Tri Glide Ultra Primary Chain: What Changes on a Trike

Same Touring powertrain family, different body and trike-specific parts. How to inspect and replace the primary chain without assuming a two-wheeler part fits.

A Tri Glide does one thing on this job that every two-wheeler owner will envy: it sits level on its own. No stand, no bike to balance while you lean on a breaker bar. The flip side is that it is not simply a Touring bike with an extra wheel, and the parts listing knows it. The rear drive is a belt and is never oiled. The chain you service is the primary, inside the case on the left, between the engine and the clutch.

Tools

• Trike service manual (not a two-wheel Touring manual)
• Trike parts listing
• Drain pan
• Torch
• Primary locking tool or wedge
• Torque wrench and breaker bar
• Threadlocker
• New cover gasket or seal
• Correct primary fluid

The trike rule

Do not assume a two-wheel Touring part fits a trike. The Tri Glide uses the Touring powertrain family, but fitments are trike-specific. Before ordering a chain, sprocket, basket, gasket or adjuster kit, check it against the trike manual and a parts listing that names your trike.

That includes the manual-adjuster conversion kits sold for Touring bikes. Our catalogue lists 18-8328 for FLT 2007-2016 and 18-1763 for FLT 2017-up; neither listing names the trike, so confirm fitment before you buy.

The same caution applies to gaskets and seals for the outer primary cover. They look interchangeable in photos. Check the listing anyway.

Which tensioner you have

The Touring eras apply. A 2007 to 2016 trike has the Twin Cam spring-loaded hydraulic automatic tensioner. 2017 on, the Milwaukee-Eight with its own automatic tensioner. Either way there is no routine slack adjustment; you inspect the shoe and the chain.

Signs the primary needs attention

Listen at idle, in neutral, from the left side. A slap or rattle that changes when you pull the clutch lever is the classic primary noise. Jerky take-up is another sign, and on a trike it can feel more pronounced because the machine is heavy.

At each fluid change, look at the drain plug magnet. Metal flake there is wear you should not ignore.

A clunk at start-up or shut-down may be the compensator rather than the chain. Related, but its own fault.

The level advantage

Because the trike sits level, fluid level checks are straightforward - no holding it upright, no guessing. That makes the primary fluid change on a Tri Glide one of the easier jobs on any Harley. Use the fluid and level the trike manual specifies.

It also means you can turn the engine over through the rear drive, in gear, to inspect the chain at several points without fighting a stand. The manual describes how to do this safely on your trike.

Drain the primary with the trike parked on flat ground, not on a sloped driveway. Level is the whole advantage here, and a trike parked on a slope gives you a false reading at the fill just like a two-wheeler leaning on its stand.

Let the fluid drain fully before you pull any covers. A trike body leaves less room for a pan under some parts of the drivetrain than you might expect, so check where the pan sits before you remove the plug.

Inspection

Remove the chain inspection cover and use a torch. Look at the depth of grooving on the shoe face. Look at the chain's side plates for rub marks. A shoe worn through means the chain has outgrown the tensioner's comfortable range.

Do not force the automatic tensioner. The manual gives the method to retract or retain it.

Ordering parts for a Tri Glide

Start with the trike's own parts listing and its model code, FLHTCUTG. Search that listing for the chain, sprocket, clutch basket and the primary cover gasket or seal. Where a part is listed only for two-wheel FLT models, treat it as unconfirmed for your trike until you have checked it against the trike manual.

Our catalogue chain listings for Touring bikes - the 86-link for FLT 2007-up, for instance - are written against two-wheel fitments. They may or may not be correct for your trike. Confirm before ordering.

When parts arrive, compare them with the old parts on the bench before you start fitting. Tooth count, spline fit and overall size should all match. A part that looks almost right is the most expensive kind of wrong, because you only find out once the primary is assembled.

If in doubt, call the supplier with the model code and the year rather than guessing.

Replacing the chain on a trike

Battery negative off. Drain the primary fluid. Remove the left floorboard and shifter linkage as needed. Trike floorboards and bodywork differ from the two-wheeler, so follow the trike manual for what comes off and in what order.

Remove the outer primary cover. Release or retain the tensioner per the manual. Lock the drive with a sprocket locking tool or a wedge between the sprockets. Loosen the compensator nut and the clutch hub nut. On these Big Twin engines the clutch hub nut is LEFT-HAND thread.

The stock chain is endless: engine sprocket, chain and clutch basket come off as one assembly. Watch the alternator rotor behind the compensator; its magnets grab dropped tools.

Reassembly

Fit the new assembly, threadlocker and torque per the trike manual. Reset the tensioner. New gasket or seal, then refill with the correct primary fluid to the level specified - easy to read with the trike sitting level.

Check clutch adjustment. Refit floorboard and linkage and confirm every gear selects.

Test ride somewhere quiet. Listen at idle with the lever in and out, then check the cover for any weep.

Other Harley how-to guides

This guide covers procedure and judgement. Torque figures, fluid capacities, gaps and tension settings are specific to your model and year and must come from the factory service manual for your motorcycle — we deliberately do not print numbers we cannot stand behind for your bike. Independent aftermarket retailer, not affiliated with Harley-Davidson, Inc.