Well, I finally took delivery of my Road Glide 3 in Bright Billiard Blue on Saturday afternoon. Went out for an 80 mile ride, so I feel as though I've gotten enough seat time to give a proper first impression. Keep in mind that this is the first HD trike I've ever ridden. I did do a test ride on a Can-Am Ryker 900 to get the feel of it for my wife back in June of 2021, about a week before I was in a wreck that cost me my baby - a 2020 Low Rider S, and left me with a broken wrist that required a plate and 11 screws to fix.
I had planned on heaps of appearance and performance upgrades for this trike. Due to our car being stolen - check out this thread for more:
Trike Comfort - Or, when do you know it's time? and global shortages still hitting HD hard, I took delivery of the bike with almost none of the planned upgrades.
A few quick thoughts before the "official" write up:
- The HD Sundowner seat (at least without a backrest) is not comfortable. Yeah it ain't broken in yet, but at least for now, it leaves a lot to be desired. Probably going to get an aftermarket seat.
- The BoomBox GTS screen is subpar when the sun is at your back. Could hardly make out the screen - reminiscent of those early '80s LCD watch screens.
- Same with the gauges, don't like that they aren't backlit unless it's dark out. Tough to see. Might have to invest in new gauges.
- For as big and heavy as it is, it's surprisingly easy to move - more on that later.
- It's a gorgeous trike. Still getting used to the thought of being on 3, but since I made the jump, at least she's purty to look at.
So, as I said, I took delivery on Saturday. The 10x10 shed we built last summer was with the FXLRST EL Diablo and (eventually) my wife's Rebel 1100T in mind. Since the trike won't fit, we're renting a storage space nearby to keep the RG3 in it until we figure out what we're going to do. We started out leaving the dealership, and headed towards the storage space. The plan was that if I felt comfortable enough, I'd give the "thumbs up" sign and continue riding. If not, we'd park the RG3 in the storage unit. Just as we got close by the storage unit, I gave the thumbs up and proceeded to ride.
My favorite local ride along Lake Ontario isn't far from the storage unit (the start of it at least), so I headed there. I hadn't ridden it in over 2 years when I still had my 2020 FXLRS, and I felt it appropriate to be my first "real" ride on the RG3. It's a really long road that has spots of slower residential areas, along with long stretches in the 55MPH range. It's got its fair share of sweeping curves, and some sweet straightaways that you can really get on it if you want to. At the beginning of the ride (from the dealership to near the storage unit) I missed some shifts. I've never ridden with floorboards before, and never with forward controls. I'm certainly tall enough, it just took some getting used to. I made sure my foot was at the front of the board and all the way to the right to make sure I was always in place to hit the lever. I'll probably invest in a bigger shifter peg to help with that as well. On the other side, I REALLY like the beefy brake pedal that always seemed to be exactly where I needed it to be.
Riding a trike (as most of you already know) is a whole different beast from riding on twos. I didn't like how I wasn't as nimble as I was previously. I felt each and every bump, road imperfection, and change in road condition. In some places it was quite jarring, and did a number on my wrists and hands. Speaking of my wrists and hands, they really took a beating. Between having to actually steer the trike, dealing with the stock bars (which are not optimal for my riding position or wrist/hand placement), and feeling every single bump, my hands were in bad shape about halfway through the ride.
I found that I actually prefer to sit as upright as possible, which is tough to do without a backrest. I wasn't wholly uncomfortable, but I definitely wasn't comfortable if I slouched in the natural position that the rider triangle promoted. Stretching my back every now and again helped a lot. Not too bad for my first ride since October and my first ride of more than a few miles in almost two years.
At my usual turn around point, there's this little deli. I stopped to grab a Coke, the best chocolate chunk cookie I've ever had (because what's a motorcycle ride without snacks involved, am I right?
) and have a smoke. I tried to put the RG3 in reverse. I must've done something wrong. The "R" button kept flashing for a few seconds, then went out. Finally I gave up, put it in Neutral and duck walked it back. For as big and as heavy as it is, that thing was easier to duck walk backwards than any other two wheeled bike I've owned!
Made a mistake on the way back and missed my turn. Went further down the road and found an area with a little more room to make the U-turn. The RG3 handled it nicely, I was very impressed. Rode it back to the storage space, put it away, and got a ride home from the wife in our rental car.
I'm still not 100% sold that going to 3 was the best move just yet, but I'm definitely willing to give it a shot. I just need to really look into what I need to do to make the bike more comfortable. I know that if I'm planning on taking this trike on my Route 66 trip in July, some serious modifications need to be done.
I figure if nothing else, I'll ride it this season. As the season goes on, I'm sure that I'll either fall in love with it (I'm already falling in like with it
), or I'll realize that it isn't the daily rider for me. I'm certainly cool with keeping the RG3 and picking up another 2 wheeled steed. Probably something lighter and from a different area of riding. Maybe a Pan America or Africa Twin.
Thanks to everyone here for all the advice and camaraderie. If you're interested in further thoughts, I plan on having a motovlog up on my channel by this weekend. I didn't bring the GoPro with me on Saturday as I wanted the ride to be about me and the trike bonding.
