TX:
I'll know more when I pickup the bike next month. Like I said before, it's done but I have some ends to tie up here that involve 'there' so it will be mid-march before I get back to Marne.
I remember Gus saying that the reason they were replacing some of the gear sets and thrust washers was to 'tighten up' the play in the gear train. Why the shift forks are being replaced, he never said, but he did say that removing the play (and I'm presuming end play because it's thrust washers) eliminates the hard shift and he said...allows the gear sets to get up to synchronization speed more quickly'.
I didn't really get into cause and effect when we talked because I was very confident that the issues would be handled and handled right the first time. I told Randy to tell Gus to 'ride it like he stole it'. You can't beat the head technician using your bike (after he rebuilds it) as his daily driver.
Probably the one thing I can't understand is the dealer relationship with other dealers and with Triumph Corporate USA in Newman. Triumph USA, as well as Triumph UK knows full well what is breaking, what will break and what parts need replaced but yet there are some dealers that claim total ignorance, some that admit there is a problem but don't know what to do and some don't want to discuss it at all while some (like Baxter's) take in the bike and replace all the stuff and call it good. My R3 was not in warranty. It was past the 2 year warranty term. That had no bearing on the repairs whatsoever. I told them that going in. I was told to forget that fact.
I will tell you and Tomo and Pigger know this to be factual and that is that Triumph flat rates the rebuild. I don't know what the flat rate hours are but I do know it's not nearly enough (I was told that, again by Gus and Randy...we discussed that in the parking lot and Tomo and Pigger were there as well). Consequently, I can see where a dealer would prefer NOT to do the repairs because doing them...
1. Ties up the shop space because the engine has to be removed and cases split. Baxter's literally hangs the bike from the ceiling joist and removes the engine assembly and it ties up shop space for a PROTRACTED amount of time....
2. Triumph Corporate don't allot enough time to perform the necessary repairs. If the dealer is busy or lacks the room or is in mid season, I can see the reluctance in doing the repairs. I had pre arranged to have the bike repaired during Baxter's winter slow time. I first talked to Baxter's soon after I returned from Eureka Springs (after discussing the problem with Tomo and getting his input)(Tomo rode the bike in ES so he knows what the TDU sounds like now...) Originally, I was going to take the bike to them in early December but the weather turned really crappy and I didn't want to be pulling the bike across I80 in a snowstorm or on icy roads and Baxter's didn't want me to endanger my life either, so, I re-set the date and delivered the bike to them in early February, still in their slow time and when the shop isn't that busy. Doing that gave Gus 'something to do'.
It's obvious that this isn't an afternoon job and it's obvious that it needs to be done by someone competent and familiar with the inner workings of the engine and someone who is aware of just what the entire job entails as well as what conditions to look for and what to correct.
Between here and there, I literally drove past at least 4 Triumph dealerships with no remorse. Sure, I'd have liked to take the bike to one of the 2 Michigan dealers, I have one 60 miles north and one 125 miles north west. Candidly, I wouldn't let the dealer in Detroit fix my toilet, let alone a complicated engine like the R3. I know them and I know their competence level. I had talked to the other dealer in Kalamazoo, Gunshots and my Brother-in-laws dealer (as well as mine...I bought my Bonnie there, I didn't buy the R3 there, that dealer filed bankruptcy). The dealer in Kalamazoo, well, I didn't get a warm, fuzzy feeling with. On the contrary. After talking to their service manager on the phone, I knew the bike wouldn't be going there. Will I do business with them in the future? Probably not. Will I recommend them? Probably not.
Remember.....I've been following the saga of the failed TDU and the timing sprocket issue and hoping and wishing that my baby would not become ill, so I had a pretty good idea going in what I needed to hear and what I was expecting a dealer to tell me. This forum is a nice vehicle to communicate experiences with and I used that in making my decision. It's like the guy who does the clothing commercial on TV says....'An informed buyer is an educated buyer'.
It's a sad state of affairs (in my opinion at least) that Triumph dealers aren't uniform in their approach to handling issues that occur with the products they sell, but then, that seems to be true with any dealer selling any product. I've had problems with automobile dealers and I even had a problem with the dealer I bought my lawn mower from so it's not unique to Triumph. The problem with Triumph is there aren't a boatload of dealers so you can't go to the next town to another dealer because there aren't that many. My lawn mower woes were cured one town over. My motorcycle issues were cured were cured 3 States over.
