Ultra and just couldn't handle the heavy bike in tight areas with any confidence at all.
I will overcome these shortfalls in time. By then it will be a much better machine. Read Full Review

Great Ride

We picked up our Tri-Glide two weeks ago. So far we are really pleased, there is definately a difference from a two wheeler to this, you can feel more of the road than before. I am sure there will still be some bugs to work out since this is just the second year this has been in production. We have ...only run up about 800 miles to date...so some things will probably start showing up. The downside I guess is like most others are saying ... highway mpg is not as good as rated, so far we are getting maybe 30-32 mpg, maybe that will improve with time. When you are pulling almost 1200 lbs. without a rider or passenger...what do you expect? BUT, that is not why we bought it. We got it for the comfort on long distance runs...that is definately there. Coming from a Sporty to a Springer Softail to a Road King .....now a Tr-Glide; How much better could it be? When you are riding up or down the road and smiling the whole time....life is good and mileage don't matter. Read Full Review

Mixed Feelings

I’ve had our new Harley Tri-Glide now for about 2 months and have logged more than 6,000 miles on it. Let me say up front that we are happy with our trike, although there are a few issues that are sure to be a turn-off to many potential owners. I traded in my 08 Ultra Classic because the bike was ...simply getting too hard for me to control in tight places where the going was slow and deliberate. The trike was my answer to deteriorating knee and leg maladies.
The first and most noticeable annoyance with the trike is the presence of a catalytic converter in the right side of the exhaust system. That thing radiates enormous amounts of heat that can cause serious burns. The first accessory item I put on the bike was highway pegs to get away from the heat. Even at highway speeds the heat can be felt at waist level and is 5 to 6 times greater than the heat generated on the left side of the motor. I am now compelled to make some modifications to the passenger floorboards, as my poor wife is being cooked alive.
Fuel mileage sucks. Harley saw us coming on this one. In 6,000 miles, I’ve been able to average only 30.8 MPG, compared to the 48 MPG claimed in Harley’s sales brochures. When it reaches its max speed on the highway, there is usually more throttle left. However, twisting it will just pour gas out the tailpipe. The trike behaves as though it has been designed to max out at 70 mph.
I was terribly disappointed to learn that the trike will not easily maintain highway speeds, giving the impression that the trike is woefully underpowered. I live in the Texas hill country and quickly found that the trike will not make it to the top of a highway hill, in sixth gear, at 55 or 60 mph. In fact, on some slopes I’ve had to downshift to 3rd gear to maintain a speed of at least 50 mph. Folks, it is embarrassing to be passed by an 18-wheeler while going uphill. In Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and East Texas where highway speeds at 75 mph or greater, I found that the trike will do a better job of maintaining a reasonable highway speed when the engine rpm is 3,000 or higher, and you are below 4,400 in elevation. The only problem with that is that most owners will not get away with driving that fast in states with lower speed limits. The best I could do with the 80 mph Texas highway speed was 70, dropping to 60 or 50 on the uphills.
There is a noticeable and sufficient vibration in the handlebars to make your hands start to buzz within 25 miles. Of course, you can engage the cruise control and give your hands a rest. However, if the trike has to be constantly shifted to maintain speed, then there is little time for rest.
The trike is assembled for HD by Leaman in Spearfish, MT, as it has been for the past two years. Next year, however, HD intends to manufacture the entire trike in its own York Pennsylvania facility and has terminated the contract with Leaman.
The intercom on my trike has failed. I’ll wait until I return home to have it repaired as electrical problems are not usually resolved quickly and I simply don’t want to sit around some dealer’s showroom for a few hours while they tinker with it.
The cruise control on the trike is first rate, as is the odometer. The odometer has a setting that will let you know how many miles you can go with the gas remaining in the tank—pay attention to it. When it starts saying “Lo,” you’d better start looking for a shady spot to land because it seems spot-on in terms of accuracy.
The trike does not like rough roads. If you live in an area like Denver, L.A., or San Francisco expect the thing to rattle your teeth on unkept city roads. If there’s anything the trike likes less than rough roads, it would be uneven rough roads. The straight axle in the rear does not handle extreme bumps very well from a comfort point of view. However, I never felt as though I might lose control after hitting a harsh lump in the pavement. Beyond that, the trike handles the undulations and normal pavement flaws very well. On an off camber surface, when the bike tilts to one side or the other, it feels as though someone has tipped over your barstool. It is startling at first, and your first instinct is to try and correct the lean. Harley does not publish any data that might suggest where the tip-over point might be, although it would be nice to know before learning the hard way.
I don’t think that the sound system is up to par with my old two wheeled Ultra Classic. It should be the same system, but just doesn’t perform as well. The radio cannot be heard at highway speed.
All of these issues will be overcome by HD engineers and, I would hope, rather quickly. However, I feel that it should not be necessary for an owner who has spent $32,000 for this trike to have to cough up another $3,000 to $5,000 to make the thing run the way it should have run right out of the box.
Those of you who are serious about owning one of these trikes should keep abreast of ongoing reviews over the next year to see if these problems are being resolved. For some of you, a couple of these issues would likely be deal-breakers.
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Love the look, hate the lack of power

10 months and 8000 miles ago seems like a life time. first there was a power issue returned to the dealer after 300 miles and the dealer agreed and in the next 6 weeks

1) top end

2) replace engine

3) replace ECM

4) replace Exhaust

5) replace throttle body

6) finally the Air cleaner was replac...ed with a heavy breather and I had more power Try to find a Dyno for a trike!!
This is in the first 8 weeks!!
Next week I am changing the cams to 255,at a cost of $1200 tired of 6th gear being a dog H-D should have done this right so we don't have to do this kind of repairs

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Just back from a trip

My wife and I just put 3000 miles on our new 2010 trike. We kept track of our mpg on the way home-some 1200 miles. We averaged 33 miles per gallon. We had a high of 39 and a low of 23. It depended on the fuel-we always put in 91 or better octane. We visited a dealer in Beaumont, Texas on the way... and they tipped us off to an additive (Harley endorsed) that really helped out. The right side heat was almost unbearable in a traffic jam but we got through it. All in all-the bike was great-comfortable and lots of space. We were disappointed in the gas mileage but I'm forced to a three wheeler with a leg issue so it's better than not riding at all. Read Full Review