To Buy or Not To Buy

[cruzerdog]

Starting in 1963 …I have been thru many motorcycles and scooters,
the list is not in any order (as my memory in not in any order either)
‘88 FLHTC, ‘96 HD Nostalgia, ‘91 HD Sturgis, ‘69 FLH,
’85 HD FXRP, ‘91 HD FXRT, ‘99 Excelsior Henderson,
‘04 Honda Gold Wing, ‘99 Honda Valkyrie Interstate,
’06 HD Super Glide, ‘62 Honda Super Hawk,
‘68 Honda CB 350, ‘70 Honda CL350, ’74 Yamaha 650,
‘07 Moto Gaze Cal Vintage , ‘89 Venture Royal,
‘69 BSA Thunderbolt, ‘72 Triumph Bonneville,
‘57 Lambretta, ‘70? Cushman Truckster,
‘02 Moto Guzzi California EV.

Turning 68 in 2015 and becoming more aware of my diminishing riding skills
and the “dumbing down” of all the cage drivers with cell phones in one hand
and a big Mac in their other hand. I had decided to sell off my last ’91 FXRT
and ’06 FXDI. And just stick with my classic cars and hot rods.

My wife of 45 years said she would like to see me get a trike …
off the wall I bounced .. Really?? I wasn’t sure I would like riding a 3 wheeler …
even though we had 2 side hacks in the past, which seemed like too much work to ride,
but our 2 Boxers dogs liked riding in them.

And then the Trike price! … OMG are they serious? ..
Do people really wrap up 40 grand on a new trike I asked myself?

Better yet I asked my wife is she was willing to spend that kind of cash
and start traveling across the USA with me without 2 checked 50lb bags,
should I decide to do the “dealer tango” and buy a new one
and watch it lose 10 grand right off the top as we drive it off the lot.

Not to mention buying the accessories that it will need and the extended HD warranty.

She said she was ready and wanted to start traveling across the USA on the trike
and wasn’t concerned about losing money on it. The traveling by trike sounded
pretty good to me. I hate TSA screening and the nasty airline employees and stewardesses.
Plus super cramped airline seats and sick /coughing passengers all around you.

So off I went trying to determine who would cut me a deal on a leftover 2015 Tri Glide.
I test drove one for about 20 miles, not that much different than the sidecars that I had in
the past but it did have way more power and way more bells and whistles.

We found this leftover one in Yuba City CA. Joe Guidera and Joe Guidera Jr.
are two great HD guys and they explained trikes to me – this one had a color that
was sort of like the first Harley dresser color that we had …a candy Brandywine red.

I sat down and ordered all the accessories, saddle bags, LED luggage rack,
passenger arm rests, rear fender scuff guards, Zeppelin air seats, chrome billet flag set up,
chrome rear bumper, wheel well chrome trim, driver cup holder, mirror extensions,
luggage bag for the rear rack, chrome fender guards with LED lights, Tri-glide mud flaps,
custom hand air pump for the rear shocks, electric gloves and controller.
Luckily, I had Kuryakyn highway pegs leftover from my other Harley.
Then I had a “clear bra” put on front fender and batwing fairing and the rear fenders

I won’t give you the grand total of what we have in it, but I will say this ...
it’s a damn lot of cash and a damn lot of fun riding on it ... in the wind … stable

and we are planning a trip to Lake Louise in Canada in the spring ….
staying at the Fairmont Hotel …valet parking for sure

My only gripe is -one side is off by 1 ¾ inches .. a complaint to the factory bought back this response ..
“it’s with-in factory tolerances live with it” ..
(Mother Harley is unreal, but I understand via my stock broker / investment manager, Harley is under a great deal of stress and the volume is dropping and their market share as us old guys age out. Plus the “Polaris tribe” of Indians have circled Milwaukee and have put up tee-pees on the side of the factory)
I have made arrangements for the rear to be shimmed up to make it sit level and the factory is covering that under customer satisfaction .. go figure.


So my advice to people just finding this forum thinking about a trike … sometimes fun has huge costs …

But as my good, dearly departed buddy, “Mike Da Bike Shattuck” always said,
“We aren’t here for a LONG time .. We are here for a GOOD time!

Go buy a trike. …Just don’t tell your accountant!

[cruzerdog]

more pics

[cruzerdog]

and a parting offer

2006 FXDI Super glide 17,000 miles mint showroom condition $9500

need vacation money ...

[Flexible]

Yup, that's a great move. Ordered my trike for early 2016

[Postal Trucker]

TriGlide looks good. Don't worry about the value dropping. After 2 1/2 years of riding my '12 I traded in for a left over '14 and the trade in value was surprisingly 25k.

I enjoy the '14 much better with the water cooled heads.

Both of you will enjoy "miles of smiles".

[Sully]

Well said John, and Welcome to the group from North Ga. Enjoy your new ride.

[Gorilla]

Yep well said.

[rhino 2]

.
My only gripe is -one side is off by 1 ¾ inches .. a complaint to the factory bought back this response ..
“it’s with-in factory tolerances live with it” ..
(Mother Harley is unreal, but I understand via my stock broker / investment manager, Harley is under a great deal of stress and the volume is dropping and their market share as us old guys age out. Plus the “Polaris tribe” of Indians have circled Milwaukee and have put up tee-pees on the side of the factory)
I have made arrangements for the rear to be shimmed up to make it sit level and the factory is covering that under customer satisfaction .. go figure.

When i bought my 2011 Tri-Glide new in 2011, It was off about an inch, Pointed it out to my dealer, And he said yep' Hang around for about an hour and we'll fix it... And they did,. Very common problem back then... And it looks like it might still be..

[DK Custom Products]

Great post, and good looking ride!

I know you're having a blast on it. Run up to Lake Louise will be nice too. You going any further north? Icefield Highway?

Have fun!

Kevin

[bcop31]

What a great looking Trike! Just thought I would say welcome and tell you that you really hit it out of the park with that color. Really sharp. Nice to see another trike in the area. I live over in Foresthill, just above Auburn. :0) I have a 2007 Goldwing with a Champion kit. I had Freedom Rides in Lincoln, Ca. install the kit for me and they were great to work with. I am still learning the ins and outs of riding the trike but the wife and I love it! Rode down to Rio Vista last Friday and had lunch with my motorcycle club. Great ride, but we were pretty cold by the time we got back home. Guess heated gear is on the "to buy" list. Anyway, enjoy the trike.

Roy

[RedOregon]

Where's the chrome billet flag setup?

[clint44]

That's an awesome trike you have there,John. That thing is loaded!

First Class is always the way to go,you just can't stay as long.

[graygoat]

Welcome aboard! Am new to trikes myself, only got about 1300 miles on mine before putting it away for the winter, but wife & I really enjoyed those miles! Counting days to spring now and really looking forward to more fun rides next summer.

Nice looking ride you have there.

[pcombe]

What do you mean when you say?

"My only gripe is -one side is off by 1 ¾ inches .

Whats being off mean?

[rhino 2]

In ''my'' case' looking at the Trike from the rear, The right rear fender was 1 inch lower [Closer to the ground] than the left side......AKA Lopsided..

[pcombe]

In ''my'' case' looking at the Trike from the rear, The right rear fender was 1 inch lower [Closer to the ground] than the left side......AKA Lopsided..

I can understand how that might be a welded clamp location mistake or a bad shock on a conversion, what caused it on a factory machine?