New dealer in town - Triumph

[motodan]

We have a new Triumph franchise, now housed with Royal Enfield and Beta machines. This is great for our 350,000+ area, as we no longer have even a fully legit Honda, Suzuki or Yamaha dealer and of course, no BMW dealer within 125 miles. Down to one Harley and one Kawasaki dealer. Anyway, are there any Triumph people among us? Any comments on the make, especially later models such as the 900 GT Pro and 1200 Explorer? Hopefully this dealer will be adding additional European makes.

 

[robsryder]

I have owned several Triumph motorcycles (and one Triumph car - TR4). Before moving from Ohio to NC I wanted to thin the herd a bit. I sent photos of bikes to the BMW, Triumph, and Ducati dealer on the east side of Columbus. Previously I'd sold them a couple of Ducati bikes to make holes for some K75S bikes (purchased as fly-and-buy and ride home). I sold the dealer a R75/5, R60/6, and a 64 T120 Bonneville. I sold a couple of other bikes to one of his employees. A buddy purchased my 96 Triumph Thunderbird (the buddy subsequently sold the T'bird to the same dealer). It was my understanding that the dealer has a bad motorcycle addiction and was going to keep several of the bikes for his personal collection.

After moving to NC I traded my 99 Triumph Tiger 900 in on an R1200RTw. The Tiger 900 was a great bike but I did not think that I had room after getting the RT. With some re-arrangement I discovered that I did have room and purchased a Triumph Tiger 900 Rally Pro and then a Scrambler 1200 XE. I did not consider either BMW or Ducati (but I did look awful hard at the Ducati Desert X). The reason for no BMW or Ducati is the lack of available service manuals. I let the dealer and BMW know this.

Triumph does not have printed manuals, but they do offer a relatively inexpensive subscription for technical service documents (about $12 / month for two bikes). It can be started and stopped as desired. The on-line service info is the same as available to the dealers and their mechanics. The hyper-linked information is very handy. It is possible to get the wiring diagrams printed in color (if one has a color printer). Both Triumph bikes ride quite well; I have made some customizations to them (as I have to all of my BMW bikes). Different seats (Sargent for the Tiger and Crofton-Atlier for the Scrambler), different windscreen for the Scrambler, and aux running and brake lights. The Tiger has Triumph aluminum panniers. The Scrambler has the solo bag on the left side (opposite the mufflers). I doubt the the Scrambler will ever be used for anything but day trips; although I did fit a rear rack, but most likely just a fun day rider.

My BMWs are mostly all kitted out for long touring (or local rides). I have an airhead R100GS/PD that nicely complements the Triumphs. I am 99.5% an on pavement rider. Non-paved surfaces that I ride on will be two track gravel or hard dirt. No mud or river crossings for me any longer. Over 30 years ago with my first airhead GS I discovered that I am no longer 14 years old and the BMW is way heavier than my old 100 cc dirt bike was.

The Triumph brand is well supported locally for me. Parts are easily accessible; I have a good relationship with the local dealership, but I do most of my own maintenance. There appears to be absolutely no evidence of any Lucas Electric components on the modern Triumph bikes. I had many issues with electrics on older Triumphs (bike and car).

 

[Omega Man]

I have owned several Triumph motorcycles (and one Triumph car - TR4). Before moving from Ohio to NC I wanted to thin the herd a bit. I sent photos of bikes to the BMW, Triumph, and Ducati dealer on the east side of Columbus. Previously I'd sold them a couple of Ducati bikes to make holes for some K75S bikes (purchased as fly-and-buy and ride home). I sold the dealer a R75/5, R60/6, and a 64 T120 Bonneville. I sold a couple of other bikes to one of his employees. A buddy purchased my 96 Triumph Thunderbird (the buddy subsequently sold the T'bird to the same dealer). It was my understanding that the dealer has a bad motorcycle addiction and was going to keep several of the bikes for his personal collection.

After moving to NC I traded my 99 Triumph Tiger 900 if for a R1200RTw. The Tiger 900 was a great bike but I did not think that I had room after getting the RT. With some re-arrangement I discovered that I did have room and purchased a Triumph Tiger 900 Rally Pro and then a Scrambler 1200 XE. I did not consider either BMW or Ducati (but I did look awful hard at the Ducati Desert X). The reason for no BMW or Ducati is the lack of available service manuals. I let the dealer and BMW know this.

Triumph does not have printed manuals, but they do offer a relatively inexpensive subscription for technical service documents (about $12 / month for two bikes). It can be started and stopped as desired. The on-line service info is the same as available to the dealers and their mechanics. The hyper-linked information is very handy. It is possible to get the wiring diagrams printed in color (if one has a color printer). Both Triumph bikes ride quite well; I have made some customizations to them (as I have to all of my BMW bikes). Different seats (Sargent for the Tiger and Crofton-Atlier for the Scrambler), different windscreen for the Scrambler, and aux running and brake lights. The Tiger has Triumph aluminum panniers. The Scrambler has the solo bag on the left side (opposite the mufflers). I doubt the the Scrambler will ever be used for anything but day trips; although I did fit a rear rack, but most likely just a fun day rider.

