Triumphrat

dardoonk · 12-23-2005

I was spoke a Triumph dealer yesterday, and the subject of rankings and so forth came up. He had just received his newest sales rankings from Triumph and was happy with 2005 but looking forward to a better year coming up... I am glad he's confident.

Anyway, he also told me that Southern Powersports (aka: Chattanooga Triumph) has had their franchise pulled. The guy told me there has been a long history of problems between them, other dealers & Triumph US and enough was enough. He also told me of some pretty dubious service he was aware of. As I here it, they'll be selling the bikes they have, then no more Triumphs.

I know many dealers have complained because they sell many of their bikes at very low margins, but I guess they were breaking some other rules as well.

Has anybody heard anything about this, or can confirm my info true?

Diego · 12-24-2005

No, haven't heard anything about the contract being pulled, but I wouldn't be too surprised. One dealer I know has complained more than once about their selling prices being below what he could buy Triumphs for himself. As a consumer, that's theoretically something I should be happy to hear--except that getting service where the product is sold seemed to be totally out of the question.

Contrary to what the "woe be unto Triumph" prophets keep trumpeting in this forum lately, Triumph does care about customers being able to get good service. As more Triumphs are sold in the US and additional dealers can be interested in carrying the brand, they can be considerably more selective about whom they do business with.

It's worth noting that in the dealer lookup feature on the Triumph website, they now distinguish between shops that only sell the bikes, those which also sell accessories, and those which also provide service. I was surprised to find there are some who do not have authorized service departments, but I understand this is something Triumph is trying very hard to get away from. We may well see more shakeup in the dealer network over the next year or two.

riccih46 · 12-24-2005

Being as I live in Chattanooga, I'll have to check this out. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if Southern Power Sports lost their franchise.

These guys are class a jerks only interested in moving volumes of bikes and 4 wheelers. As for their service department, it might as well be non-existant. The one time I let them work on my bike resulted in a rather heated debate with the shop manager and a long letter from me to Triumph USA.

Personally, I trailer my bike 120 miles to the dealer in Knoxville if I need dealer service just for peace of mind that at least those guys know what a motorcycle is...

Ric

77T140V · 12-24-2005

Maybe Triumph's too slow to update their website, but the dealership is still listed there.

Regards,

mikemm03 · 12-24-2005

riccihh46, Check out Knoxville Triumph new web site. Been up a couple of weeks and still tweaking it I suppose.Pretty slick.
These boys have a good service department.
Just don't ask about after market mods,freak kits etc!
They live by the book and prefer everything to be stock.
but that's fine.
Good dealership, I see then continuing to grow. As a matter of fact they just moved into a bigger location just up the street.

Destination Motorcycles

riccih46 · 12-24-2005

Red Devil,

These guys in Knoxville are top notch. Took my bike up a couple of weeks ago for a valve adjustment and couldn't be happier with the service - both mechanically and customer service.

They do seem to want to stick by the book. In just chatting with the service guy I mentioned getting some more open pipes (currenty I'm running TORs) and rejetting and he gave me the "only use Triumph parts" speech". But that's cool as I do use OEM parts if they are available. At the same time, I've got the Norman Hyde M bars on my bike and just about everyone working there was impressed with the way the look and wanted to know more about them.

Best thing about the Knoxville shop is these guys are riders and have a riders perspective on working on bikes.

Ric

InfX708 · 12-24-2005

I purchased my Thruxton in Chattanooga and no problems with them at all. There was no hard sell for any extra ***** and the price was right. My only complaint would be that the bike was sitting outside and it was raining, but then, the bike was going to get wet going into the trailer and then into the house anyway. I also didn't have to remove any dealer stickers, which is a bonus in my book. I'd buy from them again.

riccih46 · 12-24-2005

Nobody has had any problem buying from them - they almost give the bikes away and that's what has the other dealers up in arms over them.

The real problem comes in when it comes to service or even just ordering parts and customer service after the sale. It took them 30 minutes a couple of weeks ago to identify the part number for a stock bonneville air filter - then they didn't have any in stock... If your doing maintenance on bikes I would think you would at least have the basic parts on hand.

Same as your bike being parked out in the rain. I have a friend who took his bonnie over for service. They kept it a week and had it parked outside the entire time. It's not like they didn't have a garage or anything to put it in...

It won't bother me to see them go - I'm just hoping someone who cares can pick up the franchise here in Chatt-a-boogie...

Ric

vertwrks · 12-24-2005

It is so rare that manufacturers actually enforce their dealer policies. I currently work in a different market but it is the same thing. Dealers invest in a name brand hoping he manufacturer will back them up and then someone comes in selling next to no margin and the channel is then corrupt and then none of the dealers can earn a living. We all want a good deal but at what price.

If Triumph is actually protecting the dealer channel it is just one more reason I am glad I own one. It is not just a commodity.

Merry Christmas!!!!

iandel · 12-24-2005

vertwrks, you don't by any chance work for a Yamaha piano dealer do you?