[Terry Colley]

When the T595 Daytona was launched in 1997 it was immediately recalled because a few cases of the frame cracking near the steering head were reported. I was at the NSW launch at Eastern Creek in Sydney and the recall was received the same day and all test rides were cancelled. Triumph recalled all the first batch and changed the frames. I believe all the bikes affected retained their original VIN. The suspect batch of frames were all destroyed - or were they?

Does anyone have any recollection of this and if so any info on the VIN range involved?

 

[Felony]

Weren't those early frames polished vs painted after the recall and correction?

 

[Terry Colley]

Now you mention it you might be right. Mmm, maybe they were polished. I can't really recall.
Was hoping someone who actually bought one then had it recalled for a frame change might be able to shed more info.

 

[Terry Colley]

Found this paragraph in an old Australian review:

https://www.bikesales.com.au/editorial/details/triumph-t595-955-daytona-14089/

"The first and probably the most widely known (recall) was the issue of the tubular alloy frame cracking. In actual fact this (was) no more than two or three frames worldwide and Triumph responded by sending replacement frames as well as a team of technicians over to Australia to carry out the work. Early frames were polished while the changed frames were painted silver. It is highly unlikely that there are any of the old frames anywhere in the world."

Is it possible the problem was limited to Australian delivered bikes only?

 

[Felony]

That blurb mentions "worldwide" and then switches to Australia. I find it strange that the fault was limited to only 2 or 3 frames, but I don't know how many were built or sold in '97. The "tubular" frames are made up of cast elements that are welded together. Not aluminum extrusions. Never read or heard of someone years later with a cracked frame. i remember when Buell had issues with cracking of his frames due to incorrect bolts and torque used. It happens. I wouldn't dwell on it. The transmission issues were probably more prevalent. Think about all the Speed Triples at the same time with similar frame construction. No issues there that I'm aware of.

 

[Terry Colley]

It's not an issue and I'm certainly not dwelling on it. I recently bought an early frame. It has a very early VIN which reminded me of the recall at launch. I was just interested in the story and thought others might be too.

 

[LeT]

My recollection is that it was mainly to head off reputational damage and that there wasn't really much of a problem in the first place. The method of welding the side tubes to the cast headstock was changed anyway and the factory built a huge test rig to prove the frames would not fracture, even in head-on impacts. There were press demos of this rig in operation. However, it was also taking the factory too long to polish the frames to meet production volume targets so they changed to painted finish as part of the redesign work. In the 90s, John Bloor put huge emphasis on quality and reliability, going the extra mile, responding to customer and press feedback without stinting to make sure people would trust in Triumph.

 

[Wally]

The truth behind the recall: One idiot smacked a curb at about 90MPH causing the the headstock to main tube joints to crack. The original ones were polished, mine is one that was replaced for no reason.