For the record, we developed our Tri-Glide Lift Kit completely independent of the kit Dennis makes.

When I purchased my TG in March 2011 it was one of the first things we started working on.

After we started selling them we found out about the Lift Kit Dennis sells and about the Lift Kit that Krude Kustoms was making & selling before Dennis came out with his.

 

Thanks for the clairification.

 

My wife is 4' 11" and has no problems getting on.

 

Not really sure how I gained 3"? Before I added the lift I measured from level cement to the bottom of the pipe at 3" after adding the lift using the same method I gained 3" with a measurement of 6". The ride is smoother and the handling is like night and day. With the brakets on it seems to ride much better steering is much better maybe because mor weight is on the front not sure of the mechanics just know makes a lot of difference, even my girlfriend noticed the difference!

 

Never heard of Krude Kustoms, had to Google them and sure enough the brackets sure look crude. While I was Googling I didn't even see any mention of folks using them so they must not sell many. I know Dennis started working on his late Feb early March of 2011, was talked about a bunch in the forum so if you were reading you couldn't have missed it.

 

Hey M3,

Krude Kustoms has been mentioned in the Tri-Glide forum in 4 different threads besides this one ... 3 of the 4 threads you posted in yourself.

Pretty easy to miss a post when there are 3,000-10,000 new posts everyday.

I should probably spend more time here in the TG forum, but most of my forum time is in the Sporty, Dyna and Softail forums.

I only knew of this thread because of the auto notification that I received that "DK" had been mentioned.

 

Hey D,

I know what you mean by tippy.

I was in a bad accident in 2010 and can no longer hold up a bagger. When I realized that for road trips with the wife I would have to get a trike the Tri-Glide was not even on my list of possibilities.

They look tippy, plus I was having a real problem with adjusting to the idea of having to be on a trike "20 years ahead of schedule".

So I bought a Dyna and was getting ready to convert it to a a wide stretched out trike.

The wife and I were out for a ride on the sporty (thank God I can still hold up a smaller bike) and since we had never ridden a trike we stopped by the dealership and took a test ride on a TG. AMAZING. The wife loved it, and I was completely shocked at how stable it was, & how well it handled. Reminded me of a go-cart or a porsche, it just sticks in the curves and twistys.

Within a week we had sold the Dyna and purchased a TG.

I can be pretty aggressive on it. I have been comfortable on it from day 1. Thousands of hours on ATV's prepped me pretty good for it. I get one of the rear wheels off the ground in corners at will. It is not that it is tippy or unstable, but you can do it if you want to.

If you ride normally and close to the speed limits it is amazing how solid/stable it is. (even when lifting one of the rear wheels, it is predictable and controlled)

A few things that surprised me-how easily the mufflers dragged, and how easily the front tire locks up. I was used to 70%+ of my braking coming from the front brakes. NO way is that going to work with the TG in a hard braking situation.

When lifting the rear of the bike I have noticed the following:

The passenger likes it better..no longer are they sitting "downhill"

The steering is a bit quicker...some like this, some don't. I do.

There is more weight on the front tire and more front brake can be used without locking up. NOT as much as on a two-wheeler, but more than stock.

Also, because of the change in weight distribution it feels like a smoother ride.

A rear wheel will come off the ground easier. If you are not riding the trike to the limits, then you will probably not notice this at all. But it does make a substantial difference.

I live out in the country, our house is at a dead end. The right turn onto our road is cambered just right for a nice right rear wheel lift and resulting burn-out as the tire comes back down. With the lift kit this happens noticeably easier and at slower speeds than with the stock shock bracket.

There is no doubt that HD puts these out with a droopy rear so that in an unplanned situation when someone hits a turn too hot, they have every chance possible to keep it on all three wheels.

 

Thanks for the thorough and very thoughtful post, Kevin.

After three weeks on the TG I'm much more comfortable on it than in the beginning, but 50 years on two wheels doesn't help much in learning to be up on three. At least I'm up! I'm sure it will change as I can be a pretty aggressive rider myself, but at this point if I lifted a wheel I'd probably have a stroke. Most likely I should get a little more used to it before I do the lift kit. Right now I'm keeping 50 lbs. in the shocks and don't seem to be dragging.

 

I guess I sure did miss the boat on that one, easy to get tied up thinking about one thing and not remember what you read.

 

After reading this thread I got a set of the lift brackets- installation was a bit of a hassle- I didn't have a jack low enough to fit under the rear (even my Corvette jack was too tall). I am totally amazed at how much better the ride is. Even my bride likes it better. The bumps that were really painful before are now just a minor thump. And she's 5'2", with bad knees, and still no problem getting on. That was a real plus.