How long before the bike looks tatty ?

Having always had Jap bikes I test rode a Speed Triple at my local dealer the other day and loved it. I decided this was the bike for me and sorted out the cash for a new one but just to make sure I was going to get a good deal I traveled to my next closest dealer.

When I got there my heart sank, I was appalled at the state of all their used bikes, not just the Speed Triples but all their bikes. Every single one had tarnished or corroded parts on the rear suspension and swing arm. All the brake calipers were corroded and almost every fastener in the engine and frame was rusty to some degree.

My current bike a Kawasaki is 8 years old and is in better condition than 1 year old bikes at this dealer.

Is it normal for a Triumph to look like this in such a short amount of time or has he been washing his bike stock with some sort of corrosive cleaning agent?

The first dealer, the one that had the demonstrator, had very few used bikes in stock so it's hard for me to draw a conclusion between the dealers.

The may issue of Performance Bike magazine complains about the same sort of condition on a Daytona 600

Do all Triumph's look tatty after a year? :???: :???:

[beers2u]

I recently sold my '00 RS and bought a Speed Triple. The RS had ~23,000 miles on 'er and she looked brand new. I do maintain my bikes meticulously though and when I'm not riding they are in a heated garage.

I've had my '03 Bonnie T100 since last April. I put 10,000 miles on it. It looks like new. I wash and wax it about once a month and take care of it in general, but I am no fanatic about it.

my Speed Triple is 7 years old and is almost as good as new. I only bought it used last year and have given it a strip down and good clean up over the winter but there was no signs of corrosion at all.

Bear in mind I live in England where we get plenty of rain and salt onthe roads.

I've had a few Jap bikes which wear well when looked after but I would say Triumph are at least as good and probably slightly better than most.

At the enn of the day it comes down to how well you look after it.

good luck with it.

[LOST95]

I have a 95 st,and it looks real good,ive had a lot of comments about it and most people say how old is it and are surprised that it is 9 yrs old.when i bought it however it was in only fair condition but a cut and polish and a bit of armourall (silicone based product) or Motul's shine and go (silicone clean) they have brought the motor and other black items up to as new or close to new looking condition,no rust problems that i have found so far and i live near the ocean..the only problem with the silicone is that if i go for a repaint i have to remember to tell the painter as silicone causes big hassles for spray painters,Anyway overall mine looks great...LOST95

[04SpdTrpSE]

Pete, first off the S3 IS AWSOME... after having nothing but Honda's and Suzuki's I've finally found my home....

Ultimatly as you can see it comes down to the original owners and how they took care of their bike. I had a 78 Suzuki GS, it was in great shape, the original owner was crazy about keeping her tip top... but when I went looking for another to convert to a cafe racer all I found was rideable, but rusted and poorly maintained barn bikes.. Its all about owners maintainace, not the bikes quality.

[Will]

As a point of comparison, my knees wore clear through the tank and frame paint on the Suzuki Bandit that I had prior to my Triumph. The Suzuki had a little over 32K miles on it when I traded it for my Triumph. The Triumph has more than 28K miles on it right now, and I ride it far harder than I could ride the Suzuki. There is no sign of wear on the tank, and little wear on the frame. Also, the bike has been hit by a truck while parked and knocked down at about 40 mph by a car switching lanes. Aside from replacing plastic, it needed no repairs after those crashes, and looks far fresher than it should with almost 30K miles on it. I am NOT a compulsive bike washer, either. We don't get the same level of road salt as in England, but my bike does spend time in salt air next to the Pacific Ocean, and it spends all winter getting rained on.

It sounds to me like that dealer you went to just didn't care what condition the bikes they have are in and don't pay attention to details. If all of their used bikes look awful on the outside, I would be concerned about what kind of conditions you would find inside, too. You ran into a dealer problem, not a Triumph problem, IMO.

Thanks for your replies.

Both reading your feedback and looking at other used Triumph's I've decided to go for it.

Thinking about it, if my Kawasaki had been left outside for the past 3 or 4 months I bet it would also start to look a bit shabby. Anyway, it's only money. :-D