Tri Glide Stage 2 “concerns”.

[HarrisBikeNut]

Just visited my local HD dealer to enquire about upgrading my 2018 M8 twin cooled Tri Glide from my current Stage 1 to a Stage 2. Thoughts were to fit a torque cam and, while the motor was apart, upgrade to the 2020 8 lobe oil pump as well. Speaking with the dealer, I was told that HD do not recommend going more than Stage 1 on a Tri Glide due to more power / torque causing possible transmission problems due to two wide grippy rear wheels. The technician I spoke with did say that, ultimately, it is down to me. So I thought I would gather feedback from Tri Glide owners who may have already fitted their Tri Glide with a Stage 2 kit (or more?). Is this HD being ultra cautious? Have owners who have upgraded to a Stage 2 had any issues? Is there much improvement to warrant the cost? ( £1200-£1400 here in the UK). Your experiences etc would be very welcome to help me decide.

Bob

[Trampas]

I know there are quite a few here that have did the stage 2 and maybe some of them will chime in, I do know my cousin went with a stage 2 on his 2017 and I guess he is happy with it. Myself I'm still stock on my 2018 trike and will more than likely stay that way, my hot rod days are over and I'm happy with that, had my 2 wheelers built up and it was ok but I was younger then.

Hopefully some will chime in that have done this

All for now Trampas

[Old Road Dog]

An honest dealer for once! Giving you the straight up instead of just squeezing money out of you. Bolt on more horsepower and torque and get a corresponding reduction in unit life. Nothings free. These motors are to dam big already for thire own good. I remember when a 96 inch motor was something dreams were made of. Anyway I would go with just the upgraded oil pump but its your property do as you wish.

[NHBAGGER]

I think the real issue maybe the EPA did not approve the torque cam for a trike.

As for the power concern, I had a 14 with a 117" motor, cams and headwork. It would hop the front wheel in the first three gears and no mechanical issues. All non Harley parts though.

Road Dog also had a built motor.

[Highaltidude]

Depends on how ya drive it.....

:-)

Those big tires will have more traction than a single motorcycle tire. If you like rev'n it up and dumping the clutch, it's gonna break things.....

If you just want more power to accelerate out of corners or to pass a slow moving rig on a two lane, you're gonna be just fine.

If you like to wind it out to 6,000rpm a lot, probably gonna break things. If you play around in the peak torque curve, you're gonna be just fine.

Just my opinion though....

Who does the upgrade matters a bunch too.....

I've got almost 10,000 trouble free miles on my build. It's been on the dyno and generates 130ftlbs of torque from 2,500 to 4,500 rpms, with a peak of 136ftlbs. Other than upgraded clutch springs, the drivetrain is stock.

Gonna cost you some bucks. But the grin is worth it.

Chuck

[Mykneesbehurtin]

I did what can be called a stage 2 on my 17, S&S 465 cam, S&S premium lifters, new upgraded oil pump, Fullsac Sportpipe head pipe, TTS tuner with a full dyno tune. All I can say is I couldn't be happier, we pull a small trailer and this thing has all the low end power I could ever want. I gained 17 HP and about 13 ft lbs of torque but most important is were the torque is now, at 2100 rpm it has 100 ft lbs of torque. But like others have said you can break a bowling ball if ya try hard enough

[Wmitz]

I’ll just put my 2 cents in. The reason why trikes really don’t have any performance “kits” is the costs to certify the kits for a trike, vs how many people would actually buy the kits. Now that being said, hd cams are epa cams, so there are better cams on the market, same goes for hd tuners. So I’ve gone the middle route, performance a/c, decatted headpipe, cvo muffs with performance baffles, and a PV tuner. Does the bike run smoother, yes, does it perform better, yes, but not like an one with an aftermarket cams. I can get over a 100mph without to much trouble, do I need a cam, no, do I want one yes, lol. It all depends on what your trying to accomplish. If out of warranty go aftermarket.

[rhino 2]

I’ll just put my 2 cents in. The reason why trikes really don’t have any performance “kits” is the costs to certify the kits for a trike, vs how many people would actually buy the kits. Now that being said, hd cams are epa cams, so there are better cams on the market, same goes for hd tuners. So I’ve gone the middle route, performance a/c, decatted headpipe, cvo muffs with performance baffles, and a PV tuner. Does the bike run smoother, yes, does it perform better, yes, but not like an one with an aftermarket cams. I can get over a 100mph without to much trouble, do I need a cam, no, do I want one yes, lol. It all depends on what your trying to accomplish. If out of warranty go aftermarket.

It’s not always about how fast you can go ! It’s about how fast you can go to how fast you want to go 😉….

