Triumphrat

vanson1200r · 04-30-2008

I bought my Thruxton (made in Thiland and not England like I was lead to believe) in Fresno California in May 2007. Was not impressed when I had to educate the sales person about the bike he was selling to me. I also ran out of gas 6 miles after leaving the dealer and the front and rear tires had a combined pressure of 23 psi. Not impressed. I could not even get a t-shirt tossed in with the deal. They have just opened a huge beautiful new show room with a service area larger than the entire old dealer but is it better? I have never heard anything good about this place but taking my bike to the Triumph dealer in San Diego or some other place was not an option. I took the Thrux in for a oil leak(s) and 10 days later I call them to see what is going on and I get told they will call me back because they have no idea what I'm talking about. I get no call so I call them back "oh yeah, it's done come and get it". I get there and they pull the bike out and running for me and on their new freshly poured concrete drips the same pattern of oil from my made in Thiland Triumph. I point this out and I get told, I'm not making this up, that all Triumph twins leak oil. Oh really. Sorry fellas but I'm parking my not made in England Triumph that leaks oil and I'm dusting off the ZRX for a ride. I'm not botherd about the oil leak but I am HOT about my VIN with a "T" in it. Made in England it says. What ever. My Ford was made in Mexico and I hate it too. At least my Kawasaki was made in Japan like advertised.

cobra935o · 04-30-2008

Who lead you to believe it was made in England, and where does it say that? I am just wondering for my own piece of mind here. I wouldnt want the company lying to any of its great customers. BTW Ford makes trucks in Thailand as well, granted they are for the Asian market, but I dont see what the issue is.

Thanks,
Nathan

drharveys · 04-30-2008

My Mini Cooper S has an engine that was built in Brazil, a Getrag 6-speed tranny from Germany, and was assembled in England by a subsidiary of BMW of Germany. Heck, even the Union Jack license plate bolts were made in China!

Yeah, Triumph of England has outsourced to Thailand -- if not, they couldn't stay competitive in a market soon to be entered by players from China.

So I guess Triumph is English in the same way Planet Hollywood is a celebrity hangout -- some of the money you spend ends up in English or Hollywood bank accounts!

Dunno what can be done about it.

As for a clueless dealer and an oil leak on a new bike -- that's a different matter altogether!

imafunkyman · 04-30-2008

Your dealer sound like a rea D*#khead. I would go over his head and report them to his rep and see what happens. Mine wept a little bit out of the cam covers and I had it fixed under warranty. That's the only problem I've had with the bike.

cobra935o · 04-30-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by imafunkyman

Your dealer sound like a rea D*#khead. I would go over his head and report them to his rep and see what happens. Mine wept a little bit out of the cam covers and I had it fixed under warranty. That's the only problem I've had with the bike.

I think this is the way most dealers are anyway these days, no customer service after the fact, they already have you over a barrel most of the time. With the warranty you have no choice to either bring it to them or come out of pocket to fix it, and if you have no mechanical skills, well you bring it to them or someone else who may be able to fix it.

Nathan

vanson1200r · 04-30-2008

I just had to vent a little is all. My bike has badges that say "Triumph Great Britan" and "Triumph of England" but does not actually say "made in". I understand it's the Way of the World these days that NOBODY builds their own products anymore and they outsource to places with little human rights or labor laws. I have been to Thiland and was amazed by what or who I could buy for $20 a week. Classy place that Thiland. So in the end I take it all back after I felt better after a cup of coffee and I'm going for a spin on my leaky Thiland Triumph of England. Cheers!

dirtydutch · 04-30-2008

donelson cycles

in st. louis is great. always attentive and educated. they wouldn't throw even a t-shirt in either but i did have full tank, correct pressure and i get bumped to the head of the line in service before people who did not buy their bikes there.

when going to progressive rate springs i called them and asked what they recommended and old man donelson himself called me back with his recommendation.

i've had a few warranty issues and they have handled all of them well. sometimes the parts take a while to get there but they are good about calling and getting things done in a timely matter.

i paid sticker but i feel like i'm getting more than my money's worth with service. a good dealer can make or break the whole ownership experience.

TB-T100 · 04-30-2008

Hmmm, maybe somebody needs to chill down a bit. The dealer sounds crap, but there is no need to bash a whole country.

fidhle · 04-30-2008

I can understand your frustration, and the dealer really doesn't sound competent. But I do have to quibble with a couple of things. I understand from other threads that, while the bike is likely assembled in Thailand, at a Triumph owned facility there, the engine is made in the UK and shipped to Thailand. Triumph is a UK company that happens to have a factory in Thailand, so the assembly hasn't been outsourced at all. It's still assembled by Triumph and according to Triumph specs. My Bonnie was assembled in Thailand, with final assembly in the US by the dealer, and I've had no problems with it, except for slight oil weepage around the valve covers, which I'm not really concerned about.

Enjoy the bike and make them perform any needed warranty work. You really need a new dealer if you can find one.

John.

Keith G · 04-30-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by vanson1200r

I just had to vent a little is all. My bike has badges that say "Triumph Great Britan" and "Triumph of England" but does not actually say "made in". I understand it's the Way of the World these days that NOBODY builds their own products anymore and they outsource to places with little human rights or labor laws. I have been to Thiland and was amazed by what or who I could buy for $20 a week. Classy place that Thiland. So in the end I take it all back after I felt better after a cup of coffee and I'm going for a spin on my leaky Thiland Triumph of England. Cheers!

Nice chill. I can quite understand anyone being a tad pee'd off if they've been told something which is patently untrue - like I say, we (me, anyway) in the UK are so used to absolutely everything with an old/familiar Brit badge on it being made abroad these days we no longer query it!

The thing is not to blame the bikes - I'm sure if they could talk they would tell you straight. If anyone is put off their bike by having found out it wasn't made in the UK, I would suggest they take it out for a run round the block (40 or 50 miles would do it) and get re-acquainted - I never queried or even cared where my bike came from, I bought the bike for what I could see it is!

The question stands: Given that apparently identical bikes can be had from either the UK or Thailand, who would pay a substantial premium for a UK one?