After a stint on the beach as you’re wandering back to your bike a guy on a Tri Glide Ultra whips up, backs it in and starts unloading. Cooler, beach chair, umbrella, radio, sandals, big hat, Frisbee and more. I don’t think he even went into all the luggage compartments as a lot was just strapped on. This actually happened last summer on one of my infrequent journeys to the sand and water place near my home. So, the way I see it, compared to a motorcycle, you can use a trike like a truck if you feel like it. I should have stuck around to see if he had a portable shower onboard too, but I was too covered in sand to hang around. It wouldn’t have surprised me, though.
One thing that did surprise me was this good looking Road Glide trike Jack Cofano shot while it was getting a bit of sun by the Atlantic in Daytona. When I first looked at it I had to think for a second, “Did Harley-Davidson make a Road Glide trike?” followed by a resounding, “No, they didn’t. But maybe they should have.” Maybe I’m crazy, but that iconic dual headlight, frame-mounted fairing really fits the look of a trike. It looks more proportionately balanced than on a two-wheeler to me anyway. Maybe it’s all the custom changes our mystery owner made that leads me to that easily influenced conclusion. Or, maybe it’s the lack of saddlebags usually hiding the rear wheel that makes it look more composed.
The big custom front wheel doesn’t look the least bit out of place here and, frankly, always seems to fit better on a trike for reasons unknown to me. It just does. With the air suspension dropped at rest, the RG fairing is pretty close to nesting on the new larger front fender and maybe that’s why it looks a bit more integrated into the design instead of being the headliner at all costs. The stretched tank doesn’t look immediately custom even though it is. It too is well integrated into the overall design and doesn’t look the least bit overreaching or out of place.
Luckily on these late model rigs, the bolt-on rear section is fairly easily changed. Here there’s a bit of drop seating going on giving a seating position that might be hard for people my height to see over the fairing, but that’s my problem. It’s definitely custom-cool changing the riding position on something built for complete practicality with no regard for the cool factor. Apparently this trike’s owner considered cool a high priority and knew when and how to lavish it on their bike without getting in the way of using it.
The wheel designs both front and rear are cool in a showy, but not too showy way. Stock brakes more than suffice up front while out back it’s anybody’s guess although twin disc setups usually abound on these conversions. Four brakes, three wheels and a good foot print should enable this thing to stop long before it ever needs to. Letting the wheels be an interesting mechanical visual in what could otherwise have dominated the look of this bike is the low bodywork over the rear axle. It’s there with an opening trunk, but more hot rod than RV for a change. I dare say it actually looks good.
The heart of this trike, The Motor Company’s Twin Cam 103 has been hotted up a bit with a Stage 1 kit featuring MotorCo’s own Screamin’ Eagle Heavy Breather air cleaner and a brutally beautiful Python Rayzer 2-into1 exhaust in a black finish. Both fall into the pond of black and chrome that makes up the engine’s finish. Much more black than chrome and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It looks like an engine wearing a tux and looks comfortable doing it. Harley’s engine finishes just get better all the time.
Speaking of engine finishes, the appearance of black and chrome highlights the choice of paint, more specifically color, on this Road Glide. There’s just a nice coating of deep gloss black everywhere you look except for the inspired orange graphics on the fairing and tank. I really, really like this look as it’s just enough to bring on the contrast to what otherwise could have been a staid paintjob. The shape around the head lights and the small, but effective slash of orange on the tank is brilliant looking. There’s no superfluous pinstriping to “brighten” things up, there’s no need to add more graphics to make it more interesting, the best possible choice (and possibly the most unlikely) was taken and it loos simply marvelous. Amazing how so little orange can make or break this trike’s paintjob and make it they did.
Now I don’t expect anyone to rush out and customize a trike so they can take it to the beach, but stock or not, they do have their practical side. Whoever owned this lovely Road Glide trike knew exactly what they wanted and that still included style. You might have to give up riding a two-wheeler, but you never have to give up style.