Triumphrat

loco · 11-23-2006

Hi all in the Triumph forum!

Well, I'm hoping to pick up a 2005 955i which has 7000 miles under it's belt. The guy wants 4K for it but I'm going to aim more for £3,500. I have concerns, however, about Triumphs....

I love the bikes, the triple cylinder setup, the styling and of course the fact they are British. I keep hearing the odd mumble about a lack of build quality, though, that concerns me. I'm looking to go across France, the length of england and maybe further with it, and so reliability would be handy. People with Hondas obviously love the way their bikes will last longer than the earth (even my 125 two-stroke screamer was rock solid), so I guess I'm looking for reassurance from the Triumph community that this thing will last well.

Also, have you guys had much experience finding triumph dealerships in France/Europe? In case the thing does break down, it'd be interesting to know how far I'd have to have it tranported to a reputable dealer.

I'm going to see it on saturday, is there anything that I should be looking for on the 955i that wears out prematurely, or any noises other than the usual knackered engine noises that I should be listening for?

Finally, I love the look of the wolf underseat pipes, but at £850+ they're fairly steep. Are these the only underseats available or are there others that are more reasonably priced?

Many thanks for all your help,
Loic

Daybird · 11-23-2006

Hi Loco. Firstly where abouts are you in the UK I am on the south coast nr Brighton, so if you are local give us a shout. The Daytona 955i is a stonking bike for touring with. I went to France on my 05 this year what a bike, first day had to do 400 miles as quick as possible because it was the first day of England world cup, so docked at 9 in the morning the game was at 2 so had to get a move on to get to a mates house. Gave it some and made it for kick off after the game was still fresh enough to go for a 2 hour ride in the evening with my mate. We rode around France all week covering 2000 miles not including trip back and the bike didn't put a foot wrong. By the way the trip down and back was all A roads not motorway.
If you fancy a nice place to stay in france I can put you intouch with my mate he openned a guest house this year just for bikers he is about 100 miles south of Limouge.

ps: was one small item, killed the tyres in France what great roads................go for it

Nickwiz · 11-23-2006

The French Like Triumphs You shouldn't have a problem with dealers either. As for Build quality have you ever owned a Suzuki?

bradtx · 11-24-2006

Where have these claims of unreliablity originated? I've two D955is here, outside of consumables they start, go where I want, in the fashion I want and stop smartly when needed (tree squirrel owes it's life to the '04's brakes) and it's done day in, day out.

Wolf pipes have more or less set the standard for the Triumph exhausts...

Brad

loco · 11-24-2006

Cheers for the replies, guys.

So what sort of mileages would you start to see problems, assuming the bike was ridden sensibly most of the time?

I hear problems such as very thin paint that wears off prematurely, but nothing as serious as ducatis (one guy had a multistrada that he claimed the dials ha literally no rain protection so they shorted every time it got wet, etc).

Daybird: I'm actually in Jersey, so I'm a little further south than you! Thanks for the offer of accommodation, but I have a load of family tin France, so likely would never be short of somewhere to stay!

Well, if this 955i I'm looking at is in good enough nick, I think i'm going to pick it up!

Would you say £3,500 to £4000 is a good price for a 2005 clean daytona with FSH, no track history and a fresh pair or tyres?

Thanks again, all!

Daybird · 11-24-2006

Very fair price mine has 10k on the clock and is the same age as the one you are looking at and I was offered 4500 for it a few months ago. Yes it has a few finishing touchs but nothing to special and it always gets a look over by loads of people when at meets. Love the attention, think its because the bike is a bit like marmite(love it or hate it). Once you have riden a triple there is no going back ........................

................Go for it...............

loco · 11-26-2006

hi all, I checked out the bike. Couple of questions:

How long would you expect the tyres to last on a reasonably ridden 955i? this one had ~6,750 miles on it and he had replaced them. That seemed a little young? It also puts me off in that i can't see how far the 'chicken rails' go: whether he's taken it to the edge a lot or not.

next up, it has been kept outside for two years. there's pitting and surface rust on the forks and the brake adjuster, but that's it.

Finally, it was dropped a while back: some guy in a car reversed into it. Because of this, all the panels on the LHS have been replaced. There's no sign of any damage now...

Other than the pitting, the bike looks pretty much in showroom condition, although I can see slight corrosion (like a white coating) on the engine casing through the fairing.

The fella's moving to america in december, so he needs to sell it. I'm going to offer £3,400, aiming to settle at £3,500.

What do you fellas think?

cheers in advance.

doodledog · 11-26-2006

If you are happy go for it, twoyears outside near the sea is going to give you corrosion, I spray the hell out of it with WD40, the only concern I have is that you said the forks were rusty pitted is this on the sliding part that goes through the seals as this will lead to loss of fork oil? as for the tyre over 6000 miles on a litre sports bike sounds ok to me have you ever had a gsxr, mille or fireblade? you will get less and you could always fit a more touring type if you want too. DD.

loco · 11-27-2006

The rust/pitting is really light in that it comes off with fingernail scratching. 5 mins with wire wool and a coating of teflon spray or WD-40 would see it right.
The corrosion is in between the fork mounts, so wouldn't affect the suspension.

I'll make him an offer, so we'll see what happens. not wisely, he told me no-one else had even called about the bike....

Brooksie · 11-27-2006

Amen, Nick-Triumph has very good quality. While complaints about fit and finish have been heard, I have nothing but good things to say about their bikes overall. Having riden just about all thypes and makes in the last 37 years, I can say Triumph is right up there in quality with the best of them. Stand behind their products too.