I am new to trikes having purchased my first (a 2018 Tri-Glide) in mid-September. Having put just over 1,000 on it with local day rides we headed out on Halloween day for a fall leaf ride in the Arkansas Ozarks and Boston mountains - a little over 900 miles of glorious twisties and beautiful scenery. Here are some things I learned and experienced about my trike. First the good:
It is really not difficult to ride in any condition. I heard all the horror stories about how much effort is required to muscle a trike through the curves in the mountains. OK so it did take some effort but nothing I couldn't handle easily . . . and it was FUN. I was leading a group of four riders and the other three were on two-wheelers so I was a bit apprehensive about keeping up my speed through the turns so they could enjoy the lean and exhiliration of riding the twisties. No problem as a couple of them told me they had a bit of difficulty keeping up with me!
Thank goodness for DK Custom Products and Kevin for the great Pro-Action 14" TSS shocks I put on a couple weeks ago. The trike's ride is improved incredibly. My wife and I simply could not believe it was the same vehicle. And my friends riding behind me said it seemed to handle like a sports car through the curves with no bouncing, body rolling, etc., just flat and smooth through the turns. If you're still riding on the OEM air shocks do yourself a favor and get a set of these shocks from DK.
Now something I need to improve:
Packing the trunk. Oh I have a lot to learn here. Tried a couple different approaches and am making progress. Just wish the trunk could be about four feet higher when packing and unpacking as my old knees and back don't like that bending down to load and unload.
Some deficiencies that could be addressed I guess but doubt will be:
Poor fuel mileage. I was having to fuel up with my buddies (who were also riding two-up and loaded) still had many miles of fuel range left. I'm guessing the extra weight of the trike and the lower gearing making it run higher rpm is the reason for the differences. Not a big issue as I didn't buy it for economy but I would like a bit more range. When full to the brim it usually shows about 215 to 225 fuel range while my friends were showing 60 to 70 more miles range.
I would like another gear! I guess the Baker 7-speed would do it but really don't want to spend the bucks for it. With the lower gearing (30 tooth sprocket vs 32 tooth on the two-wheel touring models) it has great low end grunt but it get a bit busy for my taste once you get above about 60 mph. But over time I'll probably acclimate to the difference.
I've been riding Harley CVO Ultras and Limiteds for the last 10 years. They have a 4" exhaust that I thought would be more performance oriented and maybe a bit louder but the trike's factory exhaust is definitely louder than the 2017 CVO Limited I just came out of. Not that it sounds bad at all but it is a bit too loud for my taste. My hearing isn't good - probably due to loud pipes and wind noise before I got smart and started wearing ear plugs. But funny as it seems even though I don't hear as well as I used to I am more sensitive to noise. One of my buddies thought perhaps the trike body could have an influence on the exhaust sound but I don't see how. Maybe I'll score a set of CVO mufflers from one of those guys who thought theirs weren't loud enough and replaced them.
So all in all the slight deficiencies did not detract from the fun and enjoyment of riding the trike. My wife and I were very pleased with how it performed on the road trip and are looking forward to many adventures on our new Tri-Glide.