I did the triglide trees on my 2011 Road Glide and did not do anything to the front tubes. This reduced steering effort to almost that of a standard bike and certainly made it easier to ride one handed with cruise on. I am back to drinking coffee and could smoke a cigar (if I still smoked). The only thing I have noticed about not adding any extension to the front tubes is a possibility that I get more front end dive under heavy braking. I try to avoid that scenario but it is just noticeable, not a hazard. I prepare for it by just riding easier and taking my time. I am going on a 1500 mile jaunt this month so I can report back with more results then.
On the plus side, I got my triple trees from Chicago Harley Davidson. They give 10% off on phone orders and there is no tax if you are not in IL. Shipping was minimal and I have $400 in my trees. My local shop wanted $460+tax and would not budge on any price. Installation was about the same. I helped my mechanic so he did less cursing at the fairing on the Road Glide. I removed my dampener (anyone need a dampener?) and have no problem with head shake. We did no adjustment to the linkage as I can control most of the lean with my electric lean.
I think that there is no real advantage to the longer tubes but I can be convinced differently if some one lets me ride theirs. In the meantime, I will keep my hands off the adjustments and work on installing some lights and a radio/gps/phone for my passenger.
With out the extensions on the tubes you are not getting all the trail you would if you had the correct length. At other places you can get 20% or better off. I can get the trees, skirt for less then $400. What sidecar are you running?
Thanks to everyone for the info.
