Well the dealers aren't that helpful if you've still got the issues!

This should all be fixed pronto, if not before!

 

unfortunately there are always a few lemons with any brand/model. There have been one or two with a lot of issues, but other than that these have been much more reliable and solid then they had a right to be, being a brand new model. So I understand you wanting to get rid of it. But if you can get triumph to get you a new one in it's place i'm sure you'll find none of those issue. I don't know whether there are lemon laws there, but you might want to look into that and see if it meets any requirements then get a lawyer to write a letter to triumph showing the bike legally meets the requirements of the law that make them liable to replace the bike. They really should. I just don't know if Australia has any laws like our lemon law.

 

I hate seeing this ****. Triumph have great products and they should be willing to do the right thing in times like this! And maybe they would be if the dealer is pulling for you.

 

You know, i fear one of the reasons is the the dealer is likely NOT pulling for you because as i understand it the companies do not pay the dealer the full wage for warranty work. In fact i have heard triumph is worse than most bike brands. So often the dealer just doesn't want to bother and may not try hard to get triumph to approve or even lie about it. Sad.....you pay 15 grand for a toy and thats what you get. Ain't right.

 

Life in Australia

We pay 24000 dollars for these bikes in Australia they are 22000 plus what we call on road costs 24k. Considering our dollar is on par with the American dollar, So you can see why its so frustrating. I am over it and try contacting triumph directly, you have more chance of talking to the President.



Thanks for the replies.
Regards
Graeme

 

You have every reason to be upsest Id be doing the same as well . Id demand my money back from the dealer with threats of stories in the local newspapers and the motorcycle press. As Daz says theres a lemon somwhere and over the two forums it seems we have found two. Unfortunatly yours sounds like one of them.

Its a shame as the bike is fantastic but I think I would have lost confidence as well now . In fact I would have driven it into the dealership on a saturday morning locked it alarmed it on the show room floor and left a solicitors letter on the desk saying that the machine is not fit for purpose you want you money back .

Its also a shame as my experience with Triumph has been nothing but purfect. Fork replacment , engine cover replacement (cost them nearly 700 quid ) new mirror as moisture got behind the mirror . All sorted with no problems.

Ok I know these are not major issues mechanicaly but still the dealer bent over backwards to get it sorted and Triumph took the dealer for thier word and sorted everthing for me with no questions.

 

In the US, for cars, we have a national "Lemon Law."

It's been a while, but as I remember there are certain criteria, that when met, the manufacturer must give you a new vehicle with a modest charge for mileage driven. My memory says that after 3 unsuccessful attempts at repairing the same problem, the law kicks in.

As for dealer making money on warantee, I doubt it. The factory flat hourly rate is usually ridiculously low. And the factory will almost never pay for 2 attempts to fix the same problem.

Hopefully the great country of my grand father, Austrailia, has a similar law..

 

You are the first I have heard of with this many problems. Doesn't help your situation though.
Time to get it replaced, period.

They are great bikes and I think you would be totally satisified with a replacement.

Sorry to hear about your troubles

 

Thank-you

I just wanted to say thank-you to everyone for their kind words and support. I will let you know the outcome, hopefully the bike might come back to me in the next couple of days. It's already been a week too long without it.

regards to you all,
Graeme

 

Don't give up hope Graeme - just remember you deserve to be treated well.

 

I have had a company provided car for the last 18 years, and have had lots of experience with service departments. In my experience - find a shop you can trust the "most" and then follow up - not with phone calls - but go in and see them face to face - it is MUCH harder for them to put your off or give you the run around to your face than it is over the phone. Ask to see your bike - ask to see paperwork on what's been done so far - ask what is the hold up - ask if there is anything YOU can do to help THEM get it done faster - offer to call Triumph for them - take your kids (true story) into their waiting room or showroom and don't tell them to be quiet and let them put sticky fingerprints all over the bikes and glass cased merchandise - give them every incentive to want to see your tail light exiting their parking lot. Good luck to you!

