Tiger, ggggrrrr?

Yes, I am well aware that Bob has had a few BMs, and if Bob has a SOH, then he will take it in the manner intended :comfort :thumb


If you know I've owned a few BMW's then why ask the question?:augie

My experience of BMW's and Triumph is that like any man made machine you will encounter issues with them, but I have had far more issues on 2 Triumphs over 50000 miles than I have had with 6 BMW's over 120000 miles. I have also received far more courteous service from BMW when I have had issues and they have been resolved without quibble. It's a shame I can't say the same about Triumph and their factory warranty department and their attitude towards their customers (in my personal experience).

It would be great to still have a Hinckley triple in my garage but I won't buy a bike from a manufacturer who treats their customers poorly and try and blame the customer for their inability to build a motorcycle properly.
 
the 1050 is a cracking engine - I rweckon the best engine I ve ever tried....( I ve owned plaenty of Jap 4cyls including some proper Kwaks, a vfr 8, blackbird, 1 ducati old m900 currently in boxes in Greece and currently own BMW 12gs (my daily) and MV bought used last year. I reckon there is no better engine than current triumph 1050 triple. Shame about the rest of the bike be it a Tiger or an ST...

I dont think they are unreliable, my 900 Tiger of mid 90s was ok on that even, its that they feel UNFINISHED...

The little details: The uncomfortable switches that click on/off like they ll fall apart any minute, the loads of electrical connectors and wirework that you can see through the fairings and feels like they won't stand a chance next time it rains (they do), the whole feel that a muppet (like me) must have assembled the flipping bike on a friday night half drunk from a blueprint drafted in the dark on a Monday by a Greek-Irish bloke born with one eye and no arms(no offence to anyone)....

If Triumphs were cars, they d be Lotuses. As great as Porsche dynamically, but utterly cr@p in the execution and the last 5% of the product line. ( I also own both of these car makes)...

Triumph could be the best manufacturer there is, but they are not becuase of details. On the other hand they are (likely) the most stylish bike makers, with a personal attention to detail and problems. It is well known that th e factory listens to owners and amends problems & issues asap (BMW are you listening?). I d just rather buy a finished product... Honda?

Incidentally Honda is the only maker I havent got a bike from at the moment in my garage... bizarre as I d really fancy one of those naked CB1300s going for a song and 1000years interest free credit...
 
If you know I've owned a few BMW's then why ask the question?:augie

My experience of BMW's and Triumph is that like any man made machine you will encounter issues with them, but I have had far more issues on 2 Triumphs over 50000 miles than I have had with 6 BMW's over 120000 miles. I have also received far more courteous service from BMW when I have had issues and they have been resolved without quibble. It's a shame I can't say the same about Triumph and their factory warranty department and their attitude towards their customers (in my personal experience).

It would be great to still have a Hinckley triple in my garage but I won't buy a bike from a manufacturer who treats their customers poorly and try and blame the customer for their inability to build a motorcycle properly.

It was asked in a futile attempt to use irony as a form of wit. Maybe ownership of a German bike imparts some of the Fatherlands legendary lack of a sense of humour to the owner? :hide

(This is another attempt at humour!)

Thanks for your experiences with Triumph, more detail would be welcomed. I have never owned one, so I can't compare, I can only relate my own experiences with BMW quality and dealers over a few years of ownership. IMHO, the best customer service I have ever received in 30 odd years of motorcycling is from Harley Davidson dealers since I have had my Buell. The Buell also appears to have better quality components than my old R1150GS, (lovely bike let down by quality and finish), although the R75/6 I owned back in the 80's knocked spots off both of them! :thumb
 
It was asked in a futile attempt to use irony as a form of wit. Maybe ownership of a German bike imparts some of the Fatherlands legendary lack of a sense of humour to the owner? :hide

(This is another attempt at humour!)

Don't give up the day job then:D

Thanks for your experiences with Triumph, more detail would be welcomed. I have never owned one, so I can't compare, I can only relate my own experiences with BMW quality and dealers over a few years of ownership. IMHO, the best customer service I have ever received in 30 odd years of motorcycling is from Harley Davidson dealers since I have had my Buell. The Buell also appears to have better quality components than my old R1150GS, (lovely bike let down by quality and finish), although the R75/6 I owned back in the 80's knocked spots off both of them! :thumb

Ok, more detail.

'99 Sprint ST, bought new in May 1999. During the warranty period it needed the following work done:-

head gasket replaced
exhaust header pipes replaced due to them cracking
pistons, cylinder liners and rings replaced when it developed a thirst for oil
both rear side panels replaced as they turned up from the factory with scratches on
chain adjuster mechanism in swinging arm seized up due to failure of teh factory to grease it when the bike was manufactured.

