05 June 2026

Three’s company

 

Whilst a man whose head is typically turned by two-wheels, Paul Browne still has a place in his heart for a trike.

That’s no more true than when he’s fluttering his eyelids at a factory-built Harley-Davidson.

 

I spent three days at Bikefest in Killarney last week.

While the event has grown to include a lot more brands than it did all those years ago when it first started, it’s still a Harley-Davidson dominated shindig.

One of the things that was quite striking this year was the amount of trikes in attendance.

There were lots of the things, with many of them being one off builds on a variety of different chassis with engines from a host of different ‘donor’ brands.

A Hayabusa engine in a modified frame with two wheels on the back? Absolutely.

Factory fun

The thing for me is that I like my comfort and so while half a bike and half a VW Beetle joined together looks cool and is quite the engineering feat, I like mine built in a factory.

Harley make a selection of them and they’re all very comfortable. With the H-D ones the chassis is a very similar length to a standard bike and the three-wheelers are very much derived from their two-wheeled siblings.

Trikes have made a relatively recent return to the Harley range and there are three new machines available.

Road ready

The ‘boot’ beneath the pillion seat and behind the rear axle is huge and I quite simply can’t think of enough stuff to fill one.

Standard fitment includes a ‘Skyline’ operating system that marries to a phone and delivers all the magic that we associate escaping from when we’re on our bikes.

There are also two superb speakers mounted in the newly designed fairing.

All the lights are LED units and there’s a choice of riding modes.

Most interesting is that the rear suspension is designed to grip and not slide to one side or the other under acceleration.

Cornering ABS, traction control and slip control are standard across the range.

Street smart

For this year the Street Glide 3 Limited trike is the one made for grand touring.

Add in a large top case, heated seats, the same chassis technology and cooler wheels kinda make this the one I want to run away from home on.

Both of these trikes are powered by the 1,923cc Milwaukee 8 engine.

There’s a wide choice of colours to choose from with a black on black engine and exhaust scheme or the more traditional chrome.

Having the extra luggage allows for the fitment of an additional two speakers. Surround sound on a trike!

Oh hello, CVO

If you’re feeling very worthwhile you might just want to reward yourself with the CVO model. Built in limited numbers with a choice of two distinctive colours and a slightly larger 1,982cc motor this is the one to have!

It’s always beneficial when buying one of these to have an in house trike expert available to advise. Talk to Mo at Waterford Harley-Davidson (51 844200)and he’ll introduce you to theirs…

Trike insurance quote? Talk to the specialists on 0818 945 950.

 

 

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