First Trike Ride

[AKRefugee]

My Sweetie and I have been thinking about a trike but neither of us had ever been on one so we were not sure if we would like one or not. Last week we finally had an opportunity to take one out for a ride. Since i had never been on a trike before I call up Bongobobny and picked his brain (don't say it). He gave me excellent guidance about riding one and his advice really helped.

 

We tried out a 2011 Harley Tri-Glide. I started out by myself to get a feel for it. Bongobobny was right by telling me not to try to lean, just let your body react, spot on words. When I tried to lean I felt like I was fighting the turn, once I learned to relax it was easy. Took about 5 minutes to get used to it. After about 15 minutes I went back and got my Sweetie and we were off.

 

So what was the ride like? Like any Harley when it was at idle you felt the Harley shake but once you got moving that went away. The acceleration was very smooth and very quick, getting up to 70 mph was very easy. It was easy to hold the lane position at highway speed and it was easy to relax and enjoy the ride. We did notice that below about 60 the wind buffeting on the passenger was less than the Venture but above that speed the buffeting for both of us seemed worse. The noise in the cockpit area was noticeably less than the venture at all speeds except idle. For highway driving it was a very enjoyable ride.

 

Now for the secondary highway ride. On 45 mph and 50 mph roads we both found the ride to be very uncomfortable. The front end tracked well and went right where I wanted it to go with no problem. The rear end however was a different story. It kind of felt that the back end was swaying back and forth to the point that if I was susceptible to seasickness I might have gotten it. It wasn't a greatly pronounced sway but it was there non the less. It sort of felt like the bike was trying to track back and forth on the ridge between the tire tracks but since I did not feel it on the front end I can not be sure if that is what was causing it. Since we had never ridden a trike before we can not say it that is a characteristic of a trike or just this one. I will say that on the rough sections of road the ride was not jolting like it would have been on two wheels which made for a smoother ride.

 

The braking was very smooth but it took me a few stops to learn to use the rear brake more than the front, opposite of a two wheeler. Also it only had to remind myself a few times to not put my foot down at a stop before it became "natural". The heel shifter required you to really lift your heel quite high to shift but I think that would be very easy to adjust to. I have 35 inch inseams and the leg room was adequate however highway pegs would still be a must for me.The heat from the engine was not totally uncomfortable but I definitely noticed enough to comment on it and remember it.

 

So what was our conclusions? Well my hips were very tired out after the ride (about 35 minutes), I attribute that to constantly fighting the swaying sensation. My Sweetie did not like the sensation on the back either. Like any Harley the seats would need to be replaced for any riding beyond about 1/2 hour. While this would be a great for interstate riding we do not feel that it was very good for other than that.

 

Still not convinced that a trike is not for us. Until we have the opportunity to test ride other types the jury is still out on that, but if we do decide to go with a trike this one will NOT be on our list.

[Carbon_One]

The swaying you mention is NOT normal for any trike if properly set up. I suspect that the rear axle was out of alignment, thus causing the rear end to track side to side.

Harleys due to their drive belt setup probably have a slider/axle adjustment that will align both the axle and drive belt. I could be wrong on this thou. Even a drive shafted independant or solid axle like the Hannigan & Tri-Wings use have to be aligned to be squared up.

If you have the chance to do another test ride on a different bike it may make all the difference in the world to your preceptions. Once you have a few miles under your belt with a trike you'll really enjoy the stability and ease of riding. Trikes with a raked front tree will also handle easier and track better.

Good luck to you, Larry

[steamer]

Have you thought about triking your venture? It would be a lot less $$ then the triglide and much more comfy.

[bongobobny]

If we ever meet up again I will be glad to let you try out mine so you can feel what a Hannigan feels like...

[1 - UP]

If you go to Vogel you can ride mine. I'll be there.

Ken

[Cougar]

you wont feel anything like that on a Hannigan conversion I promise