Three and Now Two

[Capt.Bob]

OK, I will fess up that I missed some two wheel motorcycling. Not a lot since I got my 2016 Harley Tri Glide and then a Can-Am Spyder F3-S as my sport trike, but still missed some of the conventional feel. My funky left hip had driven me to trikes but I have worked at self-rehabbing it over the past several months and there is some improvement in my strength/comfort. So, there was a screamin' deal on a 2005 neglected Harley Road King with 26k miles that I bought a couple of weeks ago. The gas in the tank is questionable, the cam chain tensioners needed checking along with a change out of all fluids.

Well, after trailering it home, I bought a new battery, all kinds of fluids and gaskets and then jumped into the first order of business which was to open the cam chest and look at the condition of the inner and outer cam chain tensioners on my 88" twinkie.

I am happy to report that after pulling the header and muffler off and removing the cam chest cover that all is well in twinkie land. There was minimal wear on the nylon cam tensioners. I was really tickled to have done the work myself and just slowly followed the service manual and watched a couple of YouTube videos on the subject. Now that I know my adjusters are in good shape, it is on to the other to do items. However, I will NOT be selling either trike because they are too much fun.

The RK will be just an occasional fun thing to play with.

I am including a pic of the inspection of my outer cam chain adjuster.

[Gorilla]

Ride on bro yes that one does look good. 25k remarkable.

[DK Custom Products]

Congrats on your purchase!

My first Touring Model Harley was a 2005 Road King. I often think I should have never sold it.

Wishing you many miles of fun on it.

I know what you mean about missing 2 wheels...

You might find the opposite is true at times also! (missing 3 wheels).

I have a Tri-Glide, a Sportster and a Softail. When I ride any one of them a bunch of days in a row I find myself wanting to ride the other.

Have fun!

Kevin

[dmillsr3]

There is something special about being up on two wheels. Miss that a lot. But with my right knee being undependable, at best, I can't do it anymore.

[Sidecarbill]

I do like my 2 wheelers. When I was young I used to ride wild just for the adenaline rush. Now I feel the same way when make it to the end of my gravel driveway and stop with out fallin over!

[Capt.Bob]

Wow, After a ton of work getting my new-to-me 2005 Harley Road King out of mothballs, fluids changed, cam chain tensioners checked, headers/mufflers retightened, new fuel and a battery, the sucker started right up. What an incredible feeling to do all kinds of wrenching on this iconic big piece of two-wheel iron and have it turn out so well. I must have used a gallon of chrome cleaner to get the patina off of the chrome. I don't have it licensed yet so just rode around my community and put about 10 miles on it. The bike runs beautifully and this is the first time that I have been on two wheels in 11 months. Having ridden for 51 years and this being my 98th motorcycle (not a typo), it wasn't like I had to relearn anything.

However... Kevin had mentioned that after he rides his two-wheelers that he longs for the trike. Funny thing was that as I was coming up to stop signs, after a while, I kind of wished I had been on my trike. I think the RK is going to be a lot of fun and was a really fun project to take something so deeply neglected and turn it back into a shiny penny. I call her Blue Bell.

She has Rinehart trues duels and sounds beautiful at idle or on the gas.

Anyway, I sure as heck won't be selling either my TGU or F3-S Spyder anytime soon.

Three wheels is really, really fun and I don't miss two as much as I would have thought???

[1dn5up]

My 91 flh i had since new, looks at me in discust!
This is the first year she has not been registered or ran. Kinda like having a old dog then geting a new puppy.

[GARYD]

For all you riders that can't ride 2 wheels anymore, why did you decide on going to a trike? I'm just curious because almost every 2 wheeler says they'd give up riding if they couldn't ride 2 wheels anymore, no way would they even think of riding a trike. That's the same thought process as the riders that said they would give up riding if Harley came out with a water cooled engine. LOL

I still say and will always say a TriGlide IS a motorcycle no matter what the 2 wheel crowd says.

[Blueline]

On a ride yesterday, we ran into a HOG chapter from NY. There were 18 bikes, 4 of which were Tri-Glides! No question about it...the Tri-Glide IS a motorcycle!