 

It strikes me that if both forks were damaged in shipment and then later a piece of chrome fell of the exhaust, it sounds like the bike may have experienced some very rough treatment prior to delivery to you. Perhaps some of the other issues you are experiencing can be traced back to that (coolant leaks?). I'd emphasize the fact that there was evidence of problems (damage) before you ever took possesion.
As the thousands of postings on this site and on other sites demonstrate, by and large T-bird owners are a satisfied lot.
It's unfortunate and unfair that you're having so many issues. I hope you can get this resolved quickly - good luck to you.

 

It strikes me that if both forks were damaged in shipment and then later a piece of chrome fell of the exhaust, it sounds like the bike may have experienced some very rough treatment prior to delivery to you.

+1 really sounds like the bike was dropped while in the shipping crate. You may not have a lemon but really a damaged in shipping issue.

 

I have had lemons with General Motors (twice) and Harley Davidson (once). The Harley was repaired to my satisfaction...GM did nothing but make excuses. Getting a quality vehicle/motorcycle is unfortunately a lottery in my opinion. But the reports on the TBird are really good so you must just have been unlucky. After having gone through this I can only recommend you request some type of allowance from Triumph and get a new bike.

 

Have you attempted to contact Triumph directly? I was having a few issues with my bike with less than 500 miles on it. My dealer gave the number of the Triumph rep for North America and the person I spoke with was very helpful.

I went in to my dealer and had a conference call with the Triumph rep and the service manager and the rep told him to fix it to my satisfaction or get me a new bike.

I don't know what they would say about shipping damage with 3500 on the clock, but it's worth a shot.

 

I guess there is something to be said for buying the dealer demo off the showroom. I had a little trepidation at first about buying a bike that already had over a 100 miles on it - but their test rides are 10-15 miles long so I figure maybe a couple sales guys rode it and maybe 5-6 customers - the only problem I had with it was the coolant leak which was visible and I pointed out to them BEFORE taking delivery of it. They fixed it under warranty - but it did keep my bike 8 days doing it. Something about having to inspect it, then order parts for it - Triumph warranty doesn't allow them to order what they need first then bring your bike in. At any rate I have always wondered that it being a floor model if it didn't get a more thorough going over as it was on display for all to see. Been pretty happy so far - until the tire change and then the resulting axle or belt squeak - but that isn't a warranty issue - an alignment issue of which I am still foggy on exactly how to do...

 

Picked bike up today

Hello to all,

Well I picked up the bike today, new fork legs and the switch was replaced. So far it appears to be a different bike, I cannot believe how different the bike is to ride, it seems to pull a lot harder then before.

I just came back from a ride and it ran very well, I was nice to it either and it didn't miss a beat so lets see how long it lasts. Hopefully for many years.

I was pretty set on selling it an going back to Harley but i still love the look, handling and now the performance.

So I am thinking of keeping it. I will attempt to contact Triumph still and let them know my situation. Who knows where that will get me.

Thanks to everyone for their input and encouragement, this is the reason I'm considering keeping it.

The other reason is the overall reliability everyone keeps telling me about. It appears the switch was its main problem. I will keep you posted on how it all goes.

Thanks Again

Regards
Graeme

 

Graeme: I might be inclined to speak with the dealer or Triumph about negotiating a reduced price (maybe their actual cost) for an extended warranty to give you a little more confidence in the bike over the long term since you have had these issues at the onset of ownership. Worth a try in my opinion.

 

KEEP IT! It really takes 5,000-6,000 miles (10,000km) to get to know a bike or car. I only had to go test ride some Victory's the other day to help me appreciate my TBird. Victory's shift hard, *thunk* like a dump truck, their grips are too small for my hands and they are not balanced - at 60 mph I took my hands off the bars and went straight out my sides like an airplane and I had to compensate to the right with my hips - they wanted to lean and go left - I tried this on 2 different models of Crossroads and their Hammer. Try it on your Storm - get up to cruising speed and release the bars and feel her perfect balance.

