I arranged in advance to do a demo ride a week ago on an RG3 at My HD dealer while having a warranty repair being done on my 2023 Breakout 117. I wanted the demo not to buy an RG3 "right now", but to see if I could regard it as a reasonably worthwhile "future" solution when even the "lightweight" Breakout becomes too much for my 73 years of age and my 28.5" inseam to handle on tight turns, garage maneuvering, and carrying a passenger.

I told the dealership GM I wanted to ride specifically an RG3, as the Freewheeler is too bare for my personal taste (POst-apolyptic future look!) and the Tri-Glide with its large trunk, even without the extra luggage box and rack on top of it LOOKS too much like a dedicated tourer, and its classic rear fender and taillight placement and classic styled front end lighting are not the look I personally prefer. I also want a frame-mounted fairing. Also, I really dig the styling of both the RG3 / Road Glide Shark Nose fairing and the RG3 rear fender swoop and uptilt with the lights mounted under the tips of the fenders. And those RG3 wheels, which are very similar in styling and construction to the ones on the Breakout, make me swoon.

My HD dealership did a great job of preparing a brand new still unsold 2023 ('23, not '24) Gray Haze RG3 for the demo. I saw it truly had almost literally "zero" km on the odometer, and the tire psi was perfect. I rode a total of 47 km = 29 miles over the next 40 or so minutes. I rode curved and hilly county roads, steep hills, u-turns, highway cruising at up to 110 kph (68 mph), with winds from sequentially different directions including crosswinds on the highway, and a bit of suburban with u-turns,

I'm afraid I was hooked.

Complete stability. The frame-mounted Shark Nose fairing meant no directional push on the bars in quarter winds and crosswinds. It also meant lighter steeting than a batwing fairing. EVERYTHING In controls, forward visibility, and riding comfort felt exactly like a Road Glide 2 wheeler would feel. The only exception was a slight side-to-side jitter on lane pavement anomalies, probably caused by the combination of 3 individual wheel tracks, narrower-than-car-or-truck overall track width that keeps you out of the normal pavement "valleys" that car and truck tires create. I found great wind protection, lots of M114 torque (peaks at 2750 rpm!), and smart (more rpm per mph) gearing. The electric starter motor reverse is wonderful. So is the parking brake. And FOUR brake discs (Multi-caliper BREMBO at least on the front two!) versus my Breakout's TWO non-special discs.

I found myself thinking about other advantages a trike brings:
- My short inseam is irrelevant on a trike
- Yeah, the trike weighs 1160 lb, but you never have to hold it up!
- Can't tip it over - not just because of 3 wheels versus 2, but 7 or 8 (lost count) of the built-in electronic stability / traction / braking systems
- The trike also cannot be tipped over by wind, a jealous person, a cager not looking at what he is backing into, or an unskilled motorcycle passenger
- It would seem to be much harder for a thief to steal a trike than a 2-wheeler, especially if you lock one of the REAR wheels (800 lb on the rear axle and hard for a thief to find a lift point)
- Even the "smaller' trunk on an RG3 holds 3 times the cubic inches of luggage I need for a full-blown transcontinental trip
- Harder for the trike to slide out in heavy rain than a 2-wheeler (especially with all those electronic stability / traction / braking systems
- Can even continue riding in SNOW at the top of a mountain pass in the summer (but still not on ice)

Then, the dealership Business Manager told me they still have FIVE unsold 2023s, some 2024s, and 2025s due very soon that will make the 2023s look 2 years old just still sitting on the showroom floor, so they are offering BIG discounts right now on those 2023s.

I came home and discussed it with my wife. She encouraged me to think seriously about mpoving to a trike NOW instead of the future, especially given the current 2023 discounting.

So, yesterday, a week after the demo, we made the trade officially. We don't have the RG3 yet, as the dealership needs to bring in some of the accessories we added to the order.

Here are some photos:









We added the following items (all at a 20% discount for a new-bike deal):

- Trike Cover
- Detachable sissy bar (button release)
- Sissy bar pad
- Electrical Contact Lube pn 11300004 (for waterproofing installing the DETACHABLE sissy bar
- BlueTooth tuner (I have had a GREAT experiencr with this same tuner on my Breakout!)
- Air cleaner - SE Heavy Breather Extreme (the one that has also the FRONT facing pleated material versus the metal plate on the front face of the cone)
- Rinehart slip-on mufflers (I asked for freeflowing, loud enough to hear the HD musicc, but NOT loud enough to tire me or annoy other people or the police)
- Smart Siren 2 Security System (I already have the remote pager from my Breakout implementation)

I should get the actual trike within a few days if no supplier delivery problems arise.

I LOVE the look and feel of this trike. And those wheels are fantastic! They make me always think of the chariots in the chariot race in the classic "Ben Hur" movie. Can't wait to get the trike!

Jim G

 

Congrats on the new ride. She's a beauty!

I loved that Ben Hut movie too. Now you have your own Chariot.

 

Congrats and welcome to "3".

 

Similar here. Hated it and had deep buyer’s remorse. 5000 miles now and an equal amount of money getting it tolerable. Suspension sucks, gotta fix that next.

hope your experience is better.

 

Congratulations!! As a 2019 Tri Glide owner, I’m sure you’re going to love it!

 

WOW..that is one pretty Harley.

 

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

 

Congrats on the RG3, I hope it serves you long and well.

I love the shark fairing too.

MikeRG3

 

THAT is a gorgeous photo, MikeRG3!

Jim G

 

Gratz on the purchase from an ex trike owner. Hope you have many enjoyable miles.