Gravel Roads

[Tassie Phil]

one question I do have is how do the various models handle gravel roads

looking at either tri glide or Goldwing trike.

most people I ask say “ I don’t do gravel roads”

I like to explore out of the way places, so do quite a bit of gravel roads in various conditions.

would like to hear people’s experiences

cheers

Tassie Phil

[arnie]

I have ridden gravel roads many times. Some because i wanted to, & some because the pavement ended & i wasn't goin to turn around. The trike has never had a problem with gravel at all. You do have to be careful with the idiot that's coming at you 60 mph & throwing rocks. I slow as much as possible when that happens & try to get his plates # incase any damage is done. I have never had any damage, but you need to be careful.

[BKtrike]

[QUOTE=Tassie Phil;816967]one question I do have is how do the various models handle gravel roads

looking at either tri glide or Goldwing trike.

most people I ask say “ I don’t do gravel roads”

I like to explore out of the way places, so do quite a bit of gravel roads in various conditions.

would like to hear people’s experiences

My 2020 TriGlide has only been on a few gravel roads. Handled fine. If you are going to ride them regularly, you may want to have fender protection against chips.

[Fearless]

I don't travel gravel often, when I do there is no problem with handling. However I'm care of speed not wanting to get a piece of stone caught in the open belt drive on old Shiney. With the Honda it's shaft driven. Travel safe Fred

[Tassie Phil]

[Tassie Phil]

Many thanks for the advice, much appreciated

[Tassie Phil]

I wonder why they leave the belt and rear drive so exposed? Is it a heat thing?

you would think they could make a cover of some sort up to stop anything potentially destroying the belt etc. As you would be absolutely stuffed if you where in a remote area and the belt broke due to a foreign object going in.

[David792]

I wonder why they leave the belt and rear drive so exposed? Is it a heat thing?

you would think they could make a cover of some sort up to stop anything potentially destroying the belt etc. As you would be absolutely stuffed if you where in a remote area and the belt broke due to a foreign object going in.

I found a small rock stuck in my belt. A tooth had pushed it almost all the way through and the only way to get it out was to finish pushing it through. I determined that it came from a "paved road" that was being chip sealed. That was two years ago and I'm still running the same belt. I've decided that if I need to ride a gravel road I'll just do it and take the risk. I guess I'll call roadside assistance and get a hotel room.

[stacebg]

doubt if you will find much difference between the two i had a fl trike a few yrs back gravel didnt slow me down much

general w my vmax i hit dirt, i drop down 2 gears an nail the throttle

[FuLong]

I had never problems with the gravel it self. A Trike ist more stable on it.

For example in Scotland on extreme small roads in rain, sometimes asphalt with growing moss and sometimes gravel, no problem with the Trike. Some fellow rider with some big, heavy loaded adventure bike and pillion rider had its problem to stay stable.

The lane grooves, often found on this roads, are a problem for the exhaust because of the ground clearance. Have this in mind and you can go in the dirt

[Hootie]

You have to pay attention to the condition of the unpaved roads in general, pot holes, wash outs, try not to bottom out, my goldwing had floor boards and it seemed it would bottom out, no matter what angle I approached it, I now have a Tri Glide and with no boards it seems like I have more clearance on it than the Gold Wing, would have to measure clearances to see which one has a higher stance. Second the fender bras. I try not to go down unpaved roads.

[rhino 2]

You have to pay attention to the condition of the unpaved roads in general, pot holes, wash outs, try not to bottom out, my goldwing had floor boards and it seemed it would bottom out, no matter what angle I approached it, I now have a Tri Glide and with no boards it seems like I have more clearance on it than the Gold Wing, would have to measure clearances to see which one has a higher stance. Second the fender bras. I try not to go down unpaved roads.

Rob...........Welcome To Trike-Talk..............

