Bought brand new 2023 dealer inventory Road Glide 3 yesterday!
#21
#22
#23
So @JimGnitecki , I take it the Breakout is in your stable no longer?
Looks like a good ride for you, or you two.
Enjoy it!
Looks like a good ride for you, or you two.
Enjoy it!
#24
So @JimGnitecki , I take it the Breakout is in your stable no longer?
Looks like a good ride for you, or you two.
Enjoy it!
Looks like a good ride for you, or you two.
Enjoy it!
Yes, my wife has already indicated a willingness to, and actually excitement about, riding the trike as a passenger. She could see how excited I was about the trike after my test ride, and basically insisted that I make the trade! Love it when the wife is 100% on board.
Jim G
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foxtrapper (08-20-2024)
#25
The dealership finished installing the Rinehart mufflers and Heavy Breather Extreme air cleaner, and I was able to pick up the new RG3 today, ring the "Another Harley sold" bell, and ride it home (a 173 km = 107 mile trip).
Here's a photo of "the chariot" in my garage:
The photo illustrates a problem with taking photos of a trike versus a 2-wheeler, when you need to do the photo from a short distance: The chariot is wide enough that the iPhone camera lens exaggerates the apparent size of the rear wheel which is near the lens, and reduces the apparent size of the rest of the chariot (including the front wheel which is only about 27" further away than the near-side rear wheel! Talk about "big wheel"!
The ride home was exciting. I had a straight exactly full head wind, that was ranging from 28 kph to 41 kph = 17 to 25.4 mph, the whole 175 kkm from the dealership to home! When I stopped at the Dairy Queen on the way home. the wind was trying to blow my gloves, the napkins, and even the drink off the outdoor table!The RG3 sharknose fairing kept the wind off ME, and the 114 engine handled the extra wind resistance with no sweat. But, the wind naturally affected fuel consumption noticeably. Plus, I was breaking in a brand new engine, which requires frequent acceleration with moderate throttle, then dropping speed with a closed throttle, then repeat, never exceeding the 100 kph = 62 mph speed limit or about 3000 rpm despite the acceleration.
So, the fuel mileage was not good for this first ride:
I had put on 47 km on the chariot during my test ride 8 days ago. but I guess the fuel tank was refilled for delivery to me by the dealership, because the gas gauge said "full" when I picked it up, and the odometer still said 47 km. The chariot used 11.44 liters to cover 173 km, which calculates to 6.61 L / 100km = 35.6 mi / US gal.
After the fuel fill, the "Range" displayed as 364 km = 226 miles. Using that projected range, the implication is that the actual fuel mileage during at least some unknown portion of the most recent miles was 6.26 L/100km = 37.6 mpg.
Now in fairness, I had the dealership install the Rinehart mufflers and the SE Heavy Breather Extreme air cleaner (the humongous air cleaner that is much larger than the Heavy breather air cleaner - just look at the photo above!), and those 2 physical changes require a Stage 1 tune from the HD SE Bluetooth tuner. I had bought the tuner, but told the shop I wanted to do myself at home the tune install, and its optimization (via Smart Tune), since I did my own on the Breakout 117 that I traded in, and via very careful filling in of the acceleration bursts rpm versus throttle opening table, had gotten REALLY good results on throttle response, fuel mileage, and even power. So, the OEM tune for the trip home, coupled with the wind issues, and my constant break-in activities, was certainly not helpful. I expect all 3 things (throttle response, fuel mileage, and power) will likely improve notably after I get the tune installed AND have finished the break-in period (You cannot properly fill in the Smart Tune's rpm versus throttle opening tune table during a break-in).
So far, I am impressed. I don't get what all the comments about really harsh rear suspension are. On this first 173 km ride, I would described the raer suspension as unimpressive but NOT harsh, at least on my RG3 model and its low profile / large wheel configuration. The engine torque seems very adequate, although the sloppy throttle response degrades its efefctiveness, but the Stage 1 tune will likely make a big improvement in that throttle response. I must have gooten used to the 3-wheel tracking issue because although I noticed it during the test ride 8 days ago, today the chariot seemed to track just fine, and the 173 km covered several pavement and concrete variants.
I love not having to put my feet down. The electric reverse is a joy to use. The "button" fuel cap was very hard for me to open the FIRST time - Isuspect that whoever fileld the tank at the dealership pushed it down a bit too hard and jammed it. After I got it to finally work after a few tries, and a bit of manual help to get it started, it worked flawlessly multiple times in repeat testing while still at the gas pump. The mirror positioning happens to be PERFECT for me - I can see vehicles coming up behind me VERY nicely. The BOOM full color display is fabulously bright, outperforming my iPhone 15. I do iss the digital speedometer on the Breakout. It was tiny comapred to the analog monster on the chariot, but I could both see it and read it much more quickly than the one on the chariot. However, the chariot has the edge because I can display and see, all simultaneously, the speedometer, the tachometer, the fuel gauge, the voltage, the current gear plus one chocie from several on the rollable LED digital display in the bottom of the speedometer. The Breakout had required me to scroll everything except the speedometer. But the Breakout DID as a result have a very clean cockpit and I could easily imagine I could be flying through the air! However, the sharknose fairing sure was helpful to have in today's headwind!
Overall my first day, and first long ride, on the chariot impressed me a LOT. THIS is going to be fun!
