Have not yet purchased a trike; trying to narrow down my selection. I'm looking at mostly single riding, about 80/20 single/2 up. The passenger would be a non-rider i.e. not much experience on any kind of motorcycle. So I'm wondering about passenger comfort and safety feeling on a Road Glide 3 vs Tri Glide. I'm digging around trying to see what kind of dealer/after market seat options would be available for a RG 3. Thoughts?

 

Road Glide 3 is too new for anyone to have an opinion yet…

if you plan on taking long road trips (even solo) I’d suggest the Tri Glide. Around town and short trips, the Freewheeler or Road Glide 3 might be a better fit.

I think if the Motor Company put the fixed fairing on the Tri Glide… wow…!

 

As Hydra mentioned; the Roadglide 3 is just simply too new to know what accessories are going to be available specifically for that model.
However from its appearance, it looks to be simply a Freewheeler with a Roadglide fairing with gauges on it.

Also as mentioned, if you’re going to be doing a lot of touring then the Triglide is probably the better choice since that’s what it’s set up for.
But if you are just cruising around town or the countryside and perhaps taking the occasional trip, the Freewheeler or Roadglide 3 might be your better option.

It should be noted that the bones of the Freewheeler and the Triglide are pretty much the same and I wouldn’t think the Roadglide 3 would be different.
The biggest difference between the Freewheeler, and the Triglide is the bodies, and of course the difference between the Freewheeler and the Roadglide 3 looks to be only the front Roadglide fairing and gauges.

For me I don’t tour on my bikes much, so the Freewheeler fits my needs better than the Triglide.
As for the Roadglide 3; from the pictures I’ve seen I like the look of the Roadglide fairing and I think having the gauges would be nice.

So the first question is are you going to tour on the trike or not?
If the answer is yes, I’d go with the Triglide, if the answer is no I’d go with the Freewheeler or the Roadglide 3.

If the decision is to go with the Freewheeler or the Roadglide 3, the question is do you want a fairing and if so, do you want it removable?
If you don’t care for the fairing or you want one that’s removable then the answer simply is go with a Freewheeler and purchase an aftermarket removable fairing.
If you do want a fairing and you don’t care to ever take it off then go with the Roadglide 3.

Of course, none of the options previously mentioned take into account the cost of these three models.
None of them are cheap, but obviously the price from least to most will be the Freewheeler, then Roadglide 3 and finally the Triglide.

For me; I really like my Freewheeler and can’t imagine ever needing the add-ons that come on a Triglide.
As for putting a fairing on my Freewheeler; I thought I would add one when I first got it but after a few years of riding it I really like the openness of it so the windshield only works just fine for me.

As for having additional gauges, what I really like is a tach and fuel gauge so I replaced my Freewheeler stock single speedometer gauge with a Harley speedo/tach combo gauge designed for the Road King.

Lastly, as far as driver and passenger comfort; I think you need to plan at least spending an additional $2000 after you buy any of the three to increase comfort.
I’ve already added an aftermarket seat and sheepskin cover, and by next riding season, I will be putting $1200 into the suspension and replacing the rear tires with a softer compound tire. All these mods would be the same, regardless of what model trike I had.

 

I still like the Tri better. The rear opening trunk is convenient. If you want to, you can make the tour pak removable if it's too much for local cruising. I find I'm always using it for something.

 

Certainly everyone has their preferences however, when comparing trunks; I would think the trunk on the Freewheeler and Roadglide 3 would be more convenient since access to it is from the top.
Of course the Triglide does have the tour pac for added storage however, with the rack on the Freewheeler, I simply installed a Harley removable bag that works just fine.

Along with one’s needs and desires, you have to also consider how much you’re paying for those needs and desires.
Cost is a huge deal for me simply because I would never finance a toy so it’s always a cash purchase which is probably why I’ve never bought a new motorcycle.

The Triglide MSRP is $10K more than the Freewheeler and $6K more than the Roadglide 3.
But again everyone has their own needs and desires. The Freewheeler just simply meets mine.

 

Another feature the new Roadglide 3 has besides the fixed fairing and gauges is the Infotainment System... If you like music (like I do) when you ride, this is an excellent upgrade from the basic Freewheeler which has no stock music options. And you can use CarPlay, which is awesome in itself.

You just need to decide the type of riding you will be doing (short runs versus long distance touring) and if the Infotainment System and all it comes with (music, CarPlay, navigation) is important to you or not.

For me, I'm extremely happy with my Tri Glide. I ride everywhere (in town as well as all day rides), but I really love extended days/trips on it. Riding solo with my Tri loaded up allows for plenty of storage options to keep me on the road for extended periods, while carrying necessary foul weather gear. I've upgraded the stereo over the winter to a Stage 2 Fosgate system. Can't wait to hear it as soon as spring arrives!

I'm also interested to hear eventually from new Roadglide 3 owners that have owed Tri Glides in the past whether the fixed fairing mitigates the buffeting issues common with the batwing fairing.

 

Been super busy, so have not read all the threads on the RG 3, but have skimmed some of them. One thing I have not seen mentioned is the horrible ride quality of those low profile (short sidewall) tires. Look the same, or close, as the tires on the CVO TG's. We have done some riding on those, and they are bad.

I like the Sharknose, I think they did a good thing on offering that as an option, and they will do even better offering that at some point on the Tri Glide...but those tires are no good for hour after hour of riding.

 

Having just went back to two wheels from a TG due to the stress the TG put on my shoulders, i believe I’d like the RG3. I would think it would steer easier due to the weight off the front forks and the added protection and gauges over the Freewheeler is a plus.
as for storage and touring and long trips…I have a Bushtec trailer and that solves that, screw Harley and their scare tactics over warranty

 

Hey Frank... curious if you tried different bars on your Tri Glide prior to selling it? I too have a bad shoulder, but replacing the stock bars with a set of Khromewerks 2+2 wides, along with a 1" lift kit, made a world of difference on mitigating the stress the stock bars put on my shoulders.

I found with the stock bars, particularly when I was near or "on the locks" on a tight turn, there was a tremendous amount of stress on my upper shoulder. Adding the 2+2's moved what I'll call the "stress point" down more into my arms and off my shoulders, which isn't a problem. My "arm geometry" was greatly improved and it makes handling my Tri Glide MUCH easier.

I honestly don't think the shark nose will do much if anything to make steering any easier. My speculation... we will soon see what TG3 owners have to say!

 

I agree in that I don’t believe the RG fairing will make steering a trike any easier.
You just can’t compare two wheels to three wheels when steering effort is concern as its comparing “apples to oranges”. .

I find that on my Freewheeler with only a windshield that my shoulders get a workout on a long day of riding when there’s lots of turns and twisties.
But on my Heritage, which has a pretty substantial fairing with a pretty heavy stereo system, after a day of riding when there’s lots of turns and twisties I feel nothing in my shoulders.