My BMWs are mostly all kitted out for long touring (or local rides). I have an airhead R100GS/PD that nicely complements the Triumphs. I am 99.5% an on pavement rider. Non-paved surfaces that I ride on will be two track gravel or hard dirt. No mud or river crossings for me any longer. Over 30 years ago with my first airhead GS I discovered that I am no longer 14 years old and the BMW is way heavier than my old 100 cc dirt bike was.

The Triumph brand is well supported locally for me. Parts are easily accessible; I have a good relationship with the local dealership, but I do most of my own maintenance. There appears to be absolutely no evidence of any Lucas Electric components on the modern Triumph bikes. I had many issues with electrics on older Triumphs (bike and car).

Nice write-up.

OM

 

[c10950]

I had two Tigers a Gen 3 1200 XCX I sold to my brother to buy the 2023 BMW R1250RS . The Tiger was great but heavy . No issues covering 38,xxx in two years . Both valve checks done by me were in spec , and cam timing also . Bike had frequent oil changes every 2700 to 3400 miles .
Still own the Tiger 900 GT pro that my wife rides . no issues except the $275 cell phone module never worked right from the beginning.
I perform all my own service on everything owned . Used TUNE ECU but I hear its gone from the app store . Its good for all services and still works on my current android phone .
Manuals can be had you just have to look . I bought a 2022 BMW full 1202 page manual . My BMW rep and I discussed it . It is a valid manual but it was pirated and digital copies sold.
In the USA we do have a right to service , and repair without worry of loss to warranty . However one does need to use OEM BMW parts and purchased from an actual dealer not a 3rd party like Amazon .

Good luck

 

[classicvw]

In the USA we do have a right to service , and repair without worry of loss to warranty . However one does need to use OEM BMW parts and purchased from an actual dealer not a 3rd party like Amazon .

Good luck

Don’t know if that’s true. Would like to see where it says that. I never heard of a problem from BMW if you bought an oil filter from Auto Zone.

 

[Omega Man]

Don’t know if that’s true. Would like to see where it says that. I never heard of a problem from BMW if you bought an oil filter from Auto Zone.

I think he is referring to the Magnuson-Moss Act.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson–Moss_Warranty_Act

OM

 

[c10950]

Don’t know if that’s true. Would like to see where it says that. I never heard of a problem from BMW if you bought an oil filter from Auto Zone.

Straight from the Houston Texas BMW rep . OEM filter / parts from a listed dealer . Amazon and Autozone are not dealers for BMW motorcycle parts .
If one wants to order online chose a listed source like MAX BMW who sells a great deal online .
Key point is how does BMW know if a warranty issue exists from them or cloned BMW knock off china parts purchased from amazon ?
I recently had a customer supply NGK new spark plugs for his Kawasaki . He was told to buy from a listed NGK dealer . He did not and paid 9 dollars for four plugs that were cloned from china . the 1st one broke in the #4 cylinder head by my palm ratchet before torque to squish the sealing ring gasket . They looked the part but once we got the real plugs in hand one could tell the print differences on the boxes .

Now if your final drive breaks , and you have a autozone oil filter on the engine I'm sure it would be covered by BMW . I do not recommend autozone

 

[robsryder]

... Used TUNE ECU but I hear its gone from the app store . Its good for all services and still works on my current android phone .

I have Tune ECU on an older android tablet, but more recently I have been using DealerTool on a PC. They are out of England and you need to order their special connector (less than $100 - can't do currency conversions in my head. A bluetooth or other connector will not work). Then you can purchase additional licenses (about $25) as needed.

http://dealertool.co.uk/

 

[classicvw]

Straight from the Houston Texas BMW rep . OEM filter / parts from a listed dealer . Amazon and Autozone are not dealers for BMW motorcycle parts .
If one wants to order online chose a listed source like MAX BMW who sells a great deal online .
Key point is how does BMW know if a warranty issue exists from them or cloned BMW knock off china parts purchased from amazon ?
I recently had a customer supply NGK new spark plugs for his Kawasaki . He was told to buy from a listed NGK dealer . He did not and paid 9 dollars for four plugs that were cloned from china . the 1st one broke in the #4 cylinder head by my palm ratchet before torque to squish the sealing ring gasket . They looked the part but once we got the real plugs in hand one could tell the print differences on the boxes .

Now if your final drive breaks , and you have a autozone oil filter on the engine I'm sure it would be covered by BMW . I do not recommend autozone

It would be difficult in many instances (not all) for them to prove your part not purchased from them was the cause. But a big company doesn’t have to prove anything. I bought a used Volvo once with a “warranty” that looked great on paper. I had two things fail at once, and was refused a warranty claim because they said “Part B” (not under the warranty) failed first, causing Part A to fail which, normally would be covered but since it’s failure was caused by Part B , no coverage at all.

 

[ackme]

I had the chance to ride the new Tiger 1200 GT Pro at a dealer days demo last month. I was very impressed. The new 1200s are essentially the same weight as the GS and GSA now. It handled very well and felt smaller than my GS. The triple engine has really smooth power and pulled very nicely from 3rd, 4th and 5th even without the low down grunt that the GS has.

I owned a 2006 Tiger 955 for a few years back around 2010 and really enjoyed it, especially that triple. Never gave me any trouble but that big girlie was top heavy!

I would agree agree with Robsryder's assesment of the overall quality of the brand.