Triumphrat

DwayneH

I posted this in the Sprint Forum, as that's where I spend most of my time here, but for my fellow Canadians:

I'm sure every Canadiain here on the site is interested in what is going to be happening come the 2008 model year. Just for reference: for 2007 The Sprint ST in the United States sold for $10,900 US. http://www.triumph.co.uk/usa/4517.aspx The same bike in Canada http://www.triumph.co.uk/canada/4517.aspx , add ABS is $14,999 CDN. (can't buy an '07 without ABS in Canada, though I'm willing to bet ABS is not a $4000 option ).

Now that the CDN dollar is, at par actually as of right now its more, but lets say at par for arguments sake; why should I pay THAT much more for a bike?

Answer, I won't. I, like many others, will buy my bike in the US. What will this do to our Canadian dealers? I imagine, there won't be any left, but then who really cares? Lets face it, Triumphs warrenty is, well, its crap when you compare it to BMW, which is the only other motorcycle manufactuer I'm famalier with. The Triumph warrenty doesn't cover towing, are you ****ting me!! Sure it's two years, but really without towing what good is it? I have a shop in town that can work on a Triumph, so what do I need a Triumph dealership for?

There is the issue of recall work, that will be a pain I imagine, but then Triumph, BMW et. el are the ones doing this to themselves. Sure a bike may have to go through a little more red tape to get into Canada, but not THAT much more. I think the motorcycle industry in this country will have to get it's sh!t together if they want to stay in business. With the US border only a ninty minute ride, for me, and about 80% of the Canadian population they (motorcycle manufacturers) really need to get it together.

I'm not asking that the bikes be the same price, but on average a bike in the US vs. Canada is about a $5000 difference. Of course I'm comparing higher end bikes here. Here's another example, a 2007 BMW K 1200 R in the US, brand new is $13,900. In Canada, a 2007 BMW K 1200 R is $18,000. Gettin' hosed!

So, does anyone know if Triumph is interested in selling bikes in Canada (lower prices for 2008), or are they interested in closing thier Canadian dealerships? To me, I really don't care, though I'd prefer to not have to do all the work at the border it sure beats being ripped off.

FelixLeiter

I agree. However, we (as Canadians) are in this boat over all consumer goods. Vehicles are just higher priced consumer goods and therefore the $value of the price discrepancy is significant (nobody is really complaining about paying paying $0.75 more for a $2.50 tube of toothpaste).

I know a lot of people who are buying cars and trucks across the boarder. I am considering this, as the FJ40 I want is $10,000 less in the US for the same model ($29,000 vs $39,000). All of the powersports manufacturers have complicated this by not honouring warrantees on vehicles brought across the boarder. A way around this is to buy used... or facilitate a used sale--have an American buy the bike, register it, and then sell it to you. Now you have a used bike which the warrantee will be honoured on!

I do believe, though, that you will have to pay duty when importing a vehicle into Canada that was not manufactured in a NAFTA country. If the vehicle was manufactured in a NAFTA country you only pay GST at the boarder.

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Yr Fthfl Srvnt

DwayneH

I've looked into this, and there is no duty on motorcycles regardless of where they are manufactured.

KevB

Interesting information, presently I live in Adelaide, South Australia, and ride a 2007 Sprint. I am entertaining the thought of working in Alberta for a couple of years and was about to look into the pros & cons of either taking the bike with me or just buying another one in Canada.

Anyway it looks like you guys get ripped off just like us down under. At today's rates, a Sprint with ABS is $16,990AU ($14,825CAD) + on road costs. In Oz, ABS is a $1000 option. If I make the move maybe I should look at buying second hand.

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BadWolf

KevB,

Alberta could be somewhat different than Adelaide. Was 20+ celcius yesterday about 6:00, took the bike out for a nice ride. Woke up this am to 1" of snow and temp of 0. Not sure of shipping charges for a bike from Aus to here, but I had a 79 VW shipped here from Vancouver 11 years ago and that was not cheap. Probably cheaper to buy a used bike here, ride it for 2 seasons (not years) then re-sell it.

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Gregger

Taking a quick look at the 2008 prices for the cruisers, they appear to be a bit lower. A few hundred bucks for the Speedmaster and America and $1,500 less for the Rocket 3 classic. The standard Rocket 3 is listed at $14,999 which is very reasonable.

Notice the 07 cruisers are at least $1,500 less also at several of the dealer sites I looked at.

sigh!!

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Can't wipe this smile off my face!!!!

Big_Rick

Yup, looks like they've finally put up the Canadian prices on the site and they're negligibly lower than last year. The T100 is $300 cheaper than last year, but still $2000 more than accross the border. With the Canadian dollar stronger than the US, someone's making a lot of money off of us. Who's pocketing this extra 2 grand??? And for what???
Just don't seem fair.

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Some people are a lot like Slinkys.
Not really good for anything, but bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.

Greaser

Well I WON'T be buying a new bike anytime soon if the ****ing prices don't get a little more resonable.
I mean when our Loonie took a dive they didn't hesitate to jack up the prices.

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The picture says 1000 words, I want the negatives.

DwayneH

Buying the bike from the US is easy, and dirt cheap if you know how to read, and follow instructions..I obviously won't by buying from the US

Ya, it's rather sickening that we are getting the shaft, and the excuse of "buy it in Canada and support your local dealer". Whatever. I WANT to support my local dealer, but I'm not subsidizing their existence. There is a market here for someone to start up a company that imports bikes from the US, does the leg work for you, and charge about $800 for the trouble. Still way ahead of the game.

DwayneH

Yes the ST is also $1k lower, but they DELETED the ABS. So, once you add that back on, what savings is there, a couple hundred bucks!