[DK Custom Products]

one question I do have is how do the various models handle gravel roads

looking at either tri glide or Goldwing trike.

most people I ask say “ I don’t do gravel roads”

I like to explore out of the way places, so do quite a bit of gravel roads in various conditions.

would like to hear people’s experiences

cheers

Tassie Phil

My driveway is gravel, so ride that most everyday.

We have done a lot of riding in the gravel, especially in Canada and up toward the Arctic Circle.

Care should be taken, it is not unlike riding on really wet roads, it will take longer to stop, and it will slide (thankfully very controllably) in the curves.

The Tri Glide is a surprisingly stable platform.

Here are a couple of videos of the gravel road to Bella Coola we rode on our Tri Glide.



Will only let me put one video in a post...will put the other video in the next post.

Regarding the belt guard, I've never had an issue (knock on wood) and I have seen plenty of bikes WITH belt guards get a rock stuck in the belt.

Partly luck of the draw...I do think you can reduce the chance by not burning out or doing slides....but again, luck of the draw, because I've never had a problem and I have done plenty of drifting in the curves on gravel.

Happy shopping!

Kevin

[DK Custom Products]

2nd video-



Kevin

[rhino 2]

2nd video-



Kevin

................................

[DK Custom Products]

................................

Yeah, no doubt that was a ride we'll not forget!

Kevin

[paws]

Bella Coola was my all-time favorite... it was the next best thing to personally being on that adventure.

[windsurfed]

Reading all the posts. I always wondered if we could take these Triglides on gravel road. I have taken mine a quarter of a mile or so on gravel roads at slow speed. Was was cautious about the open belt drive in the rear. But after reading these posts, and seeing the dK custom video. I am more at ease now with the thought that it’s OK to take the TG out on gravel roads. I had an adventure bike for a few years, but I usually just stuck to smooth gravel road even with that bike. Now I am wondering how fast a person would be going on a nice gravel road. (30,40,50). And how far with a person willing to be traveling on a gravel road in miles? I think the furthest I went on my adventure bike was 30 miles and I traveled at 50 miles an hour. I don’t suppose I would be doing that kind of speed on the TG. And I am thinking that the TG would be awful dirty or dusty after all that. Anyway it would be appreciated any input on the questions above.

[rhino 2]

Reading all the posts. I always wondered if we could take these Triglides on gravel road. I have taken mine a quarter of a mile or so on gravel roads at slow speed. Was was cautious about the open belt drive in the rear. But after reading these posts, and seeing the dK custom video. I am more at ease now with the thought that it’s OK to take the TG out on gravel roads. I had an adventure bike for a few years, but I usually just stuck to smooth gravel road even with that bike. Now I am wondering how fast a person would be going on a nice gravel road. (30,40,50). And how far with a person willing to be traveling on a gravel road in miles? I think the furthest I went on my adventure bike was 30 miles and I traveled at 50 miles an hour. I don’t suppose I would be doing that kind of speed on the TG. And I am thinking that the TG would be awful dirty or dusty after all that. Anyway it would be appreciated any input on the questions above.

I ride on a gravel dirt road.....And i can say...Just the racket that the gravel coming off the tires and hitting the underside of the fenders and undercharge will determined how fast you are willing to go..Dust and dirt isn't a problem 'Paint chips and dings will be a problem...

[FuLong]

The speed on gravel depends how bumpy and windy the road is.

The corner speed is limited but not so bad in comparison to 2 wheels. There the trike is more stable and tends to understeering. If you have the guts, hit it and compensate with a powerslide. This makes also fun in wet hairpins

For the bumps is a midstep useful. With this, you can stand up like on a adventure bike and compensate the hardest hits. Could be also livesaving on pavement. I had this in Scotland, as our tourguide got with 70 mph over 2 inch pavement bumps. The adventure bikes did not noticed the bumps but with the short spring travel on my Tri Glide, sometimes i flew. There the Legend Gear air suspension and the midstep was livesaving.

The Tri Glide can take more than you think. Its a very robust construction.