RAA/RAT

webmaster said:

Triumph North America did have headcount for supporting RAT before the economic turndown. Their original vision for RAT was a local dealer supported activity meant to boost sales.

Rockets Across America was an idea created by the original members of this site. At a time when the motorcycle industry was in a turndown as well.

It's all about connections; whether it be the internet, bars, tracks, rallies, girls, and etc. The problem has been that few communities are willing to embrace that it's all about having a good time.

Having fun is difficult for some manufacturers when they aren't utilizing resources effectively.

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Shawn, you make a fair point. Harley owners just naturally group together and a fair few of them have expressed interest in Triumph. It is too bad that Triumph turns a blind eye to this as it could be such a lucrative revenue stream.

Maybe I would have more luck pinging someone at HQ.

JoseyR3Wales said:

I know, tell us what you really think Josey. They ain't about motorcycle enthusiasts that work for a living. They like their peissy little catalog model types. Sorry I wasn't pretty enough Triumph...........uh, no I'm not. Wisdom comes with age. Ride a Vision, me and Sonny Barger do and we ain't neither one too danged pretty but we RIDE and We Are Real People.

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I must have missed the thread where you put ThunderHeader mufflers on your Vision..........

So here is the response from the UK HQ;

Thank you for your email and enquiry regarding the Riders Association of Triumph (RAT).

I'm sorry to inform you but RAT is no longer administered by the factory and ceased operations in 2007, some UK and european dealers still run and maintain RAT packs, but the factory no longer has any involvement in running any RAT events.

While we appreciate there are a number of forums who discuss our models, there are a number of avenues open to us to gather information regarding any in service issues, the main one being our dealer network.

Thank you once more for contacting us, and showing an interest in the brand, we hope you will continue to enjoy riding your Rocket Roadster in the future.

The next to last paragraph was response to my note to them that they may, at least, want to consider being activity on the key Triumph forums. As this would be a useful avenue for information on recurring problems as the dealer networks are more interested in us paying for them to fix the factory problems.

So there you go. RAT is dead (outside dealerships or us reviving it in some way) and the factory wants nothing to do with anything outside the dealerships.

However, never one to let a sleeping dog lie or not giving another swift kick to a dead horse, I know someone who recently became a regional factory rep......