My Dealer is No More

Back Roads Triumph in Jacksonville NC is no more The business is still there only named Cape Fear BMW. Evidently Triumph pulled their backing out. They still sell other types of bikes but are not authorized to perform warranty or factory service on Triumphs any more. I guess 10 years of doing so dose not count much , there are a lot of Triumph bikes in the area and now the nearest dealership is at a minimum 2 hour drive with a trailer if you are broke. Can't figure out these corporate Brains ?

My local Triumph dealer also sells BMW. They recently had to add on to the building in order to satisfy BMW so their bikes would have a separate showroom and accessories area. This dealer has been in the same building and a Triumph dealer since 1959. I bet your dealer was told to do the same so they were forced to drop the other brand. It would be rare for Triumph to drop someone, no matter how low the sales were.

They also sell MotoGuzzi , Royal Enfield and BMW, and up to two weeks ago Triumphs. So who knows Bad blood, corporate intolerance in receding times of sales ? All I know is I have a hell of a long drive to get my Rocket looked at.

Triumph, or any other corporation, would only pull their dealership for two reasons. Either the dealer didn't sale enough widgets (bikes in this case), or they had piss poor business practices (either customer service, fraud warranty claims, etc...). Of course, the dealer would likely not admit to any of the above. They'd most certainly tell you a different tale.

Another one bites the dust

Jon Ross here at Capitol BMW Triumph.
Some interesting developments in regards to our dealership here in Raleigh have taken place over the last 10 days.
Triumph North America and the new business owners were unable to come to an agreement, so we will be dropping the Triumph line as of August 1st.
Triumph will be coming to pick up their new motorcycles and all of the original equipment Triumph parts will be leaving as well.
We will be unable to receive any warranty compensation for repairs after Friday, July 31st.
You will need to contact Steel Dreams in Fayetteville, they are your closest Triumph dealership.
On a side note, I spoke with Chris Langlois at Triumph North America regarding the rear drive failure that you have experienced.
Triumph will not verbally authorize any repair to your motorcycle without it being inspected by a Triumph authorized dealership, furthermore the prospect of them replacing the rear drive under "goodwill" warranty is a 50/50 chance.
In addition to the rear drive problem you had made mention of the "update kit" that Triumph has made retroactive on the 2006 & 2007 models. Chris was adament that they would not authorize the installation of the update kit on your 2005.
Its unfortunate that we will not be able to help you in this endeavor, but Triumph shot themselves in the foot in regards to the new building location that we will be moving into next month.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Sincerely,
Jon Ross
Service Manager
Capitol BMW Triumph Vespa of Raleigh
(soon to be Capitol BMW Vespa of Raleigh)

Speaking from experience, maintaining a Triumph Dealership isn't for everyone. Especially when a particular dealer isn't agreeable to the "preferred" way of doing business.

One of the common dilemmas is brought about successful dealers with large floorspace. In other words, selling several brands under one roof. It is business model that puts less emphasis on any single brand, and more on dealership/relationship.

My local Harley Dealership doesn't move a tremendous amount of bikes, but the facility is amazingly huge. On any given Saturday, the lot is full of bikes and traffic for many hours and the cash register is going non-stop. However, the shops closeby (Polaris/Victory, Yamaha, Suzuki, and Honda) are left negotiating with those who want to come in and price-shop an already low-margin motorcycle.

Competing Dealers may not have the brand recognition, but they can build cool places to attract almost the same crowds and staff them with equally impressive folks and goods to sell. This creates a flexible atmosphere that is easier to manage (from a profit margin perspective). Business Lenders like it as well because it spreads the risk.

The problem with that is it does little for brands like BMW, Ducati, or Triumph. Sales and Customer Satisfaction is historically maximized when the respective dealer is committed to the brand and is willing do what is necessary to compete - which is a tall order for any brand that doesn't have a significant percentage of the market.

Dealers are people too. They want to be successful and supportive of their families just like any other business owner. Triumph North America is like any other distributor, they want to have a well-oiled network of successful dealers with as few "problem dealers" as possible.

The end result is an economy where the only business ventures worth doing are those with practically a 100% chance of success; which translates to something that is not complicated - the partnership isn't for everyone.

It does impact owners who are accustomed to accessible dealer support. We have been without a Triumph Dealer in my area for eight years, but strangely many of my friends have gone back to Triumph and work with a dealer three hours away. I'm the only holdout in our local group, but who knows

Would you believe it boiled down to how much of the sales floor was dedicated to Triumph motorcycles?
We will continue to service the bikes we have sold to customers, but any major repairs requiring more than the handfull of service parts we will keep onhand will end up going to other dealers.
Obviously, warranty repairs will cease for all of our Triumph customers.
Jon Ross
Service Manager
Capitol BMW Triumph

Skid,

Thanks for the update....

That's disappointing because I just had my upgrade kit installed at Capitol by John.

I haven't called the dealer up in Roxboro or Greensboro to see if they are still in business. I'd hate to have to go all of the way to Jacksonville for service if the other two aren't servicing Triumphs anymore.