Second Hand Information TG

[Mr.Wizard]

I can not verify this information but I found it to be very interesting today. Again, this is second hand information but I paid attention.

So I was talking to a trike guru who has had "one-on-one" phone conversations with Harley and Lehman engineers. How he knows them is a mystery but he did work/race with a professional team a few years back.

That is why the title "Second Hand Information". I claim no other knowledge.



He and I discussed the issues with the TG. The conversation was quickly taken over by him and I was very surprised to know that he knew everything item by line item that has been spoken about not only here but that other large HD forum about the TG and the issues at hand.

He told me this... Lehman installs the body on the TG for HD, this is true enough but.. now this is going to drop your jaw.. He said that Lehman did not play a role in the design of the trike body nor did they engineer anything on the TG. It was all designed by HD.

OK, i've heard the same thing, so far so good....All Lehman did was make it to their (HD) design and agree to install it. They have no agreement with HD to cover any warranty or redesign. This I have read about as well. It get's better.....

Then... He told me that his contact at HD said they were moving toward and I quote "Canning the TG idea after the 2010 models".

OK.. don't kill the messenger but I thought this to be very interesting indeed. Whether it happens or not is yet to be seen but from what he said to me it could be a real possibility.

Don't flame me out of existence now.. I'm just passing on gossip.

 

[ThirdWheel]

reksul.. With what you said makes sense and explains why there are the problems with the conversion that are showing up. I can imagine the resulting poor relations between Lehman and Harley. I sure more information will follow as the 2011 models get ready to hit the market, should be interesting.

 

[BinIdaho]

Shoot the messengerutergreet:

 

[ThirdWheel]

Shoot the messengerutergreet:

In keeping things referenced to this forum please refer to The Gun Enthusiast - Trike Talk Forum :machinegun: Prior to shooting the messenger!

 

[1550vt]

Some folks may wind up with a collectors item.

 

[BinIdaho]

In keeping things referenced to this forum please refer to The Gun Enthusiast - Trike Talk Forum :machinegun: Prior to shooting the messenger!

My bad....I was just joshing Reskul anyway

 

[Mr.Wizard]

 

[DJS]

:groan:You might be right this time :yes: HD profits fell 91% this yr an plan on layoffs up to 2000 workers loss of these jobs are gonna hurt

 

[Mr.Wizard]

If it makes any difference at all I would choose to be wrong about it.

I like the TG. It brings the triking world to those who may never consider purchasing a converted used bike or converting their old bike. It brings fresh and new to the market.

There are normal issues with the first year of any build which most of the TG riders are experiencing but soon there will be a fix for everything. Patience is key. This also brings to the trike world experimentation which gives new life to the engineering making the future modifications better for everyone. See Dave's (UB) article about the TG rake modification. I, like most of you, paid a lot of beer money for our rake kit. Dave's article would have saved me about a third of the cost.

Anyway... getting long winded... again......:blush:

HD is closing another plant and 400 more workers are loosing their jobs. This comes on the heals of them closing the CVO plant too. I don't pretend to have an answer to the economic issues of HD and we are all in some way effected by the downturn of the world economy but if I could save their jobs by me being wrong I'd take the hit any day. :yes:

 

[1550vt]

Right-or-wrong reksul...lets all bubble-up some encouragement for these TG owners.

Yep...you got give-or-take some 35K tied up in a TG. Most folks have that and more tied up in their kitted trikes by the time you add the cost of the bike and the cost of the kit anyway. Those of us able to do our own work....maybe a little less. So, you have not lost much if you do wind up with a short production model TG. Here is what everybody needs to remember. Probably 90% of the componets on the TG are direct bolt-on-bolt-off an Ultra. The engine and drive train are exactly the same. Lehman built the trunk, so you can bet that another version of that trunk which will bolt onto that frame can be had. Maybe not exactly the same, but I bet one can be had that will fit. I am sure all the undercarriage and swing arm attachments are just like current model Lehman production run conversion kits. The brakes can be fixed easy enough also.

You can find Harley parts and aftermarket parts under every bush all across this great land and most developed foreign countries.

DON'T SWEAT IT! Even if HD cans the TG out there in the future, there are lots of ways to just keep on enjoying your trike experience. If the little issues you have now are never fixed by Harley, plenty of people on these forums have already discovered and fixed just about all of them.

 

[ThirdWheel]

Good points 1550vt. Plus don't forget the fact they would truly be collector items if they were discontinued.

 

[Gorilla]

Considering the investment by HD in the TG, They did not recreate the trike. The big investment for them was they decided to use their own rear body mold, but as stated most everything else was brought from in production items. They are selling all of the TG production as far as I can tell. I do not see any at show rooms here in Florida. They should be making money on the TG. Common sense says fix the issues and make what is selling. Cut back on what is not. Just my humble opinion which probably does not reflect the opinion of the bean counters at HD. Compare the investment in the Stallion to the investment in the TG by the respective manufacturers. Ted

 

[1550vt]

I agree. The HD buying population has shown a serious interest in the TG. I am sure the MOCO will/should realize this and continue to develop/produce the product. They have certainly had duds and first year production problems before and every new model has had its growing pains. The Twin Cam is still having growing pains and it's a 10-year old design. The aftermarket and MOCO engine mods for these older TC-88's have kept them on the road and I think the same thing will apply with the TG. If we get enough of them out there, parts and fixes will be abundent to keep these things on the road.

 

[bdn56]

I hope they continue with production. I may get one some day.

Do you remember when AMF tried to make Harley's in the 70's?:groan:
Such a fine product came out during that time.

Our current administration is giving in to the whole world, why don't they buy up HD and sell it to the Chinese? We could then buy our bikes at Wally World for half price

 

[Ozarkryder]

I hope they continue with production. I may get one some day.