Jim G
Here's a photo of "the chariot" in my garage:
The photo illustrates a problem with taking photos of a trike versus a 2-wheeler, when you need to do the photo from a short distance: The chariot is wide enough that the iPhone camera lens exaggerates the apparent size of the rear wheel which is near the lens, and reduces the apparent size of the rest of the chariot (including the front wheel which is only about 27" further away than the near-side rear wheel! Talk about "big wheel"!
The ride home was exciting. I had a straight exactly full head wind, that was ranging from 28 kph to 41 kph = 17 to 25.4 mph, the whole 175 kkm from the dealership to home! When I stopped at the Dairy Queen on the way home. the wind was trying to blow my gloves, the napkins, and even the drink off the outdoor table!The RG3 sharknose fairing kept the wind off ME, and the 114 engine handled the extra wind resistance with no sweat. But, the wind naturally affected fuel consumption noticeably. Plus, I was breaking in a brand new engine, which requires frequent acceleration with moderate throttle, then dropping speed with a closed throttle, then repeat, never exceeding the 100 kph = 62 mph speed limit or about 3000 rpm despite the acceleration.
So, the fuel mileage was not good for this first ride:
I had put on 47 km on the chariot during my test ride 8 days ago. but I guess the fuel tank was refilled for delivery to me by the dealership, because the gas gauge said "full" when I picked it up, and the odometer still said 47 km. The chariot used 11.44 liters to cover 173 km, which calculates to 6.61 L / 100km = 35.6 mi / US gal.
After the fuel fill, the "Range" displayed as 364 km = 226 miles. Using that projected range, the implication is that the actual fuel mileage during at least some unknown portion of the most recent miles was 6.26 L/100km = 37.6 mpg.
Now in fairness, I had the dealership install the Rinehart mufflers and the SE Heavy Breather Extreme air cleaner (the humongous air cleaner that is much larger than the Heavy breather air cleaner - just look at the photo above!), and those 2 physical changes require a Stage 1 tune from the HD SE Bluetooth tuner. I had bought the tuner, but told the shop I wanted to do myself at home the tune install, and its optimization (via Smart Tune), since I did my own on the Breakout 117 that I traded in, and via very careful filling in of the acceleration bursts rpm versus throttle opening table, had gotten REALLY good results on throttle response, fuel mileage, and even power. So, the OEM tune for the trip home, coupled with the wind issues, and my constant break-in activities, was certainly not helpful. I expect all 3 things (throttle response, fuel mileage, and power) will likely improve notably after I get the tune installed AND have finished the break-in period (You cannot properly fill in the Smart Tune's rpm versus throttle opening tune table during a break-in).
So far, I am impressed. I don't get what all the comments about really harsh rear suspension are. On this first 173 km ride, I would described the raer suspension as unimpressive but NOT harsh, at least on my RG3 model and its low profile / large wheel configuration. The engine torque seems very adequate, although the sloppy throttle response degrades its efefctiveness, but the Stage 1 tune will likely make a big improvement in that throttle response. I must have gooten used to the 3-wheel tracking issue because although I noticed it during the test ride 8 days ago, today the chariot seemed to track just fine, and the 173 km covered several pavement and concrete variants.
I love not having to put my feet down. The electric reverse is a joy to use. The "button" fuel cap was very hard for me to open the FIRST time - Isuspect that whoever fileld the tank at the dealership pushed it down a bit too hard and jammed it. After I got it to finally work after a few tries, and a bit of manual help to get it started, it worked flawlessly multiple times in repeat testing while still at the gas pump. The mirror positioning happens to be PERFECT for me - I can see vehicles coming up behind me VERY nicely. The BOOM full color display is fabulously bright, outperforming my iPhone 15. I do iss the digital speedometer on the Breakout. It was tiny comapred to the analog monster on the chariot, but I could both see it and read it much more quickly than the one on the chariot. However, the chariot has the edge because I can display and see, all simultaneously, the speedometer, the tachometer, the fuel gauge, the voltage, the current gear plus one chocie from several on the rollable LED digital display in the bottom of the speedometer. The Breakout had required me to scroll everything except the speedometer. But the Breakout DID as a result have a very clean cockpit and I could easily imagine I could be flying through the air! However, the sharknose fairing sure was helpful to have in today's headwind!
Overall my first day, and first long ride, on the chariot impressed me a LOT. THIS is going to be fun!
Jim G
Last edited by JimGnitecki; 08-21-2024 at 08:35 PM.
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Dfriz (08-22-2024)
#26
So glad you pointed out my experience is not everyone’s. Didn’t know that. From now on I’ll just fart puppies and rainbows pretending all is just swell.
#27
You need to figure out which of the above is/are causing your ongoing bad experience. Until you do that, you are not going to be happy.
Jim G
#29
Jim G
#30
Thanks! I have to say I never knew before last week that Harley even made the RG3 model, and that it looks SO different than either the Freewheeler or the TriGlide. I still think my Breakout looks better in a "tough" sort of way (looks more powerful), but the RG3 looks really sleek and cool to me. Comparing the styling of the two is like comparing the styling of a Dodge Challenger or Corvette to an AMG Mercedes or Aston Martin.
Jim G
Jim G
After a lifetime on 2 wheels, I have the 2017 Freewheeler now and it's just a ton of fun. I Love your new ride!