All the above occurred with the first 18000 miles. Once it was sorted the bike was fine and ran well up until it was sold at 35000 miles. The paint finish of this bike was durable, as was the finish on the swinging arm and frame.

Once the bike was sorted it made sense (at the time) to get another one, especially as the engine in the later ones was improved and it had a better gearbox (according to Triumph:augie). The fact that Triumph were doing a deal and throwing in the panniers, heated grips and rear rack for no charge (£800 of kit) made it a good deal.

However, the finish on this bike was noticeably poorer. The fairing panels were rough and did not fit well. Triumph agreed to replace these, but before they did I was knocked off the bike and these panels were replaced by the insurance company. After a year and 6000 miles I discovered paint was flaking off several of the painted brackets on the bike and the standard of the alloys was poor with furring up all over the place. This bike with only 6000 miles on the clock looked worse than my old one did at 5 years old and with 35000 miles under its belt!

The other issues were a speedo that over read by between 15 to 20% and an issue after 3000 miles where the bike was losing power above 7000rpm. After much work by the dealer they found the stepper motor casing was broken and it was letting air into the system causing it to lean off at high rpm.

The dealer didn't think there would be a problem with getting the work done but Triumph had other ideas and refused to sort the finish issues out. They tried to blame me for their poor quality components accusing me of not cleaning the bike properly, and they said I should have used corrosion inhibitors as stated in the owners handbook. There was only one problem with this...............there was no mention in the handbook about using corrosion inhibitors at all!:D.

I offered them the chance to inspect the bike at the factory but they refused this offer. They refused to test the speedo. They also stated that corrosion wasn't covered by the warranty, yet the handbook said certain parts would be covered under warranty if they corroded. I wrote and asked them what parts were covered as per the handbook but they declined to answer.

In the end I went legal and engaged a solicitor. At this point they agreed to test the speedo. Their tests showed that my claims were correct and it was as much as 20% out, but they tried to claim that the most it was out was by 8%, even though their own figures proved otherwise.

Triumph were playing awkward so a claim was issued in the small claims court. However their solicitors made an application to have the case listed outside of the small claims court and were trying to get a multi track hearing. If they had got this it would have increased the legal costs dramatically. The insurance scheme that supplied my solicitors decided it would be cheaper to pay me the full amount of my claim rather than run the risk of the case being allowed to be heard in a higher court, even though the amount claimed was well below the small claims threshold.


So, is that enough detail for you?:)
 
I sold my GS and bought a Buell. Brilliant engine, great ride and handling, better comfort both solo and two-up, a very underrated bike.

Kin ell :eek: You must have bought the one that escaped from the factory with all the recalls already done :augie
 
Over the last few years I've purchased a new Daytona 955i, Tiger 955i, 1050 Speed Triple, and Thruxton, which I still own and will never sell, and a secondhand Thunderbird Sport, which has just been sold to make way for an 05 1200GS.

Triumphs are generally over engineered. I've had no reliability issues with any of my bikes, and just one warranty claim when a stainless steel eye holding an exhaust spring sheered off. Triumph replaced the entire collector downpipes with no argument. OK some of the bolt fixings could be of better quality to prevent surface rust, but I've seen many Beemers suffer in the same way. My Thruxton has been significantly tuned, including a raised rev limit, and is now making 70% more power over stock at just under 90BHP at the rear wheel, which is about 105BHP at the crank. The virtually flat torque curve tops out at 65ft/lbs. The standard bottom end and gearbox are taking all this extra power in their stride. 10% stronger clutch springs prevent the clutch from slipping.

I hope the Beemer proves to be as reliable and well made as all the Triumphs I have owned.

Thruxton
IMG_0331.jpg
 
interesting thread this, i suppose with all bike ,you get good ones and bad.

a friend has a 1050 tiger that has now passed 80000 miles finish is good hardly any corrosion BUT the engine has been re-built 3 times for an apparently common fault that starts with heavy fuel consumption, the issue seems to be with the pistons.:eek:eek
 
I think I've seen his story on the tiger forum. Many riders in the USA seem to clock up big mileages without much trouble, maybe your pal was just unlucky.
 
I think I've seen his story on the tiger forum. Many riders in the USA seem to clock up big mileages without much trouble, maybe your pal was just unlucky.

that seems to be the case, sean does massive miles on his bike. but in the same breath he looks after them very well.

but for the same problem to occur so many times really isnt on
 


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