Baxter's called today......

[Sidecar Flip]

I convinced the warranty lady (nice person) to print me out the complete service history since purchase. The parts list on my "upgrade kit" repair does not match those of several others on the forum. When I questioned the service manager, he said there are two different upgrade kits, depending on the VIN. Don't know whether to believe them or not.

Thanks.
Txclassic

I don't honestly know if there is more than one set of upgrade parts. I'm comfortable in knowing that Gus knows exactly what the bike needs and orders accordingly. I was surprised when he told me items like gearsets and shift forks are replaced but when he told me why (to tighten up the transmission), I understood why.

Hey Flip...

When I wuz up at Baxter's I put sugar in yer gas tank....

Gee, I thought maybe you put some of Randy's coffee in the gastank.......

Was a real treat seeing you guys and getting abused by your sidekick...............

Amy and I will be there in August, bank on that.

 

[Pig9r]

I think that there is an upgrade kit for the gray engines and one for the black engines. I wouldn't surprise me if Triumph adds to the kit as they learn more. As Tom pointed out this weekend, it seems that Triumph is going to be sticking with the 2300cc engine for a while as evident by their continual improvements.

 

[Kmutt]

Well, Alot said here. I would like to thank you Flip for being so descriptive in your explanations and taking the time to post them. This has been a tremendous help to me in understanding this ordeal and how to handle a dealer.
A "few key questions" indeed will weed out the dealers who are just trying to make a buck. I havent had a chance to talk to my dealers tech yet but I certainly will make it a point.
Again kudos on the excellent explanation

mutt

 

[Sidecar Flip]

...It's not profit motivated

Well, Alot said here. I would like to thank you Flip for being so descriptive in your explanations and taking the time to post them. This has been a tremendous help to me in understanding this ordeal and how to handle a dealer.
A "few key questions" indeed will weed out the dealers who are just trying to make a buck. I havent had a chance to talk to my dealers tech yet but I certainly will make it a point.
Again kudos on the excellent explanation

mutt

It's not about the dealer making a buck because the warranty upgrade is basically a loosing proposition for the dealer because Triumph flat rates the repairs at an hour figure that's not realistic with the time it actually takes. That's why, with me and Baxter's, it was more of a winter 'fill in' deal.

My bike got sick in the summer at Eureka Springs and it sat, basically in the garage, from late August until February. I pulled the battery and didn't even start it. That's not reasonable for most owners but then I have other bikes to ride so it wasn't a problem. I carefully planned when I was going to have it repaired and coordinated that with Baxter's. It was never an 'it's broke so I'm taking it to the dealer and I want it back asap'.

I would imagine that problems arise when it's more of a 'I'm an authorized dealer and I can't very well tell a customer I'm not gonna perform a warranty related repair so I'll do the best I can'....and then the dealer gets into it and realizes...'hey, this is way more involved than I realized and more time consuming too'.....so it turns into a......lets get it done quick as possible 'cause we are loosing our ass'....knid of thing and then things get out of hand.

It very evident to me that this upgrade has a learning curve associated with it just like any major repair. The more you do it, the more proficient you become...and Gus has done enough (he does it himself...all of them) that he knows the finer points and what works and what don't.

The one thing I need to make clear is I'm not saying that there is no dealer out there competent to do the upgrade except Baxter's because I'm sure that it not true. I'm quite sure that a number of dealers are very qualified to do the repair and do it right, the first time. I just went to Baxter's because my local-local dealer, in my opinion, is not competent to handle the repair and get it right without numerous returns and the other dealer (in this state), when I contacted them, didn't leave me with a 'warm fuzzy' feeling, because, I asked the 'questions' up front. When my local-local dealer can't even set the pre-load properly on an R3 clutch actuator, I don't have much faith in their capabilities.

Baxter's came highly recommended and after talking to Gus on the phone I knew where the motorcycle was going. After that, it was just a matter of coordination.

Lets hope you aren't having issues with your Rocket 3 Touring. I was under the impression that only the R3 Standard, Classic and Tribal were having issues.

 

[Kmutt]

Flip, no issues as of yet and I dont expect any. Of course thats a relevant statement. I too share the same feelings as you when it comes to a dealer and their competency level. Heck I took my car into have the brakes looked at under warranty. So while I was there I figured they could do the oil change (rare because I never do this, I enjoy changing my own oil and knowing it was done right). Well I dont know what kind of "degree" you need to change oil but after it was done the oil life light was not reset I found oil on the passenger seat, oil over the steering wheel and driver door jamb. It took the dealer three tries (all before I left) to get the oil out of the seat. I try to spread the wealth locally but with that kind of service I would rather take the time to do it myself. So finding a dealer who is competent to handle the more technical side of repairs is a must. Ill be searching the east coast for one comparable to Baxters and hopefully Ill find one. Mid March will come soon. Plus youll still be in winter in your neck of the woods.

mutt

 

[Sidecar Flip]

It's my understanding that the dealer in Baltimore is very competent and the one in Virginia that Walt (Hombre) deals with I'm sure is quite competent as well. I know Walt don't compromise on quality of service and neither does Britman and I believe Britman uses the dealer in Baltimore.

One thing I don't want to do is demean any dealer or insinuate that one is so much better than another because that's not true. It's just that some dealers have more experience with this particular problem.

What is going on here with this upgrade scenario is dimensionally more complicated that a simple service, oil change, valve adjustment or tune up. This is major, tear it down to parts, surgery and reassemble the engine and the design of this engine with it's in line layout of power plant and transmission plus balancer shaft and drive shaft is unique and probably poses some unique challenges to the technician so it's advisable, at least in my realm of thought, to have a technician familiar with the internal workings of the engine to perform the work.

I believe that we all hope that none of us has to deal with this problem, I know I preferred not to dwell on it. I knew my bike was a potential candidate but I had hoped it would stay a virgin, unblemished from the mechanics wrench.... Well, it didn't. I think I made the right choice. Of course I don't have the bike back yet and I haven't ridden it yet but I'm 99% sure it's fine. I promise I'll bring it hoime and wash and wax it very carefully. It's spot in the garage has been vacant too long.