general common breakdown/breakin issues question

general common breakdown/breakin issues question and poll

Having a lot of time on my hands i've been reading the forum and going back a while. There are a number of problems that some of you guys have had on 2006, 2007 rocket III's. I'm curious as to how many people have had the SAME problems as other... ie: common breakdown issues, like the infamous clutch and tranny issues. I have a 2007 Rocket III and driving away from the dealer with 50 test miles on it, i've put over 10,000 road miles from April 2007 until my little mishap. During this time I have had ZERO ( knock on wood ) problems. My bike performs amazingly well. I have done nothing more than the basic checkups required by the warranty.

So.. Could these problems be partially due to the dealer setups? Could the dealer the unknowingly cause these issues? My dealer has an amazing mechanic who eats, sleeps and breaths Triumph. When I bring in my bike it gets done, done right and done fast. The bike is always cleaned... It took 2 weeks to completely fix my bike and when I saw it it looked like a brand new bike.. completely detailed. My friend Phil also owns a Rocket III and his bike was damaged this year. The dealer did the same level of top quality work. Both our Rockets run well. His, a 2006, did have an idle problem , but the dealer fixed that.

comments or thoughts? please vote in my poll!

cheers
geo

Great polling initiative , Georgia. Have voted. See?

Trans problems (nothing to do with US presidential continuity) on my '04 green missile... er... machine. All lamented in due course on this great forum. But, in 40 years of bikin', I have seen and endured a lot worse.

And I am still in love

Best. Jamie

I might add that my good friend from Geneva has the Alps in all directions and very knowledgable in each and every turn at speed, in weather, with his handsome green machine. If I lived there again I would do the same but with the blisteringly faster red.

Sounds like you have a GREAT dealer.

I have had no problems with my bike until about the 38,000 mile mark where the dreaded idle problem "reared it's ugly head".. (quoting Sarah Palin.. )

My dealer had to send the symtoms to Triumph for Triumph to tell them that they needed to replace the primary throttle position sensor (TPS) to fix my idle problems. Triumph also sent them the instructions on how to replace it and how to set it once it's installed. Yes, I will be bringing it to them again for service, as I have no choice.

However, I think if I had bought TuneBoy software, I could have set the TPS myself.

This was the original problem I brought it to them with a few weeks ago. I had them do the 30,000 mile service, to include checking valve shim clearances, and I told them that from the the symptoms the bike was having and that I thought the primary TPS was bad. However, I guess that they figured since they got the bike to idle, that the throttle position sensor was fine.



My bike came back running better than when it arrived, but not nearly as good as it should be, and it was FILTHY!! Grease hand prints on every part!.. And some other over spray stuff on it too.. It comes off though, so I've almost got all of it off.

uh..yeah... about that TPS report....



cheers
geo


PS: I apologize in advance for the really obtuse reference.

georgia, I've experienced all the stuff listed in your poll to one degree or another, but nothing a little TLC couldn't fix, well, that, time, and money. But would I buy another R3? yes I would. Would I trade it for a H-D? Well I had a stock panhead police special I was pretty fond of, but no. So I really don't know how to vote. See, gas tank reading I fixed, Tires still leak air. Tranny shifts like a triumph, so even though its not as smooth as some I've rode, its still a Rocket. but I'll vote , just like the election today, besides the options here are better.

Internal problems seem to exacerbate one another. In my case, the output bearing is shot and I have a rubba shifter as well.

Every bike has problems. Beemers break their final drive (paralever) castings, Honda's break frame welds. Even my KLR has problems. Kawasaki adamantly refuses to recognize that the ring sets on the OEM slugs don't have enough tension and consequently allow oil past at sustained rpm over 5K. At least Triumph is aware of it's deficiencies and will correct them, most times at no expense to the end user.

All production vehicles, whether 2 or 3 or 4 wheeled are compromises between form, function, affordability and profit margins. To build a (as perfectly engineered and executed) motorcycle and offer it to the public, would be so expensive that it would never sell because very few could afford it. An example is the MV Agusta at 50K and even it's not ideal.

Of course after today, very few might change to entitled few.

I voted Engine Problem because no other option describes the dreaded "paint can rattle" which turns out to be the cam chain and its guides.

for some reason,
dalhgren comes to mind. why is that?

My "other" problem was a bad radiator cap. Pretty minor and the repair manager came out and fixed it right away.