DK Custom Products
Sponsor
Went for First Ride on a Milwaukee-Eight Tri-Glide - First Impressions
A couple of weeks ago we spent a few hours with a Milwaukee-Eight Street Glide.
We rode it, listened to it, & took it apart a bit...you can see photo's and a video in this THREAD.
Last weekend was our first chance to spend some time on a M8 Tri-Glide.
Our first impressions were a mixed bag.
Perhaps my expectations were too high? After riding the M8 Street Glide and noticing the significant improvement in power of the stock M8 over the stock Twin Cam HO103, I was expecting the same out of the M8 Tri-Glide.
It DID have more power down low (just like the M8 Street Glide), but once the RPM's hit 3000 and higher it was completely unimpressive.
(pic from before the ride, when I was looking forward to being impressed)
I tried at different speeds, in different gears, I just could not get a feeling of life out of the engine at 3000 or higher RPM. It felt completely choked down, bottled up. I was really surprised, because the M8 SG did Not feel that way.
With that said, I do believe there is a lot of potential with this motor, it just needs to be able to breathe freely, and have a good tune.
I am getting almost 106 ft. lbs out of my 2014 Tri-Glide with a Performance Plus Stage I Kit, and I am hoping that with a similar PP Stage I on the M8 that we will see 115 ft. lbs, or more! Time will tell.
(pic after a 25 minute ride, a bit disappointed, & listening to it idle in EITMS mode)
Other impressions-
The ride seemed smoother than the earlier year models of the Tri-Glide. This could be from improved front suspension, or maybe the combination of the roads, tire and shock pressure were just ideal.
The rear shocks on the TG are still the same as previous years, as is the frame.
It dragged the pipes leaving and coming into the driveway.
While I did not ride it long enough to get fully heat-soaked, it was apparent that there was less felt heat for the rider with the Cat positioned about 8" further back than previous years.
It did seem that there was still a lot of right side heat for the passenger.
As with the M8 Street Glide, the drive-train was much tighter!
The reduction in primary lash was very apparent, as was the reduction in vibration at the low idle of 850 RPM.
Top end mechanical noise is almost non-existent!
At certain RPM's in low load situations, I could hear the whining from the gears driving the balancer.
Not irritating (to me), but definitely there.
Exhaust note was louder than previous years.
(video coming soon).
There are quite a few other changes to the M8's. I outlined a lot of them, with pics in the other thread...see link above.
Today I had a M8 reserved for rental. Devin and I were going to spend the day with it, getting it heat soaked, checking the temperatures, measuring for parts development, etc. Alas, the dealer SOLD their rental, so there was no M8 for us to ride. Seems like they are selling well!
Hopefully we will get our hands on one in the next week or so and have a lot more nuts and bolts to report.
In the meantime, barring any unforeseen weaknesses in the M8 powerplant, we are really excited about its' potential!
Kevin
A couple of weeks ago we spent a few hours with a Milwaukee-Eight Street Glide.
We rode it, listened to it, & took it apart a bit...you can see photo's and a video in this THREAD.
Last weekend was our first chance to spend some time on a M8 Tri-Glide.
Our first impressions were a mixed bag.
Perhaps my expectations were too high? After riding the M8 Street Glide and noticing the significant improvement in power of the stock M8 over the stock Twin Cam HO103, I was expecting the same out of the M8 Tri-Glide.
It DID have more power down low (just like the M8 Street Glide), but once the RPM's hit 3000 and higher it was completely unimpressive.
(pic from before the ride, when I was looking forward to being impressed)
I tried at different speeds, in different gears, I just could not get a feeling of life out of the engine at 3000 or higher RPM. It felt completely choked down, bottled up. I was really surprised, because the M8 SG did Not feel that way.
With that said, I do believe there is a lot of potential with this motor, it just needs to be able to breathe freely, and have a good tune.
I am getting almost 106 ft. lbs out of my 2014 Tri-Glide with a Performance Plus Stage I Kit, and I am hoping that with a similar PP Stage I on the M8 that we will see 115 ft. lbs, or more! Time will tell.
(pic after a 25 minute ride, a bit disappointed, & listening to it idle in EITMS mode)
Other impressions-
The ride seemed smoother than the earlier year models of the Tri-Glide. This could be from improved front suspension, or maybe the combination of the roads, tire and shock pressure were just ideal.
The rear shocks on the TG are still the same as previous years, as is the frame.
It dragged the pipes leaving and coming into the driveway.
While I did not ride it long enough to get fully heat-soaked, it was apparent that there was less felt heat for the rider with the Cat positioned about 8" further back than previous years.
It did seem that there was still a lot of right side heat for the passenger.
As with the M8 Street Glide, the drive-train was much tighter!
The reduction in primary lash was very apparent, as was the reduction in vibration at the low idle of 850 RPM.
Top end mechanical noise is almost non-existent!
At certain RPM's in low load situations, I could hear the whining from the gears driving the balancer.
Not irritating (to me), but definitely there.
Exhaust note was louder than previous years.
(video coming soon).
There are quite a few other changes to the M8's. I outlined a lot of them, with pics in the other thread...see link above.
Today I had a M8 reserved for rental. Devin and I were going to spend the day with it, getting it heat soaked, checking the temperatures, measuring for parts development, etc. Alas, the dealer SOLD their rental, so there was no M8 for us to ride. Seems like they are selling well!
Hopefully we will get our hands on one in the next week or so and have a lot more nuts and bolts to report.
In the meantime, barring any unforeseen weaknesses in the M8 powerplant, we are really excited about its' potential!
Kevin