[gerald martin]

people who say they would give up riding if they had to go to a trike are in my opinion wannabe pretend bikers that have watched too many hells angle movies. riding a trike still gets you in the wind. And by the way a lot of one percenters ride trikes I would like to see someone tell them they aren't riding a motorcycle

[Capt.Bob]

Well, got to do about a 120 mile test ride on my reconditioned Road King. No drips, no errors and runs like a Harley should. What fun! It has mini-ape handlebars that are a bit of an acquired taste but I was getting used to them pretty quickly. Stop signs seemed like a bit more of challenge but with my feet able to be flat on the ground, the RK is a pleasant bike to ride slow or come to a stop.

As I was riding and leaning into curves, I realized that I have just as much fun on my trikes as I do on two wheels. What a pleasant surprise. On another thread, I had expressed some concerns about my 8 and 9 year old almost new tires. They worked quite well in the dry with plenty of grip and nothing funny at 70mph. It had been almost a year since I had been on two wheels until a few days ago and I now realize that I was not missing as much as I thought I was. I am going to enjoy the heck out of the RK as it is quite dissimilar from my Tri Glide and/or Can-Am F3-S Spyder which I consider my sport trike.

They are all just a hell of a lot of fun!!!

I want to have a day where I get to ride all three on the same day

[1dn5up]

For all you riders that can't ride 2 wheels anymore, why did you decide on going to a trike? I'm just curious because almost every 2 wheeler says they'd give up riding if they couldn't ride 2 wheels anymore, no way would they even think of riding a trike. That's the same thought process as the riders that said they would give up riding if Harley came out with a water cooled engine. LOL

I still say and will always say a TriGlide IS a motorcycle no matter what the 2 wheel crowd says.

Oh I can still ride the 2 wheeler 1 up, just don't trust myself with 2 any more. If I am not comfortable with 2, the alternative comes to play.

[Capt.Bob]

Oh I can still ride the 2 wheeler 1 up, just don't trust myself with 2 any more. If I am not comfortable with 2, the alternative comes to play.

1dn5up, I completely hear what you are saying! I took my passenger platforms off the Road King this morning and never, ever, plan to ride it with a passenger. I am just tickled that it appears that I am quite safe riding this solo with the self-rehab of my left hip. My wife and I were talking this afternoon and she was saying that my former 2012 Road Glide Ultra was just too frickin' heavy and that the Road King is lighter and lower to the ground. I went for a 45 mile errand ride with the RK this afternoon and it was a ball. I am tickled that I can get back on two wheels but plan to do the majority of my riding on three. Once you try three, it is harder to go back to two<grin>.


</grin>

[rhino 2]

Since i have my Tri-Glide [2011] I've had 3 Two wheelers' Kaw 6n' Sportster 1200, And now a Victory Gunner...Total miles on all 3 less than 7 thousand.. In that time i have 40 thousand on the Tri. I only use the Gunner for short local rides... And then only if my body/mind says i should/can... At 71 i don't have to prove a thing...
White knuckle rides are a thing of the past.. Like back in the 60's and 70's when my need for speed exceeded my fear of death ...Now my fear of death exceeds my need for speed..

[Capt.Bob]

Wow, I finally have my 2005 Harley Road King dialed in except for replacement of the windshield that is forthcoming when the part arrives. I went on a 175 mile country roads trip and the bike averaged 48.5 mpg in speeds from 45-70 mph. When alone out on some country roads, I took some time to weave down the highway just to get a sense of the freedom of counter-steering and that "flying" feeling you get on two wheels.

However, since this is a trike forum, my fellow trikers will be happy to know that I still do not miss two wheel riding as much as I had thought over the past year's hiatus. Having to think about putting a foot down and the combination of braking and balancing the bike is not nearly as fun as it used to be. The day before, I road my Tri Glide Ultra on parts of the same roads and had a ball looking at the wildlife and playing some tunes from time to time. It is weird but my tastes have morphed more toward three-wheel riding than two wheel. OTOH, I loved getting the great gas mileage that my 88" provides but don't really worry about mileage much or I wouldn't have bought a Tri Glide. My next ride will be on my Can-Am Spyder F3-S which IIRC gets in the high 30's for mpg and is a totally different ride than the other two machines.