Spent a few hours with a Milwaukee-Eight Today - First Impressions Report

[Capt.Bob]

Kevin, Gave Devin a call and he has a rear Dunlop American Elite rear tire coming to me at a great price for the front of my Harley TGU. Thanks to you, Devin and Kelsey for the help! Bob

[DK Custom Products]

Here's the Youtube video. Exhaust sounds pretty good for stock.



Kevin

[desertclassic]

Kevin that is a nice sound for a stock. Jim

[Capt.Bob]

Kevin, Gave Devin a call and he has a rear Dunlop American Elite rear tire coming to me at a great price for the front of my Harley TGU. Thanks to you, Devin and Kelsey for the help! Bob

Wow, I sure hope that the MOCO takes a page from the playbook of DK Custom Products. I ordered the Dunlop American Elite rear tire to be placed on my TGU on August 30th and the darn thing was sitting on my doorstep in Florida this afternoon. Less than two working days after I placed my order. The cool thing is that the price was better than I could find anywhere and Devin/Kevin's staff is so efficient and friendly in taking your order. It is a real pleasure to support our website sponsors.

[HDB0B]

So .... the head cooling is tied into the engine oil .... except for the Water Cooled option in which case the same passages are cooled with coolant supplied by a water pump and radiators.

WHAT advantage does one have over the other? MoCo is still supporting 2 different systems.

Currently you can drive the WC103 for a short distance with a non-functioning water pump .... Will this still be an option for the WC-M8? I'm thinking it will not as it seems that the heads MUST be cooled.

They say the converter is further "down stream" .... Where exactly is it now?

Same mufflers or different?

Thanks,

Bob

[GARYD]

Mufflers are different and I really really don't like the look.

[DK Custom Products]

So .... the head cooling is tied into the engine oil .... except for the Water Cooled option in which case the same passages are cooled with coolant supplied by a water pump and radiators.

WHAT advantage does one have over the other? MoCo is still supporting 2 different systems.

Currently you can drive the WC103 for a short distance with a non-functioning water pump .... Will this still be an option for the WC-M8? I'm thinking it will not as it seems that the heads MUST be cooled.

They say the converter is further "down stream" .... Where exactly is it now?

Same mufflers or different?

Thanks,

Bob

Easy thing first. Yes, the catalytic converter is further downstream, by about 8 inches. It starts right about at the beginning of the front of the passenger floorboard.

No, you cannot use the same slip-on mufflers. The M8 slip-ons are very different than previous years (the crossover pipe is also totally different).


Not sure why, but the channels for the oil cooled heads are DIFFERENT than the channels for the water cooled heads. They are Not interchangeable, and the actual path taken by the channels is slightly different.

So they have the:

Air cooled Twin Cams
Twin Cooled Twin Cams
Oil Cooled Milwaukee-Eights
Twin Cooled Milwaukee-Eights

Too soon to have any test data, but it seems that the Twin Cooled M8's will run cooler than the oil cooled M8's.

However there are more components that could fail on the Twin Cooled than the oil cooled.

I would not ride either of them if their circulation failed. I suppose it is possible, though not advisable, to run a little ways on the twin cooled with no coolant flowing.

On the oil cooled, the same pump and the same oil cooler that is used for the oil cooled heads are also used for the rest of the engine...so if one failed, so will the other. I would not run the engine 10 seconds with no oil pressure.

Kevin

[GoSlo]

Got to ride a 17 TG this past weekend and while it's too early to tell if it's good or bad, here's my impressions compared to my 2013 TG on a short demo ride at Thunder in the Rockies. Many of these are "because it's different", but may be something to keep in mind if you're thinking of upgrading.

• Really liked the sound of the stock mufflers
• Hated the hydraulic clutch. Maybe it wasn't adjusted right, but it was really difficult to use and to make things worse, the clutch lever was so far out from the grip that I could barely reach it. Seemed to have no "friction zone" at all, but maybe that's normal for a hydraulic clutch?
• Much easier to find neutral for some reason
• Missed seeing the words on the switches instead of the new symbols
• Loved how quiet it is. When I ride mine with no helmet all I hear are bings, bangs, pops, etc. This one made almost none of those sounds
• Much better low end torque when taking off. Couldn't really test it because the person leading the test ride wouldn't go fast enough
• While they claim they got rid of the clunk going into first gear (never really bothered me) there was a clunk in every single gear that I shifted into. Maybe it's still too new to have broken in?

A fried rode the Ultra Limited and he loved it. Did notice quite a difference in the stiffness of the front forks.

Not a scientific or even a qualified review, just my two cents worth on what I saw/felt/heard.

[clint44]

H-D National Open House and Demo Days are happening at my local dealer, this Saturday. If all goes as planned, I plan to ride a number of new bikes and trikes there. Would like to ride a new TG and a Breakout or Fatboy Low, for sure.

[Springman2007]

My local had Demo Days last Saturday and I did spend some time rider on TWO-WHEELS again....that was NICE! I did get a chance to ride and look at a tourer with an M8 It was a very good ride....

But, I began to wonder about the extra service and care the M8 will most likely have/need. I don't know, for all its good, I am sort of happy I have a TC103....of course that may change as the M8 gets out there and I get more practical user feedback on it....

I have to say that out of all the rides, I liked the 2017 FATBOB (TC103) the best.....I think that bike with an M8 may be a interesting ride..........

