Hi, The only Triumph bikes built in England are the TFC models but even those are shipped from Thailand as knock down kits and built at Hinckley with the relevant special parts.
The three Thailand factories are brand new , purpose built facilities and are rated as the best motorcycle production plants in the world. It's the engineering integrity and quality control that counts, not the location of the plant. Ducati, BMW and Harley Davidson also have plants in Thailand.
If you want a UK built Rocket you will have to look for an older model.

 

How old is exactly what i'm wondering? Does anyone know the last year they were UK made?

I don't want to get into a debate about how great the Thailand factories are, this has been hashed over many times.

EDIT: Vin decoder claims it's made in the UK...interesting. I have seen these be the "Country of origin" though; so need to do a little further research.

 

If you contact Triumph (after.sales@triumph.co.uk ) they should have the relevant information.

jim.

 

Thanks Jim! Emailed them and will post an update if they respond.

 

All Triumph models are now made in one of the three factories in Chonburi, Thailand the first of which was opened in 2002 so not really brand new any more. And no matter the spin put out by Triumph the TFC models are simply normal production units shipped to the UK sans those parts that will be replaced with carbon fibre items or finished with a unique paint job. The paint shop at Hinckley was world class for high production volumes but cleverly configured to be flexible enough to be able to handle short runs for bespoke limited editions.

It was always John Bloor's intention to have both UK and Thai manufacturing. He was incredibly proud of having re-established UK manufacture of a world class product. I like to believe Nick Bloor would be of the same mind but was steered toward moving everything off shore by business consultants who know the cost of everything but the value of nothing.

BMW and KTM have also established substantial manufacturing capability in India and Thailand. A large part of their componentry is also made in China however they continue to expand their manufacturing facilities at home in Berlin and Mattighofen. They're smart.

Nick Bloor will probably struggle to explain things to his old man when looking at Royal Enfield's and Mahindra's current UK recruitment drive and realising, crikey they're snapping up all the production personnel we trained at Hinckley, at enormous expense, since 1991.

 

Triumph should really create a spreadsheet of their various models since 2000 and when UK production stopped so these questions could be answered for enthusiasts once and for all.

No one who wants a UK bike cares how great the Thailand plants are; we get it; they are newer and probably more reliable. We want a UK made bike for a number of other reasons; all of which are perfectly legitimate when buying a brand like Triumph. We get that it doesn't matter to 90%+ of people; please just respect that it does matter to some people and lets leave it at that.

Lots of good stories so far; but no hard dates. Surely SOMEONE knows when UK production moved for the Rocket III?

 

If a Triumph was to be made in the UK, it would arise from British soil.
Otherwise, it's probably arisen from Chinese soil.

Could Britain's booming car factories help save our steel industry?

Changes to Government policies and big investment in the technology required to make the quality of steel needed for cars could help British steel-makers ride the automotive boom.

www.thisismoney.co.uk

Nothing necessarily wrong with Chinese soil, but, well, were's the romance? The feel, the grit? Where've all the jobs gone?

 

Could Britain's booming car factories help save our steel industry?

Changes to Government policies and big investment in the technology required to make the quality of steel needed for cars could help British steel-makers ride the automotive boom.

www.thisismoney.co.uk

Nothing necessarily wrong with Chinese soil, but, well, were's the romance? The feel, the grit? Where've all the jobs gone?

The article you quote was written in 2016. I wonder if it's predictions were accurate.

 

Jon at Triumph says:

"Hi Rick,

Thank you for your enquiry.

The last model (2018 model year) was produced in October 2017.

Regards,
Jon."

I asked him to clarify; but you can infer that 2018 was the last model year the bike was made in the UK. Very interesting! If that's true it must have been one of the very last models to be made over there.

 

Confirmed:

"Hi Rick,

Yes, the last bike produced in the UK factory was a 2018 model year version in October 2017.

Regards,
Jon."

Cool. So pretty much the bulk of the Rocket III's out there are UK made. The biggest baddest British bike ever built! Will have to take a second look at that 17' then...

 

Mining the meagre deposits of iron ore in the UK would hardly be worthwhile in the face of the unfathomable amount dug out of the ground in Australia. Though the bikes out of Thailand are equal to, and possibly better, in quality to anything out of Hinckley, like you, I believe there is something special about having things made in the home of the industrial revolution.

 

My 2011 R3R was built in Thailand, as were most if not all Triumphs for the pacific market ie: Oz, NZ etc

 

Forthcoming argument ..

My Thailand-made Harley is better than your stinkin' British Triumph.

Discuss....

 

Yes, since cancelling production of the Street 500, Street 750 and Street Rod models it built there, Harley Davidson has now closed it's plant in India and is pushing ahead with it's Thailand facility.