How to Ride The Curves Aggressively on an HD Trike

[DK Custom Products]

AND, even if one does not want to ride the curves aggressively, good info if one finds themselves entering a curve a little faster than they intended.

Kevin

 

[Notgrownup]

I told my wife that even if we were on 3 wheels she could still lean with me in the curves in the mountains…it helped in turning easier by a lot.

 

[DK Custom Products]

I told my wife that even if we were on 3 wheels she could still lean with me in the curves in the mountains…it helped in turning easier by a lot.

Absolutely, agree with you 100%.

Kevin

 

[Old Road Dog]

I ride the tail of the dragon at least twice a year. Living not far from it- think Outlander series country, it's not a big deal. I've found squeezing the tank with my knees gives a sense of stability thru the curves. No I'm not saying I can run it as used to when I was younger, especially on a trike. But I like to prove to myself I still "got it". Those sport bike riders run it much faster- I HATE THOSE DOITY KIDS!

 

[DK Custom Products]

I ride the tail of the dragon at least twice a year. Living not far from it- think Outlander series country, it's not a big deal. I've found squeezing the tank with my knees gives a sense of stability thru the curves. No I'm not saying I can run it as used to when I was younger, especially on a trike. But I like to prove to myself I still "got it". Those sport bike riders run it much faster- I HATE THOSE DOITY KIDS!

Yeah, pinching the tank with the knees is a good trick that works well on the Trikes, making it easier to lean into the inside of the curve.

Kevin

 

[molokaimike]

If you have an IRS system on your trike, leaning into the curves is an even more important item. IRS systems have a tendency to have more lean out that the stock rear end. I ride the curves just like I did on my 2 wheeler as far as leaning into the turn and it really makes the trike corner well. I also have the papa Zook front end which helps.

 

[ISP-FL]

AND, even if one does not want to ride the curves aggressively, good info if one finds themselves entering a curve a little faster than they intended.

Kevin

As always, great video Kevin.

I'm not sure I totally buy into the theory of keeping the brakes on while still using throttle though. I think if you are running a few spaced out tight curves it would help run them a little harder.

What would concern me when doing a run like the Dragon is that within 11 miles you are hammering around 318 curves. There is nothing special about the brake pads on these trikes and I suspect in a run that long you could end up experiencing brake fade. If those brakes do get hot enough to start fading then good luck because you will have very little braking power.

I have experienced this in several long high speed pursuits in my past life (LEO) and I can tell you it is a very dangerous situation when they start to go. I have ran the Dragon several times on my Ultra, my 16 Trike, and my 19 Trike. I keep the rpms high and shift alot but try to limit brake usage. I guess we will just have to agree to disagree on this one.

 

[David792]

When I was on two wheels I have used the throttle+brake method. It helped keep tension on the drive train and reduced nose dive. But I used it sparingly.

btw... once, with glazed brakes, I almost ran down my sergeant. Scared the hell out of me.

 

[DK Custom Products]

As always, great video Kevin.

I'm not sure I totally buy into the theory of keeping the brakes on while still using throttle though. I think if you are running a few spaced out tight curves it would help run them a little harder.

What would concern me when doing a run like the Dragon is that within 11 miles you are hammering around 318 curves. There is nothing special about the brake pads on these trikes and I suspect in a run that long you could end up experiencing brake fade. If those brakes do get hot enough to start fading then good luck because you will have very little braking power.

I have experienced this in several long high speed pursuits in my past life (LEO) and I can tell you it is a very dangerous situation when they start to go. I have ran the Dragon several times on my Ultra, my 16 Trike, and my 19 Trike. I keep the rpms high and shift alot but try to limit brake usage. I guess we will just have to agree to disagree on this one.

All good comments/thoughts.

Made me realize that I did not specify how much brake and throttle....which, of course, is difficult to describe objectively.

I have never experienced brake fade on any of my trikes. (different subject, but I have experienced them getting too wet and having reduced braking power)

The least amount throttle to maintain speed and a very light pressure on the rear brakes, but it is always there, so that if a surprise happens in the curve (where I may have come in a little hot, or there is a surface irregularity that I did not see) I can for a second, or two or three apply them harder to scrub speed and keep that rear end down.

You mentioning the Dragon reminds me of a time when I was running it with a couple of friends. They were both on 2 wheelers, one a SG and the other a Dyna. I was on a Tri Glide.

Whether on 2 wheels or 3, I use a LOT of front brake slowing down before the curve, then switch to light rear brake while In the curve.

