General question about Triumph

[CanberraR3]

Triumph is a relatively new brand and there's very little know about it and virtually no information available. It is still working through some teething problems but hopefully will have worked out how to make a decent machine some time soon.
Just kidding. 112 years of making the best motorcycles on the planet; what do you reckon?

 

[scot in exile]

I do not thank the Germans for much but have to give them credit for forming the Triumph motorcycles and Triumph bicycles, get rid off the air intake system (east to do) and the bike is easy to work on in fact so easy it is scary.
Triumph is one of the oldest motorbike company's in the world maybe not continues but they have always popped back up.

 

[tdragger]

Let me approach this from a different avenue. If you are looking at a 2014 Roadster, you are looking at an engine and drivetrain that has been in production relatively unchanged for 10 years. Yes, there were some early teething problems but those have long since been addressed. A few owners on this board have 100+k miles and a lot of us are well over 50K miles (I passed 60k last month).

The Roadster is a great machine right off the floor. What many of us have found is that it is also a great platform for personalization and adding of some garage engineered mods. This board is quite a resource for information, at times much more trustworthy than your local service manager.

The dealer network is growing. A year ago we only had 2 dealers in all of Virginia. We now have 6.

btw, that old 920 you have is about as bullet-proof an engine that has ever been made for a motorcycle. What a classic!!

 

[TOMCAT]

Dealer network is thin on the ground .. they don't stock a large inventory of parts .. can take weeks for parts to arrive from the UK .. you don't see many other Triumphs on the road .... unless you live in my street .. I own two Triumphs and love them yet to find any other bike I want to replace either of them with.

 

[mcather]

For dealers it depends on where you live since we have 2 dealers in town and another 60 miles away. So I see many on the road around Omaha. I had a problem w/ my TPS and stepper motor where the machine hiccuped a bit but all was solved at the dealer as Triumph re-moted in and specced the engine in. Now it runs perfect.

About the only problem I recall on the 920 Viragos were the starters. That engine BTW was designed loosely on the Vincent. Still see many of those bikes around. I had a Road Star 1700 and the fit and finish on that bike was top notch. Like those Stratoliners, too.

 

[jthree]

Since you mention you were at the "local" dealer I'm thinking the dealer thing is not so much of an issue, except for the fact that they may not have the greatest wrenches. If you know one end of a screwdriver from the other and with the wealth of info on this board, you'll be able to handle most repairs yourself anyway. I have two dealers within 45 minutes of me and I've yet to set foot in either of them. As was mentioned, parts can take a while as not too much stock is carried so that needs to be kept in mind.

As for the bike... This is totally the wrong place to get an objective opinion All I will say is, I have gone through 8 bikes (including a Virago). I own a 2007 R3 Classic and the only bike that will replace it is another R3. Take it for a test ride... Hold on tight... Write the cheque. You may want to consider teeth whitening too because they will be exposed every time you ride the beast

One other thing, not sure if you caught it but you can expect a healthy dose of sarcasm when posting here. It's just the way it is. Behind all that this is an incredible resource for info on the bike. If you can't find the answer here, good luck finding it anywhere. I've gotten a huge amount of help here in my short time as a member.

 

[ricochet]

As a new owner of a Triumph motorcycle I had the same questions as you. So far I am quite pleased with my 2012 Roadster, its been reliable enough that I haven't had any problems with it. There was a time here and there where it failed to start properly or stalled in traffic, but other then that, I've gone on plenty of long trips and rides and the performance is totally worth the investment in a new bike. I think you would be quite happy with one, so far I have nothing bad to say about my dealer.. they are very good.

 

[mexican]

Go for it!! If it breaks it will only take money to fix it

 

[Sensfan]

DON'T get it...the rocket will ruin every other bike for the rest of your life, they will all feel inferior, lol. Putting biased opinion aside, they are a rather magnificent machine to own, despite the biting sarcasm, and sharp wit, there is NO shortage of people on the forum willing to help or assist each other in mods, repairs and tuning which is very easy. It does the have it quirks, but all bikes do, the viragos have the starter issue, once in a blue moon, my bike seems to snuff itself out. If you get one, might as well get all the information on the bike that you can, you will get stopped constantly, and asked questions, not only from fellow riders, but non-riders as well.

 

[DJ]

What they all said-and then some....
great bike and some weak dealers.
but the fun factor is off the charts!