Springman

[clint44]

I was able to ride a new 2017 TriGlide today. It was pretty hot outside so I thought I would take one for the team.

Some thoughts of it and the ride:
Man,does this thing idle slow! At idle,it was so quiet and smooth.
Hate the hydraulic clutch. Twice the effort as the cable clutch on our 2011 and more abrupt engagement.
No clunk when going from neutral to 1st gear. Tried it many times on the ride,,no clunk.
The touring bikes and trikes need a lower 1st gear,for an easier take-off from a stop.
The new M8 engine seems to have more bottom end and midrange torque,than our Twin Cams. From 2K to 3K,they pull hard but our trike seems to be just as strong on top. Without running them side to side,that's nothing more than an opinion.

Sherry wasn't able to be with me but our test rides had a pretty varied route of almost 30 minutes. The only time I noticed much heat was in a short section of stop & go traffic and it was way less noticeable than the last Rushmore trike I rode.

The stock exhaust system actually had a decent sound when giving it the gas.

The rubber mounted engine w/counterbalancer was very smooth all the way through the powerband. Hard to tell what gear it was in,at times.

Still has the air shocks on the rear. Nuff said about that.

I left the sound system turned off but another test rider in front of me,on a Black CVO Street Glide w/114" M8,had his turned on.

I was at least 100ft behind him and could still hear his stereo at 55-60mph,crisp and clean. Amazing! I may try to ride that bike,tomorrow.

Have never ridden a Softail before so I took a test ride on a new Fatboy. Even though it still had a Twin Cam 103",it's transmission shifted just as nice as the TG M8. It was insanely quiet so some nice mufflers would be a necessity,for me. This Fatboy was pretty fast so when they come out with the M8 engine,I might be a serious buyer for one. Either that or buy a late model Fatboy and put a 117" or 124" in it.

[TnTrike]

Kevin good report.
I feel you have a lot of positive points for this early in the production, it can only get better.
The oil cooler needs some type of protection.
I am considering a Freewheeler in several month, likely around '17-'18 changeover.
I will keep my '14 Tri-Glide, my wife enjoys riding the Tri-Glide and use the Freewheeler for solo rides.

[DK Custom Products]

LINK to report on our first ride impressions on a Milwaukee-Eight Tri-Glide.

Kevin

[Fozworth]

Those of you able to test/own the 2017 Tri-Glide please post your experiences with the new engine fan and catalytic converter relocate in regards to rider and especially passenger heat felt from the engine/exhaust.

We absolutely love our 2016 but are strongly considering trading for the 2017 if the rider felt heat issues are solved in the 2017.

THANKS!!

[Bill G]

Those of you able to test/own the 2017 Tri-Glide please post your experiences with the new engine fan and catalytic converter relocate in regards to rider and especially passenger heat felt from the engine/exhaust.

We absolutely love our 2016 but are strongly considering trading for the 2017 if the rider felt heat issues are solved in the 2017.

THANKS!!

So far our 2017 Tri Glide Ultra runs great and much cooler than our 2015 did. Also the engine is a lot quieter and smoother with a grip more usable torque. Our 2017 runs well enough that I am going to leave it stock it's more than enough power for us plus I don't want to deal with the California EPA crap laws and rules anymore. (CA. Sucks)

Ride Safe,
Bill G

[Fozworth]

So far our 2017 Tri Glide Ultra runs great and much cooler than our 2015 did. Also the engine is a lot quieter and smoother with a grip more usable torque. Our 2017 runs well enough that I am going to leave it stock it's more than enough power for us plus I don't want to deal with the California EPA crap laws and rules anymore. (CA. Sucks)

Ride Safe,
Bill G

Awesome! That's exactly what I'm needing to hear!

[papeze]

traded in my 2012 triglide and got the 2017 with the twin cooled m8. I was only able to ride 350 miles over the weekend but will share my first impressions. The m8 has lots of low end torque and power. I still haven't revved it over 3200 RPM but already notice a significant improvement over the 103. The ride is smooth and the steering doesn't need constant pressure or attention to stay straight. I am impressed with the heat management so far. What an improvement the Boom Box audio is over the 2012 model....WOW!. Runs down the highway 70 MPH at slightly less that 3000 RPM and offers a very steady and quite ride. I am very happy with it so far and will continue to update as I get some miles on it.

[Jack Klarich]

I already have mods on my M8, oil pressure is up from the Tc by at least 10 lbs, 50 degrees less heat from engine, it pulls strong in all gears, likes cruise @ 85 mph kicks out @ 90

[Mykneesbehurtin]

I traded my 16 Tri Glide on my 17 Tri Glide this past Sept it currently has 2500 miles on it and I am very impressed.My 16 had a gutted head pipe,stage 1 air cleaner and a Fuel Moto down load and it ran great and much cooler.This 17 runs as good as my 16 did with the upgrades and as far as heat its much better than an ungutted 16.So I also will do nothing to this engine until the warranty runs out,then maybe a stage 1 and gutted head pipe.Front suspension is much smoother than the 16.Only complaint is that HD is still running the air shocks on the rear would have hoped for a improvement there.My wife and I are very glad we traded even though we only had it for 6 months,but we did put 7800 miles on it in those 6 months.So after nearly 10,000 miles on the two trikes i can say yes trade up you wont regret it.