I was able to ride a new 2017 TriGlide today. It was pretty hot outside so I thought I would take one for the team.
Some thoughts of it and the ride:
Man,does this thing idle slow! At idle,it was so quiet and smooth.
Hate the hydraulic clutch. Twice the effort as the cable clutch on our 2011 and more abrupt engagement.
No clunk when going from neutral to 1st gear. Tried it many times on the ride,,no clunk.
The touring bikes and trikes need a lower 1st gear,for an easier take-off from a stop.
The new M8 engine seems to have more bottom end and midrange torque,than our Twin Cams. From 2K to 3K,they pull hard but our trike seems to be just as strong on top. Without running them side to side,that's nothing more than an opinion.
Sherry wasn't able to be with me but our test rides had a pretty varied route of almost 30 minutes. The only time I noticed much heat was in a short section of stop & go traffic and it was way less noticeable than the last Rushmore trike I rode.
The stock exhaust system actually had a decent sound when giving it the gas.
The rubber mounted engine w/counterbalancer was very smooth all the way through the powerband. Hard to tell what gear it was in,at times.
Still has the air shocks on the rear. Nuff said about that.
I left the sound system turned off but another test rider in front of me,on a Black CVO Street Glide w/114" M8,had his turned on.
I was at least 100ft behind him and could still hear his stereo at 55-60mph,crisp and clean. Amazing! I may try to ride that bike,tomorrow.
Have never ridden a Softail before so I took a test ride on a new Fatboy. Even though it still had a Twin Cam 103",it's transmission shifted just as nice as the TG M8. It was insanely quiet so some nice mufflers would be a necessity,for me. This Fatboy was pretty fast so when they come out with the M8 engine,I might be a serious buyer for one. Either that or buy a late model Fatboy and put a 117" or 124" in it.