second gear problems

I bought a new left over 08 (date of mfg 7/07) standard rocket from triumph of windber (good people), the day I drove it home it would not shift into second gear smoothly, I kept missing second gear, if I moved my foot forward and really pulled hard it will go in! sometimes with some chatter! dealer said get some miles on it! I now have 800 miles on it, has not changed one bit! 3rd,4th,5th gears all shift solid and smooth! dealer spoke to factory and they said pull the motor and take apart! bike will be down 2 to 3 weeks! I am pissed! I have owned Yamahas - VMax, Maxim 1100, Kawsaki Ninja 900. Kawasaki H1 500 triple, HD Lowrider, and various street n trail and dirt bikes, I never had any tranny problems on any of those bikes! (yeah even the Harley with 102ci. engine with nitrous) I tried calling triumph and i was put through to Peter somebody, got his voice mail, left message, he never returned my call! there are obviously engineering and quality control issues! or I got a monday morning or end of day friday build? (just my luck) not sure what my plans are yet with this bike! depends on what triumph does! and if any thing else breaks! guess maybe I should have tried saving my money and got a new V Max!

I have never had a bike that I have owned had so many recalls but I have dealt with them and love the bike. I just take it as it comes I know its hard to get off the bike for a while but in a short bit you will be back up again

I've had a few issues with my R3T. To date, I've had a mirror issue (minor), a headgasket blown (major issue, IMO), snapped clutch shaft (Major, IMO), a gear position sensor SB (I wasn't experiencing problems, but Triumph did SB fix on it) and recalled tires. I have another 13 months of warranty. I pick mine up tomorrow. If I have anymore major issues between now and end of warranty, I'll be getting rid of the SOB. I too have NEVER owned a bike (and I've owned NUMEROUS bikes including harleys) with this many issues period, much less in this short of a period. I sincerely hope I don't have anymore issues because I really like the bike, but I will get rid of the bastard if I continue to have issues. I don't keep things that are POS no matter how much I like them when they run. As of now, however, I would NEVER recommend a Rocket to anyone. In fact, I would tell them to RUN, not walk from a potential Rocket deal. Triumph is a good company, IMO, and I've always liked their bikes, but this Rocket BS is trying my patience big time.

could be worse it could be a harley

****, I love people with a positive attitude. All bikes have problems. Even my lowly KLR has had 2 recalls already plus it burns oil, like a half quart every 500 miles and Kawasaki says tough, live with it.

If I wanted a weed wacker 2 smoke, I'd have bought a Vespa.

Beemers break Paralever castings, Gold wings smoke like freight trains when you start them, Hardlies suffer from FI problems and a decided lack of power compared to an inflated price....the list goes on.

Candidly, these R3's seems to break a bit more often but then you are riding a car without doors or an interior. The bike is just as complex as a car and has almost as many systems, plus it's a relatively new design so problems arise. At least Triumph stands behind those problems (ar least from my experience).

Hey Daryl,
I'll give ya a buck, no a buck and a half for that POS.
I don't blame you, run quick instead of dealing with it,
and getting a better bike out of the deal after all the recalls.
you'd probablly like a hardly better anyway,
or Busa .

borntoride - If your problem persists, you should be eligible for the upgrade kit since it was manufactured before 11/07.

A few here have had some teething problems, mine is currently getting the upgrade kit, replacing the head gasket and a new TDU, and my warranty was up in 02/08. All taken care of by Triumph. It has taken a few years for Triumph to get the bugs worked out, but they are obviously commited to the Rocket engine for years to come if they are still engineering upgrades for it. Daryl your bike seems like the perfect storm. I'd be upset too but give them a chance to get it straightened out and see if the bike can regain your trust.

Pig9r said:

borntoride - If your problem persists, you should be eligible for the upgrade kit since it was manufactured before 11/07.

A few here have had some teething problems, mine is currently getting the upgrade kit, replacing the head gasket and a new TDU, and my warranty was up in 02/08. All taken care of by Triumph. It has taken a few years for Triumph to get the bugs worked out, but they are obviously commited to the Rocket engine for years to come if they are still engineering upgrades for it. Daryl your bike seems like the perfect storm. I'd be upset too but give them a chance to get it straightened out and see if the bike can regain your trust.

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............Put a new tire on the Schwinn yet??

Kiss my ass, I'll gripe if I want to. My wife hates it so I don't around her. I really don't give a **** if you nerds don't want to hear it.

It's human nature to get frustrated. Nowhere in my post did I say I'm selling the bike. I said if I continue having issues I will. I have 13 months on the warranty. I won't make any decisions until it runs out of warranty. My hope is I don't have anymore issues. I love the bike. But if I do, I'll likely off-load it and move on. I think I'll buy a boat. Yeah, that ought to be trouble/worry free. lol

RocketDaryl said:

Kiss my ass, I'll gripe if I want to. My wife hates it so I don't around her. I really don't give a **** if you nerds don't want to hear it.

It's human nature to get frustrated. Nowhere in my post did I say I'm selling the bike. I said if I continue having issues I will. I have 13 months on the warranty. I won't make any decisions until it runs out of warranty. My hope is I don't have anymore issues. I love the bike. But if I do, I'll likely off-load it and move on. I think I'll buy a boat. Yeah, that ought to be trouble/worry free. lol

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My, don't we have our panties in a bunch.