Ditto, but I never buy a first year product. Usually wait a few years until the bugs are worked out. Then I often buy used so the bugs on that particular unit are worked out, or at least known.

Do you remember when AMF tried to make Harley's in the 70's?:groan:
Such a fine product came out during that time.

Remember? Ugh!- I've owned a '71 Sporty and a '80 Shovel. The Sporty shed parts like a snake molting, and the Shovel not only marked it's spot, but the front head had 1 more fin than the rear. Whatever came out of the parts bin is what was used.

Our current administration is giving in to the whole world, why don't they buy up HD and sell it to the Chinese? We could then buy our bikes at Wally World for half price
Hey - a Chinese company bought Hummer - maybe we can get one at Wallyworld* at Always Low Prices. Of course the current admin will say they don't get enough MPG, so it will be a 4 banger.

I can see them continuing with the TG for the (aging) traditional riders along with a few air cooled bikes, and pushing the water cooled Revolution engine to the younger buyers. EPA and sound rules will eventually kill off the air cooled engine.

 

[TheJimer]

I don’t have any inside source, I don’t even have any second hand information; what I do have is a working knowledge of the mindset of the corporate culture that exists at American manufactures. Harley could very well be planning on discontinuing the Tri-Glide after only two years of production; however, if they did discontinue the TG, this would run contrary to everything I know about the corporate board room mentality!

The TG is not, was never intended or will never be a large volume product relative to some of Harley’s other successful lines. But I’m sure that the bean counters studied the demographics and identified the market potential. By all accounts TG sales are most likely meeting or exceeding expectations. There are expenses associated with bringing a new product to market; true that the start-up parts cost on the TG maybe less than introducing a totally new product because of the carry over from the Touring Model; none the less, there are still costs: i.e. design, engineering, prototype testing, tooling, production, overhead, legal and marketing.

I am willing to bet that the Tri-Glide program was budgeted for a minimum of five years and probably projected and on track to turn a profit within that time frame.

However, there is a much larger factor than just dollars and cents to consider and that is the ego, pride and reputation of the project manager and corporate executives responsible for bringing the Tri-Glide to fruition. I have never met a corporate executive that was willing to admit defeat of a project; particularly one that was only two years old. This is especially true of at a publicly owned company; stock holders tend to frown on failure and are inclined to punish CEO’s! Most corporate executives I ever met would be loath to admit that they committed an error in judgment or were unable to resolve internal problems associated with the demise of the project; especially one that was indicating early signs of success. As harsh and irrational as this may sound; I suspect that the typical American CEO today, would tend to allow a failing project to continue to cost the corporation tens of millions of dollars rather than risk tarnishing his/her reputation. You only have to look as far as the American Auto Industry for proof of that statement.

Another consideration is the H.D dealers; two years ago when the plans for the 2009 Tri-Glide were announced at the dealers meeting; the dealers were ecstatic with the prospects of being able to offer an out of the box trike, with a two year warranty at a price substantially below that of a conversion. When I was shopping for my Tri-Glide, I must have called a dozen dealers, most of whom had already sold their allocation and stated that they wished that they could get more because they could sell everyone as soon as hit the floor! Once again, I’m not saying that the rumor isn’t true but I know how seriously manufactures regard good relations with their dealer network. This would not be a fun message to deliver to a group people that are being hit by a weak economy!

Now there are some in the trike community that would not be disappointed in seeing the Tri-Glide go away! I see a parallel between the Harley-Davison Tri-Glide and the Jeep Rubicon! I belong to an off road Jeep club and there are members that resent the fact that an out of the box vehicle is as capable as their “built” Jeep and in most cases, at a fraction of the cost. Then there are the off road Jeep shops that absolutely despise the Jeep Rubicon because they recognize it as a potential threat to their livelihood. Some shops sell T-shirts and bumper stickers that read: “Real Jeeps Are BUILT Not Bought” and one shop actually refuses to work on a Rubicon.

Seeing that disclaimers appear to be in vogue; I will restate my disclaimer: I have no inside source, I don’t even have any second hand information and I could be totally wrong in my assessment (which I hope I’m not) but things have to make sense to me before I am willing to buy into a hear say rumor that doesn’t pass the smell test and this rumor just doesn’t have any logical basis other than the possibility of wishful thinking!

To paraphrase a great American icon “I’m afraid that the rumors of the Tri-Glide’s demise have been greatly exaggerated"!

Stay Safe Out There!!!!

Jim

 

[dwiht]

Well with HD going into bankrupt proceedings, it will be interesting to see what happens. I know my own HD dealer was only aloted four trikes and they were sold before they hit the floor. I bet the 2010's are also, although I do have my name on one if it comes in unsold for a test ride.

Change, ain't it wonderful.:no:

 

[robandlyn]

Well with HD going into bankrupt proceedings, it will be interesting to see what happens. I know my own HD dealer was only aloted four trikes and they were sold before they hit the floor. I bet the 2010's are also, although I do have my name on one if it comes in unsold for a test ride.

Change, ain't it wonderful.:no:

Too bad you don't live over here !
2 weeks ago there were TWO black TG's at Nashua,NH HD for sale that may still be for sale.
One of which I took a 10 mile Demo ride on.
1 week ago there was ONE black TG for sale over at Aldo's HD in Bernardston,MA that may still be for sale.
Lastly there is a Red Sunglo coming in late next month (2010 model) at another Dealer but that one already has a home
Rob .......

 

[Nana]

Take a look at this link.... the new 2010 HD's have been announced, and include a very sharp-looking Street Glide Trike!!!!

Harley-Davidson USA | Motorcycles | 2010 Motorcycles

 

[Gorilla]

Cool.