[DK Custom Products]

Just visited my local HD dealer to enquire about upgrading my 2018 M8 twin cooled Tri Glide from my current Stage 1 to a Stage 2. Thoughts were to fit a torque cam and, while the motor was apart, upgrade to the 2020 8 lobe oil pump as well. Speaking with the dealer, I was told that HD do not recommend going more than Stage 1 on a Tri Glide due to more power / torque causing possible transmission problems due to two wide grippy rear wheels. The technician I spoke with did say that, ultimately, it is down to me. So I thought I would gather feedback from Tri Glide owners who may have already fitted their Tri Glide with a Stage 2 kit (or more?). Is this HD being ultra cautious? Have owners who have upgraded to a Stage 2 had any issues? Is there much improvement to warrant the cost? ( £1200-£1400 here in the UK). Your experiences etc would be very welcome to help me decide.

Bob

This video may help in your decision making process.

A great Stage I will out perform (and outlast) a Harley Stage II. Then if you want more power than that, you have built a good foundation for a Stage II, III or IV.



Kevin

[Strohkr]

Depends on how ya drive it.....:-)Those big tires will have more traction than a single motorcycle tire. If you like rev'n it up and dumping the clutch, it's gonna break things.....If you just want more power to accelerate out of corners or to pass a slow moving rig on a two lane, you're gonna be just fine.If you like to wind it out to 6,000rpm a lot, probably gonna break things. If you play around in the peak torque curve, you're gonna be just fine.Just my opinion though....Who does the upgrade matters a bunch too.....I've got almost 10,000 trouble free miles on my build. It's been on the dyno and generates 130ftlbs of torque from 2,500 to 4,500 rpms, with a peak of 136ftlbs. Other than upgraded clutch springs, the drivetrain is stock.Gonna cost you some bucks. But the grin is worth it.Chuck

Have a 2021 TG did a Stage 2 with aftermarket pipes, header, a/c, tuner, cam.

If you want to hot rod - buy a Freewheeler and put in a 128 and your grin will never leave.

But - for touring - my build works absolutely fantastic - all the touring power you will ever need (or want)!

[Mykneesbehurtin]

I’ll just put my 2 cents in. The reason why trikes really don’t have any performance “kits” is the costs to certify the kits for a trike, vs how many people would actually buy the kits. Now that being said, hd cams are epa cams, so there are better cams on the market, same goes for hd tuners. So I’ve gone the middle route, performance a/c, decatted headpipe, cvo muffs with performance baffles, and a PV tuner. Does the bike run smoother, yes, does it perform better, yes, but not like an one with an aftermarket cams. I can get over a 100mph without to much trouble, do I need a cam, no, do I want one yes, lol. It all depends on what your trying to accomplish. If out of warranty go aftermarket.

Speaking for myself if I want it then I need it lol.

[ISP-FL]

I've got two buddies that have had 128 kits done on their Trikes in the past year. One is a 2017 and one is a 2018. Four Rivers Harley (Paducah) did them both. The only issue with either tranny or rear end was on one of their bikes. He was speed shifting and blew it out. It was covered under extended warranty.

I ride with both of these guys a lot even though one lives in Alabama and one lives in Kentucky. I can tell you that both of those bikes can run circles around my Stage 1 2019 114.

[milemaker]

I used to ride mine hard with just a stage 1 setup, V & H mufflers and fuel pak. I like to run a little hard and probably did maybe 4 or 5 wheelies here and there. After hearing some noise in the rear end last fall I had to take the whole rear end apart and rebuild it. $1000.00 in new parts and a couple days of work. It took about 5 weeks to get parts from Harley with the new supply hardships.

If you ride it hard you will pay for it one way or another. The rear end in these bikes are not made for hotdogging.

Take care.

[DK Custom Products]

Knock on wood that I am not jinxing myself.

I am on my 3rd Tri Glide and have not had any drivetrain failures in close to 200K miles.

There is a weakness in the drive train, and I will put a video describing that below. But it has to do with the axles, not the actual transmission or differential.

It is possible to tear up the trans or the differential...Devin recently had to replace a bunch of parts in his transmission from hot dogging it too hard with his Stage IV.

I have done thousands (not an exaggeration) of burn-outs on my Tri Glides and hundreds of wheelies. Again, zero issues.

Here are a couple of vids showing the "abuse".



Kevin

[DK Custom Products]

Another video-



Kevin

[DK Custom Products]

Here is a video showing the weakness in the axle. The important thing to note is that this has an effect on the splines in the differential, and the ABRP's can cause the differential to fail, but it is not the differential that is the weak point, it is way out near the tires at the bearing retainer plate.



Kevin