Triumphrat

1050kr · 03-01-2008

Having owned a BMW 2004 Boxer cup for the last 3 years and it was as good when I sold it as the day I bought it, 6k in all weathers. I recently offloaded it and bought a new 57 plate Speed Triple, I Love the bike, but even though I am a little OTT on the cleaning etc, I spray FS 365 everywhere and plenty of it, WD40 by the tin, , I do ride it all the time, so with recent weather its had a few soakings but I wash it after every ride. So you can understand my frustration about certain parts of it already starting to show the signs of whats to come, after only 6 months and 1800 miles

The horn ( yes its in a stupid place) is already bubbled under the black paint, the mirror is starting to go white at the edges, the paint is off the fins on the radiator, the brake pipe fittings have a nice crusty look. Is this something common to all Trumpets, or has mine been stood outside for a year before I registered it, I have mentioned the finish to my dealer and will be on my way back after my hols. I have mates who ride Hondas and they dont take a tenth of the care I do with their bikes, but they always wash up well.

doodledog · 03-02-2008

Certainly not common, mine has been out in all weathers for two years and ridden year round, I have a rusty banjo bolt on the front left disc, white furr appeared on the oil cooler and its pipe unions pipes and disapeared with a touch of WD and the two preload adjusters on the fork bottoms did the same, sorted in seconds.

1050kr · 03-02-2008

Its just that I'm worried what its gonna look like in 2 years of all year round riding

, Ill see what the dealer says.

triple3john · 03-06-2008

my 03 S3 has 25000 miles and has been ridden in all weathers. Paint has come off the oil cooler and mirror stalks but generaly the bike has stood up well. Personally I've seen plenty of BMWs in dealers with corrosion aplenty. The general finish on the Triumphs I've had (6 so far) has been as good as most. Paint seems particularly good. The standard parts like forks,brakes,radiators etc are bought in and are common to many manufacturers so I assume all are of similar finish quality. If you want to see flimsy finish take a look at Suzuki !

BeastInBlack · 03-18-2008

Poor finish is a triumph thing, my honda compared to my bonnie, quite noticeable.

Steve7527 · 04-10-2008

My last bike was a used Yamaha TDM850 which after ten years of all weather riding showed no signs of ageing. My pampered 6 month old America is rusting in all sorts of places...not impressed but I guess I'll soldier on and try to replace the bad bits with better parts as time goes by. More of an emotional bond than a sensible one.

1050kr · 06-11-2008

Triumph have replaced the rusty parts through the warranty(although the dealer pointed out that its not unusual for Triumph to refuse certain parts)

Anyway a Happy ending

enjoying the sunny days and my Trumpet

BeastInBlack · 06-11-2008

steve7527 you are spot on there

Nickwiz · 06-12-2008

Blimey the last Yamaha I had (an XJ600) was so nasty it looked like a mink farm! it was furry all over! And that was with a lot of cleaning.

In general my Triumphs have been great. The first one, a 1991 Daytona 1200 wasn't so good but My S3, Trident and Daytona 1200 have all been great. I ride all year too. The current D955i isn't quite as good but still not bad.

In general I degrease metal parts, then wash with soap and bucket, then when dry I use a smear of duckoil on the alloy bits and tacky film grease on banjo bolts etc. Everything has stayed nice, only the exhaust downtubes have gone a bit brown and one banjo bolt has furred up. Other than that

1050kr · 06-13-2008

I use Scottoiler FS365 spray, gallons of the stuff, Motorex 645 clean & protect, the same as I used on my beemer and my kettle, just dont have the confidence the Triumph will last as well

. I use my bikes all year and look after them extremely well and I expect them to last, is that too much to ask.