Tri Glide Reverse Motor Falls Off!

[Guiderider]

Ok, here is one for the books! While riding route 66 this past June, while in Texas, I had the reverse motor fall off my 09 Tri Glide! I was in a parking lot, put the bike in reverse, backed up, shifted to first to disengage the reverse, shut the bike down and went inside to eat. Came out started the bike, and as I pulled forward I noticed the bike felt like the parking break was on (it was not) as the trike would not roll forward freely. After about 10' I heard a loud clunk and the trike moved forward normally. I didn't think anything more about it. That evening I tried reverse again and nothing happened. I assumed the circuit breaker tripped, so I checked that and it was in place?? I figured there was some type of electrical issue and the bike ran fine without reveres, so I continued to Santa Monica, where I took the bike I to Bartels HD for an oil change before my return trip to NJ. The service tech came running out and said, do realize you lost your reverse motor! I was dumfounded! I got home, and the bike now sits at my dealer waiting for repairs. Luckily it is under warranty. So has anyone ever had this happen?? How the heck does an electric motor just fall off? If this had happened on the road and the motor hit someone behind me it could have been disaster! Any comments??? I will keep you posted on the details of the repair. Oh I bought a service manual so I could see an exploded view of how the reverse motor attaches to the bike.

[Papa Zook]

I have a comment......DAYUM!!!!!! :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

[Guiderider]

That is exactly what I said when I got to Cal and they told me! The only thing left were the two heavy gauge wires that went to the motor! In addition when I got home and cleaned the bike, stuck to the top of my exhaust pipes, were fragments of the magnetic brushes from the motor! Total destruction. I am surprised I did not sustain more damage to the drive train

[Papa Zook]

Thats amazing! Ive never looked at the reverse motor setup on a TriGlide but I just dont understand how the thing could just fall off??? How are they mounted?

[katfish16]

Thats amazing! Ive never looked at the reverse motor setup on a TriGlide but I just dont understand how the thing could just fall off??? How are they mounted?

Maybe they are made to remove easily so when U R throug backing up U can loan it to ur buddy????:yes:

Only guessing (I ride a Goldwing)

[tfdeputydawg]

Why does it have to sit waiting for repair? It must run w.o. the reverse motor or you couldn't have went anywhere at all! Is there something now exposed that shouldn't be?

[Gorilla]

The reverse motor bolts onto a bracket with 2 bolts. The bracket bolts onto the rear drive housing. The teeth on the motors bendix spring drive a ring gear on the drive housing. If the bolts on the reverse motor come loose they can just fall out and the motor will fall out. It will only be held by the wiring cable that attaches to the motor solenoid. The motor must of flopped around for awhile before the cables wore through then it just dropped to the ground. Anything that bolts on can come loose. It just happens from the vibration. Maybe lock washers on the bolts is in order. The manual shows it should of had them.

[Bikerbozo]

Well, I can't top the reverse motor falling off...But....My reverse motor failed after 248 miles on my new Tri-Glide. After they held it hostage for a couple of days, I was told I could take it on my vacation and that I would have to back up the Fred Flintstone way. Just dropped it back off again. The dealer says H-D wouldn't let them just order a new backup motor until it is investigated why it failed.

[Mr.Wizard]

Heck of a story guys...

With the issues of the TG electric reverse do any of you think it would be wise to install a Champions reverse to eliminate future reverse issues and be done with it?

I understand the warranty stuff and the "I paid for it so it should work" part but... just thinking out loud.

Although I have the Champions kit I hardly ever use it. I go with the Flintstone tipie-toe maneuver but when I need power reverse it's great.

[1550vt]

Us old-timers use to tell the metric bike owners why we rode our Harleys. We told them you could ride down the road on a Harley with parts falling off all over the place and she would just keep on trucking along.

I guess that still holds true to this day. Just listen to the clang-n-clatter, watch out for your buddies riding behind you and let-er'-hunt until she quits. If it quits...you will know you have lost something important.

[ultraboy]

The TG electric reverse has never been a favorite of mine. The motor is attached to a bracket with two hex flange SEMS lock bolts and external tooth washers. The bracket is held to the housing with three of the same bolts, less the lock washers. I've seen two trikes with loose bolts, but I was removing the motor and bracket's from those anyway, LOL. On those two, I installed the AIM mechanical reverse, which I have sold several to members here, as well as several to Zook too. On the TG's that I converted to the AIM reverse, the owners were able to sell their reverse motors, harness and reverse controllers on ebay for pretty decent bucks. Today, the discount price on a reverse motor is $1171.30, and $246.86 for the controller. I realize these are under warantee, but personally, I sure wouldn't have my trike tied up in some dealer shop for any length of time.
The champion reverse is decent, but has no safety shear keys. The AIM unit (designed by the cousin of the Champion designer) has two brass keys on the countershaft, which will shear before any trans damage can take place. Just ask Ted, who would be replacing a countershaft about now......

UB

[Mr.Wizard]

UB... Ted likes to burn rubber in reverse... Ya got to stay on top of that boy!

I think the Champion uses Green Locktite to hold the gears to the shaft. Is this correct? Was told if you "look like a fool with yer pants on the ground" and hit reverse too hard the locktite will break loose. The only issue is... you can't get it back into a forward gear.

I think most of us with manual reverse gearing have the Champions... If I were to do it again, it would be with the AIM.

