Rocket III - Fit to be Thai'ed???

[triumph900]

Saw an 08 Rocket with the dreaded "T" in the 11th character on the VIN. Was surprised and disappointed. Guess we'll be seeing more models moving over there, going forward. I'll be looking at VIN's a lot closer now!

[Diego]

Do we have any reason to think that necessarily means anything in the Rocket VINs?

And if so, was that a conventional Rocket or the Touring model?

[TRIIICK]

Don't sweat it...it's just another dumping ground for capitalism. There are over 8000 American companys in Thailand dodging the labor laws...EPA standards etc. From what i can see the people of Thailand are the ones that will be hurting.A buddy of mine owns a body shop it cost him over $80K for a clean air filtration system before he could resume doing business....Someone should tell Al Gore...!

[dougl]

Originally Posted by Diego

Do we have any reason to think that necessarily means anything in the Rocket VINs?

And if so, was that a conventional Rocket or the Touring model?

Mine has a "J". Don't tell me!

[jrhorton]

Originally Posted by dougl

Mine has a "J". Don't tell me!

It's probably "Jersey", as in New Jersey. Couldn't be Japan or Jakarta.

[dougl]

Originally Posted by jrhorton

It's probably "Jersey", as in New Jersey. Couldn't be Japan or Jakarta.

There's also a Joisey in Great Britain. In either case, I'm relieved.

[triumph900]

"Do we have any reason to think that necessarily means anything in the Rocket VINs?"

Yes. Every Triumph has either a "J" or "T" in the 11th postition of the VIN. J = Jacknell Road, Hinkley, England. T = Chonburi, Thailand.

This particular Rocket was a standard, red Rocket III. It was missing it's front fender assembly, from the factory. I guess they're still working on the QC.

[Diego]

> "Yes. Every Triumph has either a "J" or "T" in the 11th postition of the VIN. J = Jacknell Road, Hinkley, England. T = Chonburi, Thailand."

I know that's the accepted explanation in the Twins forum, but what I wonder is if there any source that officially confirms this?

Thanks for the clarification as to which model of Rocket you saw. Since the Rocket required a separate assembly line at Hinckley due to its size, and that line should not be overly strained at current sales levels, I would be surprised to see them moving Rocket production offshore.

(For that matter, I marvel at there being any economic benefit in shipping finished bikes from Thailand to North America. It's over twice the distance. Fuel costs for transportation are about equally high anywhere in the world. It requires a little over three hours to assemble and test any Triumph from basic parts on the assembly line, so the labor cost differential per unit wouldn't seem like enough savings to offset the transportation. I've read that they can't expand the factories further in Hinckley, but there are other places in the world with educated workforces and cheap factory sites and/or tax advantages. Ireland springs to mind, but if Mr Bloor doesn't care for the Irish, I could point him toward a 2.5 square mile industrial estate near Savannah that was prepared at taxpayer expense for a Daimler-Chrysler plant which never came to be. With the ever-sinking dollar, US labor is distinctly cheaper than UK labor. And almost no translators would be required, as many people in the South also speak English! )

[postnote]

For your information, the main Triumph factory (assembly) is adjacent Dodwells Rd, their second factory houses the parts and accessories. Don’t worry, all Rockets are made in UK and only a limited range of models will be assembled in Thailand.

In regard to expansion, there are open fields to the North and West of the factory which could be used for further development. However at this time why expand when all bikes produced and production can be increased are sold. So that is one reason why Triumph will not open a factory in USA, sorry guys. The idea of opening an assembly plant in Thailand is geographical for the Far East markets and how better to attack the Japanese, lower labour costs and shipping distances reduced.

And finally the dreaded VIN number debate, no there is nothing sinister here. The ‘J’ or ‘T’ depicts the market the bike is destined for and ‘T’ indicates it has been made (in England) for the UK market. Simple!

[Pig9r]

Don't worry most of the components on the bike are already manufactured in Thailand. Who cares where it is assembled?

Scroll to 2nd, 3rd and 4th posts.

http://www.r3owners.net/showthread.php?t=146

The 11th digit in a VIN indicates the assembly plant.