One of these guys was using only rear brakes thru the entire Dragon. At the end his rear pads were toast...almost no braking power. Fortunately he did not warp his rotor, but he did have to buy new pads that afternoon (yes, he might have been able to rough them up and reuse them, but he just decided to get new pads).

Over the years I have heard a lot of complaints about the brakes on HD Trikes...I have never had a problem with them on any of my 3 TG's.

To give an idea of how much rear brakes I use...I have never had to replace any brake pads on any of the three TG's. The last time I inspected the rear pads on one of my TG's, it had 63,000+ miles on them and still had over 50% of the meat left on the pads.

Like you, when running aggressively I keep the RPM's high and do a lot of downshifting before the curve to help scrub speed.

Thanks for pointing out that I completely left out How Much rear brake to use. Dunno if I am going to add a comment in that video, or do a follow up video.

Here's Mary and I running the Dragon, fully loaded, high rpm's, lots of front brakes in the approach of a curve, and trail braking thru the curves.

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

When I was on two wheels I have used the throttle+brake method. It helped keep tension on the drive train and reduced nose dive. But I used it sparingly.

btw... once, with glazed brakes, I almost ran down my sergeant. Scared the hell out of me.

Yeah, not having brakes is not a situation one wants to find oneself in! :gah:

Kevin

 

[Jack Klarich]

I practice each time I ride

I scare the hell outa Mrs Jack sometimes:laugh:

 

[ROAD DOG]

I practice each time I ride

I scare the hell outa Mrs Jack sometimes:laugh:

My younger brother don't ride at all, this summer we were going to N Y to the dirt track races, we do all summer I drive all the time, So I take my trike go to his house to pick him up, He says No F ING way Im getting on that thing, I convince him I will ride normal, He did not ride home with me & never will again.

 

[DK Custom Products]

As always, great video Kevin.

Hi Joe,

We took your comment to heart and recorded a follow up video 2 days ago. It covers a lot of things we did not cover in the first video that you and David both commented on regarding brake fade.

It should be published within the next couple of weeks.

Thank you for pointing that out! :clapping:

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

Joe and David,

Here is a follow-up video that you both inspired us to go regarding the original video above.

Thank you!

Kevin

 

[RoadRunner18]

How does this all apply to a trike with linked front/rear brakes? I understand the portion about maintaining throttle to keep momentum. My question pertains to trail braking. With a linked system when you use the front brake you are also applying a portion of the rear brake. Having said this aren't you accomplishing the same thing as Trail Braking on a non linked system?

 

[ISP-FL]

Another great video Kevin, thanks for sharing. Just a side note about rear tire psi. My FL dealer recently did my brakes and as soon as I got on it to ride home I knew he had overinflated the rear tires. It rode EXTREMELY rough! In other words, I didn't need to put a gauge on them to know.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Another great video Kevin, thanks for sharing. Just a side note about rear tire psi. My FL dealer recently did my brakes and as soon as I got on it to ride home I knew he had overinflated the rear tires. It rode EXTREMELY rough! In other words, I didn't need to put a gauge on them to know.

Thank you for prompting us to do it. The was a big fat hole we left in the previous video, much appreciation to you for pointing that out.

Crazy how Dealerships still don't know how to air up tires on the Trikes the sell and service. :Shrug:

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

How does this all apply to a trike with linked front/rear brakes? I understand the portion about maintaining throttle to keep momentum. My question pertains to trail braking. With a linked system when you use the front brake you are also applying a portion of the rear brake. Having said this aren't you accomplishing the same thing as Trail Braking on a non linked system?

On linked systems, when you use the front brakes you are getting full front braking and some rear braking. This is not what is wanted when riding thru a curve....scrubbing speed coming up to a curve, that is good, but not going thru the curve.

On linked systems, when you use the rear brakes, you are getting full rear brakes and only about 1/3 power on the front brakes. This is better for trail braking.

Is it even better with a non-linked system to use Only rear brakes? Yes. But HD went with the linked systems, and that is what we have to work with.

Kevin

 

[RoadRunner18]

On linked systems, when you use the front brakes you are getting full front braking and some rear braking. This is not what is wanted when riding thru a curve....scrubbing speed coming up to a curve, that is good, but not going thru the curve.

On linked systems, when you use the rear brakes, you are getting full rear brakes and only about 1/3 power on the front brakes. This is better for trail braking.

Is it even better with a non-linked system to use Only rear brakes? Yes. But HD went with the linked systems, and that is what we have to work with.

Kevin

Thank You Kevin