Negative article in MCN paper UK

[i_wolf]

Hi Guys,

I thought that I would post this article incase it had not been seen or mentioned before... It has me worried.
:

Trading standards investigates Triumph
...
...
...
Thomson's worst fears were confirmed when MCN reader Richard Mathews, from Swansea, wrote to us to say:
"Triumph brakes could have ended my life"
On a touring holiday in Germany, Matthew's blamed sudden brake fade on a Triumph Sprint 1050, which caused him to run wide into a corner and hit a metal fence.
Matthew's was left with multiple fractures in both legs, lung contusions, a crushed pancreas and internal bleeding.
Matthew said "I am livid with what's happened to me - it makes my blood boil. Triumph needs to rectify this problem immediately."

They had run an entire article about brake fade problems on sprint st 1050 and speed triple models. It has me worried. Has anybody experienced anything like this. I don't think this has anything to do with with the 'mushy brake' issue some people complain of.
I'd like some feedback on this, or if you have read the article in question ... your opinion.
Something to worry about ?


--i_wolf

[SaddleTramp]

It could be on the level, but every non-professional rider I've talked to who went wide in a turn and crashed had something to blame it on ... other than high speed and/or rider error.

[Yimm]

Do you have a link to the article so we can read the whole thing?

[BlackBeauty]

Hhmmhh - hadn't heard that. I think that if this is true that it will instigate several measures to rectify the problem, whether it be a recall, service buletin or whatever. Trading Standards is a Government orgainsation and as is the case the whole World over, is best not messed with.

It will be interesting to see what transpires. Perhaps this was an isolated incident related to a 3rd party-supplied part rather than a pervasive design flaw?

Take care - BB

[Thefallenone]

On 2006-12-19 17:21, SaddleTramp wrote:
It could be on the level, but every non-professional rider I've talked to who went wide in a turn and crashed had something to blame it on ... other than high speed and/or rider error.

You've hit the nail on the head there mate. Accidents don't just happen. They are a series of event which combine to cause an incident. Nobody likes to admit they were at fault. I really wanted to blame the diesel on the road when I high sided my thundercat a few years ago. Thing is, if I hadn't gassed it (and I know I did intentionally), it wouldn't have happened. :-D

The other thing is, good news does not sell newspapers.

[Nelson955]

It seems the article is another reference to the problems that S3 and ST owners have experienced with the spongy feel/long travel front brake lever that has been widely reported on this forum, rather than reporting a new problem. MCN seem to be struggling for news at the moment as they felt the need to reprint another article that they originally ran in September in the last couple of weeks.

[i_wolf]

Well it was in a printed newspaper format! I had to type it from hand!
But basically it worries me. I would not like to think the brakes on a sprint st fade any quicker than any other bike!
It definately would give me cause for concern. I use mine for commuting and practically everything and anything in between. THe last things i need to give me trouble are the brakes!
As for the spongyness.. i assumed that was just the feel and was unrelated to brake fade. This looks like two different problems ?


i_wolf

[Nelson955]

The spongy feel is well documented on here and other sites, but the brake fade would appear to be a seperate issue, certainly one I have yet to hear about. I suspect that the 2 issues are one and the same, with MCN trying to fill their pages at a time of year where news on motorcycles is hard to come by. If your brakes feel ok, I wouldn't be concerned.

[LoVel]

Sound to me like some bozo was going to fast and wants to blame the bike. We all know how small of a lapse in concentration it takes to end up in a place we didn't want to be. Most of the time we get lucky, nothing comes of it, we ride on and forget about it. Some people can't except that they ever have made a mistake. Heck, he probably grabbed the clutch instead of the brake, that would explain the disappearance of the brakes.

[JasonS]

Here is my take....

He likely did enter with too much speed, therefore had to use the brake to dump some of that speed for the corner.

We all know that the brake pistons on the ST/S# and others are apt to stick. I've experienced the squishy senario since I had the bike, and have exercized the brake pistons to immediate improvement.

*IF* a few of the pistons decide to freeze up at the same time, it could result in inability to effectively brake.

The issue has been beat to death in here and in other forums. I think it is a general safety issue that luckily has not ( as far as we know) resulted in any deaths, but it certainly has played a part in many close calls and it is generally accepted that the T-braking system is not all it could be.

For em the clincher is that Triumph did do something to eliminate the problem. The S# has coated psitons and they do not stick and when those pistons are swapped out for the non-coated pistons the issue goes away. If there wasn't an issue why did they swap pistons to a different style, especially whent he braking system is mostly unchanged otherwise?

I believe that Triumph has blown it. This is an small issue that will and is goign to blow up into a big issue and that will haunt them. They should have addressed years ago, but have chosen to let it go... the core of it is that the brakes have an issue and Triumph has chosen to make $$ more important than the lives of its customers.