Hi. New to trike riding after 18 years on 2 wheels. I have heard about lift kits to make steering the triglide a bit easier. Looking for experienced opinions before I spend the money. Thanks, all.
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Hi. New to trike riding after 18 years on 2 wheels. I have heard about lift kits to make steering the triglide a bit easier. Looking for experienced opinions before I spend the money. Thanks, all.
[QUOTE=Borla;895358]Hi. New to trike riding after 18 years on 2 wheels. I have heard about lift kits to make steering the triglide a bit easier. Looking for experienced opinions before I spend the money. Thanks, all.[/QUOTE]
I was new to the trike world last year and installed the 14” pro action and the comfort lift kit from DK. I really can’t tell the difference because I had no previous experience. I know the better Suspension made a huge difference because Mrs Notgrownup said so. Lol. It is apparently proven that it makes steering better manageable…It’s still a chore to steer in the major twisty roads I just came from in WV, VA & NC mountains. T just is compared to riding an Electra Glide for 16 years.
[QUOTE=Borla;895358]Hi. New to trike riding after 18 years on 2 wheels. I have heard about lift kits to make steering the triglide a bit easier. Looking for experienced opinions before I spend the money. Thanks, all.[/QUOTE]
I put a lift kit on a couple years ago. To be honest I can't really tell any difference in the handling or steering, maybe it's just me. It definitely makes the trike sit better and look better. When I added the Progressive shocks that made a huge difference. Glad I made both decisions. I did have to re-engineer the headlight to get it aimed properly. No big deal
[QUOTE=Borla;895358]Hi. New to trike riding after 18 years on 2 wheels. I have heard about lift kits to make steering the triglide a bit easier. Looking for experienced opinions before I spend the money. Thanks, all.[/QUOTE]
Spend the money……They do make the steering easier…And eliminate most of the tail pipe scraping going up curbs and ramps …👍👍..
[QUOTE=Borla;895358]Hi. New to trike riding after 18 years on 2 wheels. I have heard about lift kits to make steering the triglide a bit easier. Looking for experienced opinions before I spend the money. Thanks, all.[/QUOTE]
The best thing that I did for steering and handling was to install papa zook's rake kit and khrome werks 2+2 handlebars. Made a world of difference. Have not done a lift kit or shocks yet.
I recently changed to the 14" NexGen shocks and the comfort lift from DK Customs. I installed it all before a 600 mile road trip. The ride and handling was greatly improved. I had a year and a half and about 19k miles on the stock setup for 40k total on the dial. I will add one caveat though and I posted about this as well for the folks at DK, once I installed the new shocks and lift, it really highlighted how crappy the stock Harley front suspension is. It almost had a "loose" feeling like a stock car being loose in the turns. Once the front suspension came in, it was on back order, and I installed it, holy hell, it was a completely different Trike. It rides so much smoother. Bumps are like butter and the handling got even better. I already had the KW 2+2 Wide Sweepers installed and now, with the total package, it will lay in the twisties harder, easier than it probably should, LOL. The lift will definitely improve the handling and steering IMO but be prepared to experience the deficiencies in the the rest of the suspension system.
Brian
I had the lift on my 2011,2014, & 2016. For me, no difference in steering. It did help a bit with the pipes scrapping.
I had DK's lifts on my '15 TG, OEM shocks and for me it made a difference in the steering and set the trike level.
Had the lift kit on my 2011… Leveled the trike’ Made the trike Steer easier and Stoped the pipes from scraping…..
You mentioned the backordered front suspension really helped the ride. What did you install. I have a 2014 and can feel every bump and tar strip.
[QUOTE=staudy;896068]You mentioned the backordered front suspension really helped the ride. What did you install. I have a 2014 and can feel every bump and tar strip.[/QUOTE]
i installed the FST cartridge system from DK Customs. After everything was done, it rides like a new trike. This suspension package should be stock on them.
This is the only place I have found where everyone isn't saying the lift kit changes the steering. I agree 100%. Years ago the lift kits came out to level the trike as the back was lower by a couple inches. No talk about helping the steering. Its true that it does lift the back of the trike a couple inches and its level after installation. I added the lift kit a year after I bought my trike and it didn't do anything for the steering. I did put Progressive springs in the front forks of my trike just as I had done with my Road King and Goldwing before that. Those make a world of difference in any motorcycle front end. Its nice to see honest people with real experience telling us what is really true. Thanks to those of you who speak the truth.
Sam
[QUOTE=milemaker;896968]This is the only place I have found where everyone isn't saying the lift kit changes the steering. I agree 100%. Years ago the lift kits came out to level the trike as the back was lower by a couple inches. No talk about helping the steering. Its true that it does lift the back of the trike a couple inches and its level after installation. I added the lift kit a year after I bought my trike and it didn't do anything for the steering. I did put Progressive springs in the front forks of my trike just as I had done with my Road King and Goldwing before that. Those make a world of difference in any motorcycle front end. Its nice to see honest people with real experience telling us what is really true. Thanks to those of you who speak the truth.
Sam[/QUOTE]
I know on mine with the 1.5" lift and 14" shocks, it made a big difference in the steering. How would it not? The geometry of the bike is changed, ie: rake and trail and puts it more weight forward. It could also depend on the trike condition and mileage and the riders own perception. If they didn't have any issues with the steering to begin with, they may not notice a difference. Mine drove like a tank. It got better when I added the 2+2 Wide Sweepers and improved yet again with the lift and shocks and yet again with the front fork rebuild.
All any of us can do is share our own experience and it will vary. That doesn't make my experience any less "true" than others.
Here is a link to an article explaining how the [URL="https://www.dkcustomproducts.com/harley-trike-lift-kits-c56-64.htm"]Convertible Comfort Lift[/URL]™ can make the steering easier because of the change in geometry.
Article [URL="https://www.dkcustomproducts.com/media/wysiwyg/framesuspension/lifts/comfort/Understanding_Rake_and_Trail.pdf"]LINK[/URL]
Kevin
[QUOTE=staudy;896068]You mentioned the backordered front suspension really helped the ride. What did you install. I have a 2014 and can feel every bump and tar strip.[/QUOTE]
Here is a Front Suspension Testing [URL="https://www.dkcustomproducts.com/dk-custom-front-suspension-testing-report-part-i-of-ii-dk-fs-tst-rp-i.htm"]Report[/URL] that you may find useful.
Kevin
installed the lift kit and progressive shocks then a papa zook rake kit great ride now 2012 triglide.:clapping:
[QUOTE=Borla;895358]Hi. New to trike riding after 18 years on 2 wheels. I have heard about lift kits to make steering the triglide a bit easier. Looking for experienced opinions before I spend the money. Thanks, all.[/QUOTE]
I put them on mine a few years back. Son in law builds custom bike and said it was like riding on rails. Works great. In NEPA pothole territory need new shocks.