not yet happy with trike

[downstream]

I just went from 2 wheels to three this spring. My biggest complaint is that it wears me out to ride this thing. i feel like I have been to the gym for a three hour upper body workout after I have ridden several miles of twisties. Two wheels was much easier. Any adjustments to help this problem?

 

[Rosy]

What's your ride?

Regards,

Rosy
From NH

 

[rhino 2]

I just went from 2 wheels to three this spring. My biggest complaint is that it wears me out to ride this thing. i feel like I have been to the gym for a three hour upper body workout after I have ridden several miles of twisties. Two wheels was much easier. Any adjustments to help this problem?

Don't know if you have Dennis lift kit or not , But i put it on my 11 T/G and it definitely eased the steering effort..ThumbUp

 

[Peter A.]

Time in the saddle is the best cure - taking short trips/rides will get you both more familiar/at ease with your new machine. I too felt that way initially but
now the MORE I ride the MORE I love it! Rode 2 wheels for about 40 years.
:wave4:

 

[msocko3]

Try not to use all arm muscles when your turning, when running along straight stretches of road don't grip the bars real tight, it doesn't take much to keep them going straight. If your getting a lot of pain in the upper back or shoulders you might check your posture and see if your leaning forward to grip the bars, if so you may have to go with a set of bars that comes back towards you more.

 

[Nana]

While many TriGlide owners are totally happy with the rake it comes with, it is a little less than the rake added to most conversions. Some have worked with Bazooka to get a little more rake on the front end, and have found that made the steering easier. You might send him a private message and enquire about recommendations.

 

[eagle1]

10" paul yaffe's "BAGGER BARS' NOT MONKEY BARS fit on the triGlide with out any wireing changes. you do need a 4" over clutch cable and a 12" TBY extension, along with the handle bars. the pipes don't have to come off. just cut off appropiate small end of the allen wrench 1/4" with a cut-off saw
and you can get the screws out. you may not get the screws 100% removed,but there's
room to loosen them completely. then pull them up as you take off the clutch release cover. when installing the new clutch cable in the cover, butter lube the "O" ring with permatex non-hardening sealant. radio is a pain to get out as the factory holes don't align-up wirh the screws. as i did mine ('09) i cut off the appropriate allen wrench about
1" off of the long end & glued that into the appropriate 1'4" drive socket. didn't take long
8 hrs if you've done it before.a bit more if not.
i'm just under 6' tall with a 32 1/2" between the inside of arm pit to the hinge of the wrist
anyway i can easily reach the grips leaning on the back rest
. makes for a comfortable ride.i highly recomend you have this done .

others with a 5" rake say it helps steering too, but i havent done that yet.
maybe others will holler about this upgrade.

 

[John Luciano]

Some place on this forum there is a thread that was put together to help new riders . I can't find it now. Maybe someone knows were it is. One thing you must do is PULL & PUSH. When you come to a corner slow down slightly ( left turn ) PULL with your left hand at the same time PUSH with your right Arm and lock your Elbow. Some find it easy to lean and hug the tank with their knees. And turn up the throttle about 1/2 way through your turn or as soon as you can see through the corner . Another trick is, if you have rider pegs or boards , is put your feet up on them and push with your feet. Do no be afraid to lean , this rig is not going to tip over. If you have not ridden it 500 to 1,000 miles I can understand your feeling.

 

[JJHog]

Check the air pressure in your tires (should be 26#) and also check the air pressure in you shocks. If you are riding solo you can probably run your air shock pressure around 20#. If you are riding 2up then move your shock pressure up to 30-40# depending on how loaded up you are. Some rides have suggested reducing their tire pressure to the low 20's to soften up the ride, which it does, but you also get more tire sidewall roll which is going to make it more difficult to steer the TG.

Coming off of 2 wheels you were use to not having to do much to steer your bike. On the TG it does require upper body work and you are going to use muscles that you normally don't. There is also a "Lift Kit" out there that will also aid in the bikes handling. One is a lift kit only and the other is a combination lift kit along with moving the shock mounting point back a bit with softens up the ride without you trying to do it by reducing tire pressure. Stick with it. The more you ride the more fun the TG is.

 

[scooty]

I have Dennis's lift kit and Harley 2" pull back bars and I have no complaints on steering however neither mod was done to improve steering but I'm sure it helped.

 

[dafoot2]

eagle 1 you happen to have a picture of the bars installed. I'm having a problem with the stockers not being long enough. I'm 6 4 and finding I'm leaning down and forward too much. and it's making for uncomfortable ride. I need something just not sure how much taller. doubt wanna go too high and then deal with that. I had yaffe 12 on my street glide but those would be too high.

 

[donjack]

I hated my 2011 Ultra Trike for the first three months, and almost traded it in. After I got used to it, I now love it to death. Added a set of Tri Glide Stuff from Dennis and found it much easer to steer. Don't know why, but don't care either, just know it helps. Give yourself a break in time and you will change you mind, especially on wet roads , an gravel .

 

[cruderanger]

I have a 2013 tri-glide, and in the beginning it seemed to be a little hard to steer, but now my arms seem to be getting stronger and the bike is turning a lot easier. Plus an added bonus, my wife thinks I'm spending more time in the gym with the results she seeing.

 

[lboos]

I just went from 2 wheels to three this spring. My biggest complaint is that it wears me out to ride this thing. i feel like I have been to the gym for a three hour upper body workout after I have ridden several miles of twisties. Two wheels was much easier. Any adjustments to help this problem?

WOW! sorry to hear you feel like you had a three hour upper body work out after several miles of twisties,... I'm 75 and have never had a problem with my T/G, I also rode two wheelers for many years, I'm guessing your in your early 80's right?.... if not, check your front tire to make sure it is not flat:gah:

 

[John Luciano]

Downstream and others:
Read this section. Read as much as you can.
Everyone had something good to add
This will help you understand the trike
http://www.triketalk.com/forum/general-discussion-5/experienced-trike-riders-please-post-here-242/

 

[slick rick]

At the risk of sounding sarcastic stay away from the twisties as much as possible . I found it is harder in the twisties and I liked 'em as much as anybody . A local trike builder warned me about this when I was thinking about a trike . :gah:
I know it's impossible to stay away from all curves but I don't go looking like I did on two wheels but just the safe feeling I have on this trike makes me forget about riding the dragons tail and other places with kiss your tail turns . I hope it all works out for you but I don't think you can ever make it handle like two wheels no matter what you do ......SO GOOD LUCK RICK...ThumbUp ThumbUp

 

[FRR]

Add set backs to the handlebars and rake the front.

 

[Strohkr]

What are "set backs"?:xzqxz:

 

[downstream]

Thanks everyone for the input. Rosy, me ride is a 2012 Tri-Glide that i bought last Christmas. I will try the lift kit and a few more rides before i make a decision to sell. I had two Harleys, traded the Ultra Classic in on the trike. I have a very bad knee and it was getting a little hard holding it up while riding it two up in some situations.

 

[Papa Zook]

Thanks everyone for the input. Rosy, my ride is a 2012 Tri-Glide that i bought last Christmas. I will try the lift kit and a few more rides before i make a decision to sell. I had two Harleys, traded the Ultra Classic in on the trike. I have a very bad knee and it was getting a little hard holding it up while riding it two up in some situations.

Before you sell it you can always add a rake kit and I guarantee you it will make it steer 100% easier! PM me..