ROAD TEST H-D TRI GLIDE
WORDS & PICS: Big Dave
THREE INTO TWO DOES GO! W
hen we were discussing how we should cover the Tri Glide I suggested to The Ed that a good photo opportunity would be something that showed me removing a large slice of humble pie from the ‘trunk’ (hey, it’s American).
I did because it’s fair to say that before getting on and getting ‘into’ the Tri Glide, I had it all wrong about trikes. Like most bike guys the standard patter I used to spout ran along the lines of ‘worst of both worlds; no traffic cutting capability like a bike and no weather protection like a car.’ That was until I lived with Harley’s
new three-wheeler for almost a month.
To be fair too, if you approach the trike as a motorcycle, then you’ll probably be disappointed. If you come at it like it’s an exhilarating open wheel sports car, then, boy, is it a huge amount of fun. In evaluating one it pays to leave your bike mentality at home as well. The obstacles that a bike deals with so easily become more difficult on the trike. This, as I’m sure you can understand, can be quite frustrating, though there are compensations – one of them when you get a trike out on the open road.
Harley-Davidson has always listened closely to its customers. So when enough said they wanted a factory three-wheeler ‘the Motor Company created the Tri-Glide.
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ROAD TEST H-D TRI GLIDE WHIP IT….WHIP IT GOOD! Whipping it through the bends efficiently is a matter of technique. It took me a few tankfuls to stop fighting the handlebars and get the whole ‘pull me – push you’ vibe that makes three wheelers and quads work. But when the penny finally drops it’s real ‘yeee-harrrr’ material. Speaking of which, it dropped (the penny that is) quicker and easier for me than the Editor of this esteemed magazine who returned from a ride pondering – as many of you I’m sure are at this very moment – why anyone in their right mind would want to add a third wheel when ‘two are just fine thanks!’ When he returned it into my safe keeping (H-D kindly let me have the demo bike for an, er ‘extended,’ period) I couldn’t keep off the thing. Put that open wheel sports car mind-set in place, crank up the onboard CD player, hit the road and it’s a hoot. ATTENTION MAGNET It’s one of those units I call a celebrity vehicle. People just want to know about it, wave at it or take its photograph. It has such a huge presence. It would make a great high profile vehicle to have sign-written for a business or advertising. Everyone checked it out at the lights. I checked, and yes it also has viable cargo space – 6.56 cubic metres of it, for delivery work. 32 KIWI RIDER
That would be something that harks back nicely to the first true HarleyDavidson trike, the Servi Car, which was released in 1932 and remained in production until 1974. The Servi Car is the vehicle credited by some as the one that allowed Harley to survive the Great Depression, quickly becoming an indispensible aid for tradesmen, city delivery work and police departments around the US. I thought what might be a good jape would be to get a few blocks of dry ice, a carton of Cornettos and head up to the Domain and sell ice creams, but in the end I just cruised around on it. POLICE MOTOR And cruise nicely it does. The 1690cc 103 Cube ‘Police Motor’ is superb. The exhausts have been opened up slightly on the press bike and listening to their note is reason enough to ride it. The engine is a smooth pleasure that develops 137nm of torque. It needs a good dose of torque too as the unit weighs in at 532kg gassed up, but remember to put your sports car helmet on and it’s not an issue. It still pulls away from the traffic lights handily. There’s no shortage of power for normal use and it has an electric motor under one of the side covers for reversing, which unless it was uphill, I found it easier to just foot-down push it out of the shed.
Up front the machine is a Harley Ultra Classic with a large steering damper fitted. We covered its finer points in the February 2010 edition when we tested the Ultra Limited. Out the back, meanwhile, the belt drive runs to an axle supported on adjustable air suspension and with a pair of Dunlop P205/65R15 tyres, the latter enveloped by a large expanse of bodywork MORE PIE VICAR? The second slice of humble pie I need to eat is that at first I thought it had no rear suspension. It felt like a rigid rear, and I told people so, but when we put 40 psi of pressure in the system the ride did become much more passenger compliant. It’s still a pretty harsh ride in the rear throne however. Not only do you get the normal forward back movement of a motorcycle, there is also the lateral movement caused by the outrigger wheels. This is fine on the freeway and good road surfaces, but it’s going to be a hardy and uncomplaining pillion who grins and bears the ride over rougher roads for extended periods. The rider on the other hand will find the sportiness, very direct feedback and the G forces quite exhilarating – as long,
as (as I’ve already stressed) you don’t think of it as a bike.
At $50,500 it’s not for the firsttime buyer, but it’s superbly finished and blinged (the engine is beautiful looking as well as sounding) and it has a number of viable uses; from riders keen to keep the faith but no longer strong or confident enough to man-handle half a tonne of Super-Tourer around a Rally Site, to those suffering from a disability, or those in the business world with a commercial and/or promotional application in mind. KR
ROAD TEST H-D TRI GLIDE
And that’s what I found the Tri-Glide is, a large bit of fun.
Bonus for bikers keen to make the move to three wheels is extra luggage space courtesy integrated ‘boot.’ Unique handling characteristics take some getting used to with experience surprisingly similar to that of diametrically different (it has two wheels at the front and one at the back) Can-Am Spyder threewheeler. Motorcyclists will find ride choppy and loss of instinctive two-wheeler dynamics will mean a transition period for long-time two-wheelers. Once you’ve made the move though it will become second nature in no time.
SPECIFICATIONS HARLEY-DAVIDSON TRI-GLIDE ENGINE Type: Air-cooled twin cam 103 cu. in. V-twin 4-stroke Displacement: 1690cc Compression ratio: 9.6:1 Bore x stroke: 98.4 x 111.1mm Starting system: Electric Engine management system: CDI Fuel system: Electronic sequential port fuel injection Clutch: Wet multiplate Transmission: 6-speed Final drive: Chain FRAME Type: Tubular steel Swingarm: Steel Front suspension: Telescopic fork Rear suspension: Single air shock Brakes: Twin discs w/ 4-piston caliper front and single disc w/ single piston floating caliper rear Wheels: Cast aluminium 7-spoke 16 in. dia front and 15 in. dia. rear Tyres: Dunlop MT90B-16 front and 2 x P205/65R-15 rear DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 1691mm Rake: 26° Trail: 10mm Length: 2687mm Seat height: 751.84mm Dry weight: 516kg Fuel tank capacity: 22.7L RRP: $50,500 Test bike: Harley-Davidson & AMPS For more information: www.h-d.com and www.amps.co.nz
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