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Things learned about the M8 Tri Glide in 30 days -Long Winded
Okay, this is my take on the 2017 M8-engined Tri Glide Ultra that I traded a 2016 Twin-Cam 103 for. As a point of reference, I have been riding legally for 50 years and the 2017 M8 TGU was my 99th bike/trike including sport bikes, cruisers, dirt bikes etc. I have owned three trikes now with one a Can-Am Spyder F3S with the 1330 Rotax engine.
I was a professional pilot many years ago and currently do autocross racing in a souped up Brunton Stalker. Ok, enough background. For ease of read, I have decided to do a list in casual descending order of what differences strike me between the M8 and my former TC103.
Now, the rest of the story. 28 days ago, I traded my 2016 TGU with 14.6k miles for the 2017 TGU that had 98 miles on it when I did a test ride. It had been in the shop of Bert's Black Widow Harley for some 20 days. The original engine was a July 2016 build and it started leaking oil and showed no oil pressure with 15 miles on the clock.
The Harley regional tech rep became involved with the case and upon dealer teardown, instructed the dealership that had gotten a new owner the month it was purchased from Harley to crate up the engine and Harley delivered a brand-new engine to the dealership in 2 days. The oil pump had reportedly failed and the internals of the engine were significantly damaged and it is likely that Harley wanted to closely inspect the defective engine.
18 days later, the 2017 M8 was operational again with a new motor from the MOCO. I did a test ride with 98 miles on the clock and purchased the trike as a used unit after taking a spectacular 20 mile demo ride and not exceeding the 3k rpm recommended limit for a new engine.
Jeff, the Service Manager of Bert's Black Widow Harley in Port Charlotte, Florida shared this with me today and all I can say is kudos for Black Widow. Each and every person I encountered in the dealership from the salesman, sales manager, business manager and service personnel were all about service and making the purchase FUN! (Did I mention that they serve three different kinds of beer from the tap during normal business hours and host music gigs most every weekend in their large parking lot where they also do extensive rider training courses?).
I trailered my trade-in trike and trailered the new trike back to TLH. I began the very methodical break-in procedures I follow to try and insure a good running/long-life engine. At just under 400 miles, on a break-in ride, the red oil light came on and the information screen said "Check Engine Oil Level". Well, I had been monitoring the engine oil level and it was spot on at 1/2 the way up the 9 segment dipstick. The oil light came on at idle several times more on that ride.
The next day, I started the bike in the driveway and let it idle and went through about 10 fan assist cycles and no oil light. So, I set out to do some more break-in and about 5 miles from the house, the oil light came on. I called my local dealer in Tallahassee which is home base unless I am visiting my mother-in-law's home in Port Charlotte where Black Widow is located.
Tallahassee Harley Service Manager dispatched a trailer and suggested that I not ride the trike to the dealership which is about 18 miles away. I had purchased my 2016 TGU from them but not the current 2017. Kudos to Tallahassee HD for providing such excellent service on a trike that they had not sold.
Strangely, the oil check light spontaneously disappeared but the dealership did a pressure test and found the oil pressure to be 20-30 pounds and no oil check indicator illuminated in the shop or on a test hop. I decided to have TLH HD change the oil/filter just in case it might have helped something? I had TLH HD save the original oil and filter and did a fairly thorough analysis of the oil with my gloved hands and then transferred the oil from one pan to another without so much as a hint of particulates that could be seen? So, I picked up the trike and the oil light has never come on again at idle. Both dealership shop managers suspect that there was an erroneous intermittent fault signal being sent from the oil sensor unit that is screwed into the lower part of the engine cases on the right side of the M8 engine.
At 1032 miles, I began a 2-day full 1k service on the trike (I read the two 2017 service manuals for both the touring bike and the trike supplement several times before completing a task so that I understood mechanically what is being presented to the reader) . I was able to accomplish all tasks except being able to check the torque on the 12 oil pan fastener screws and the rear fork pivot shaft nuts (left and right). TLH Harley accomplished this task for me this morning at 1052 miles before going out on a 200 mile ride to the beach and through the Apalachee National Forest.
The only add-ons I have done to the trike are HD chrome bumper, luggage rack and Get-A-Grip grips, Kuryakyn cruise pegs and DK Customs custom lift kit for the TGU and DK floor-board extenders.
In order to make this not like a book, I decided to list in a casually descending order what I like about the 2017 M8-engined TGU.
1. M8 engine makes more torque between about 2500-3700 rpm than the TC103 which makes its power more in the 3000-4300 range.
2. The M8 engine is quieter and smoother than the TC103.
3. The M8 transmission doesn't clunk into first but makes fairly substantial clunks in the other gears.
4. The M8 engine cruises at 60-70 with less vibration than the TC103 and has more torque at 70 mph which is about 3100 rpm.
5. Idle on the M8 is about 900 rpm and jumps up to 1000 rpm when the EITMS is enabled and active.
6. The M8 exhaust note is a bit different than the TC103 and is very throaty.
7. The M8 hydraulic clutch is very stiff and only engages in about the last 20% of its outward travel making feathering much more difficult than the TC103.
8. The M8 shakes pretty significantly when the EITMS is active and maybe as much or more than the TC103.
9. The auxiliary fans seem to come on a bit more frequently in the M8 than the TC103 and stay on after shut-down longer than the TC103.
10. The DK Custom Lift Kit is fabulous (better steering, braking, rear shock response) and keeps the pipes from dragging in most situations. It does however change the sight level on the coolant reservoir by about 1/2 the distance to empty.
11. The DK Custom Floor Board Extenders make the ride much more relaxing.
12. My Airhawk neoprene seat cushion makes the stock Harley seat comfortable.
13. The M8 is not getting any different MPG difference at this early stage than my TC103.
14. The fit and finish of the new M8 "bubble head" has really, grown on me including the phallic shaped horn. The air cleaner shroud has not grown on me much but does look a little "racy" if not clunky.
15. A 1k service item was added to the M8 which is not found on the TC103 where they want you to check the torque values of the oil pan fastener screws at the 1k service. Other than that, the serviceable items seem to be identical at the 1k service. (The hydraulic lifters do not show any adjustment capability in the service manual and reportedly are set for the life of the engine. Harley specifies the allowable tolerances before parts have to be replaced.)
Okay, so now, as of today, you know as much about the unfolding story as I do. Am I happy with the new 2017 TGU? You had better believe it. You could not get me back into a TC103 given the improved performance. I am very tickled that the MOCO decided to examine the original engine and took the 15-mile original defective engine back to examine what had failed.
The new trike is soooooo much fun that I can really foresee owning this possibly through the ESP period which takes me to 11/2020. Hope this helps with one individual's perspective on the differences between the 2016 TC103 TGU and my new-to-me 2017 TGU which was sold as a used trike.
Originally Posted by 8Crow