 

More Problems

Picked the Bike the other day only rode it for a short time and all seemed well as I mentioned in previous post.

Yesterday went on a longer ride and found when I was shifting down to 3rd 2nd and 1st gear they would not engage even when I was stationary I had to keep banging on the gear selector.

Took it out today and had the same issues its either a Monday Bike or a Friday bike I am sure of that.

So tomorrow its back to the dealer and I will be contacting Triumph directly then I am getting rid of this thing, 3 months old and very disappointed.

No triumphs for me ever again.

Regards
Graeme

 

Mine does the same thing. It doesn't like to drop down multiple gears with the clutch in. I've had other bikes that have done this so I didn't give it much thought.

If you drop down one gear at a time mine is fine. It's only with clutch in I have problems.

I would be interested in what others have experienced.

 

Graeme,

I don't think this is a triumph issue. My last bike, Kawa Vulcan, did the same thing. It is an issue with how motorcycle clutches are designed. They don't do very well at shifting when stationary. If you downshift while rolling to a stop, you shouldn't have that issue.

If you have to shift at a stop, release the clutch just to the beginning of the friction zone as you down shift each gear, and it should shift just fine. Obviously, cover your brake, just in case you let the clutch go too far.

 

Agreed. If he's saying it does this while moving tho, then it IS a problem. Seems he is, tho the way it's worded is a bit confusing.

when I was shifting down to 3rd 2nd and 1st gear they would not engage even when I was stationary

Thats sounds as if to say that when stationary it should be easier. But stationary is where no bike will do that well w/o having to keep banging on it. If it's doung it while moving tho theres a definate problem obviously.

 

I'm not sure exactly how you're shifting down, or if you're trying to go past several gears at one time. I can do what I think you're describing on my Volutia.
However, regarding the Thunderbird, page 44 of my owner's handbook, 2nd column, top, in bold print, says:
"The gear shift mechanism is the 'positive stop' type. This means that, for each movement of the gear shift pedal/lever, you can only select each gear, one after the other, in ascending or decending order."
Perhaps you're talking about something completely different, but thought I'd mention it just in case. :dunno

 

Further explanation

Hi all,
Sorry if I have not been clear, the issue is gearing down whilst moving. I have done well over 250000 km's on my various bikes. I have experinced gear selection issues when stationary on my other bikes as well usually through lazy gear selection.

This is has been happening when I have been cruising in 5th and 6th gear for a while.

When I start to come down through the gears, always one at a time. I get 3rd, 2nd and 1st gear, it won't go into gear and feels like it's in neutral. When you do eventually stop it still won't find it. There has been a number of times when I have been shifting down to go around a cnr thinking I am in second only to find it's still in 4th gear causing the motor to labour and chug. This is not a good place to be.

This has only been happening since I got the bike back after a switch that controls the ecu was replaced.

Hopefully this explains my issue slightly better.

Regards
Graeme

 

Here's hoping

I contacted Triumph Australia today and spoke with the head service tech. He was very helpful as I described all my issues with this bike.

The fork legs and exhaust are all cosmetic and have been rectified under warranty.

The engine management system is fixed. So far so good.

As for my shifting issues as soon as I told him what the issue was he immediately said he new what the problem was and I was to take it down to my Triumph dealer right away.

I took it down to them, it appears there is some shim in between the gear lever and shifter linkage, they sometimes dry out and dont allow the pedal to reset itself or something like that.

Anyway they pulled it apart and greased the splines and this shim that looks like a flat 3/4 washer.

I took it for a ride and it appeared to work itself out. It now appears to be working.

So here's hoping its ok now.

Regards
Graeme

 

Sounds like you've got it sorted out - "all's well that ends well". Now go ride and enjoy!