[Papa Zook]

The TG electric reverse has never been a favorite of mine. The motor is attached to a bracket with two hex flange SEMS lock bolts and external tooth washers. The bracket is held to the housing with three of the same bolts, less the lock washers. I've seen two trikes with loose bolts, but I was removing the motor and bracket's from those anyway, LOL. On those two, I installed the AIM mechanical reverse, which I have sold several to members here, as well as several to Zook too. On the TG's that I converted to the AIM reverse, the owners were able to sell their reverse motors, harness and reverse controllers on ebay for pretty decent bucks. Today, the discount price on a reverse motor is $1171.30, and $246.86 for the controller. I realize these are under warantee, but personally, I sure wouldn't have my trike tied up in some dealer shop for any length of time.
The champion reverse is decent, but has no safety shear keys. The AIM unit (designed by the cousin of the Champion designer) has two brass keys on the countershaft, which will shear before any trans damage can take place. Just ask Ted, who would be replacing a countershaft about now......

UB

Have done a bunch of the Aim reverses and got them from Ultraboy based on his experience with them. I highly value his opinion. He always does everything one way...the RIGHT way. These are a top quality piece of equipment that I recommend.

If I were a TriGlide owner, I would pull the electric reverse off and replace it with a mechanical reverse and be done with it. Why would you not if you can get at 60-80% of the cost back by ebaying your electric unit?

[Greydog]

UB... Ted likes to burn rubber in reverse... Ya got to stay on top of that boy!

I think the Champion uses Green Locktite to hold the gears to the shaft. Is this correct? Was told if you "look like a fool with yer pants on the ground" and hit reverse too hard the locktite will break loose. The only issue is... you can't get it back into a forward gear.

I think most of us with manual reverse gearing have the Champions... If I were to do it again, it would be with the AIM.

I came VERY close to ruining my transmission a few weeks ago. We had ridden a couple hundred miles in the heat and I was hot and tired. Stopped at a rest area and when we were leaving I started the bike, dropped the transmission into first gear then back to neutral, then...........I let the clutch out and shifted the Champion into reverse!!! BAM!!! The trike stalled and I just knew the transmission was gutted. Shifted back out of reverse and fired it back up. I've put a couple thousand miles on it since then with no apparent problems so I'm praying nothing will jump up and bite me in the a$$ later on. For the life of me, I still can't believe I made such a bone headed mistake!!??

[Mr.Wizard]

Mine will grind if I try and put the trike in reverse while in neutral and the clutch pulled in with the motor running.

So I leave it is first, slide the reverse lever half way, find neutral, then slide the reverse lever the rest of the way in.

If the motor is not running I will put it in neutral then reverse and crank the trike.

It sounds like a lot of work or extra steps but it doesn't grind that way and will not slam into reverse either. But, like I said... I hardly ever use the reverse gear even when I pull it off the trike lift. :no:

[1550vt]

I keep telling you people to get a reverse like I have. My reverse has fell off the bike a few times, but she is real durable and always climbs back on. It is amazing how much that little lady can push. Sometimes....I put my foot on the brake to see just how hard she can push the thing backwards. The maintenance cost is rather high due to food, clothing, shelter and jewelry cost, but I have never been stranded out on the road due to some reverse mechanical malfunction.

[Mr.Wizard]

I keep telling you people to get a reverse like I have. My reverse has fell off the bike a few times, but she is real durable and always climbs back on. It is amazing how much that little lady can push. Sometimes....I put my foot on the brake to see just how hard she can push the thing backwards. The maintenance cost is rather high due to food, clothing, shelter and jewelry cost, but I have never been stranded out on the road due to some reverse mechanical malfunction.

Did you ask her why she purchased a shiny new GUN yet?

:eek::eek:

[1550vt]

She wants to let me go under natural causes....it's an insurance thing. She may be pushing that along though. We have some police friends that have indicated what sort of "additives" she could put in my food that may be non-detectable during the autopsy. She has the coroners phone number programed in her cell phone too....wonder if I need to be concerned? I caught her with a piece of rope the other day at the top of the stairwell. She told me she was only practicing knot-tying, but she had it stretched across the top landing doorway....I think maybe looking for some anchoring-points at about my ankle level.

[Gorilla]

GreyDog do that with the AIM and you sheer the pins. Saves the trans. Gee you are not alone.

[Guiderider]

HI everyone, Guiderider here. The guy who started this thread. First my sincerest thanks for the detailed information on how the reverse motor connects to the bike, I kind of figured it bolted on and that the harsh pounding I get with the rigid axel may have contributed to the bolts coming loose. AS for why I left the bike at the dealer, I guess I am lucky because I also have a 06 Ultra (2 wheels) that I can ride while waiting for the Trike to be fixed. I like the ideas about changing to the manual reverse and will definitely look into that when my warrantee expires next year.

I also appreciate the good natured humor expressed by many of you. I really got a good laugh and appreciate it! I guess you have to laugh at some of this stuff! As many of you have stated, I really didn't use reverse all that much to begin with and the loss of the motor didn't have any negative impact on my trip as I did complete 6400 miles with no other issues. I was worried that some type of transmission damage would occur if the motor somehow bound up the gearing. I don't pretend to be a mechanic so I hope that concern doesn't sound too nuts! I really like the Trike and trike riding in general.

I can tell you that while on Route 66 we hit 35 to 40 MPH cross winds in New Mexico and those on two wheels were flying all over the place while I just basically cruised along! Lousy gas mileage, but very stable. So I will let you all know what happens when I get the Trike back. I haven't even bothered to visit the dealer! I figure this will take a while! Thanks again and appreciate all the information. Trikers have three times more fun!!