Triumph

[Don the Don]

Problems with certain water cooled Triumphs don't think it involves any of us mind

https://www.advrider.com/triumph-recalls-multiple-models-for-potential-fire-hazard/

 

[Public Enemy]

Problems with certain water cooled Triumphs don't think it involves any of us mind

https://www.advrider.com/triumph-recalls-multiple-models-for-potential-fire-hazard/

Good to know the Thailand quality control is up to scratch.

 

[half ton]

Found a NOS barrel for the T120r (£200) and standard bore pistons (£100). When pulling the motor apart it turned out to be on +60 rebore so easiest route is new top end !!! . Crank bearings next ... over £50 for one and £25 for the other . Had I mentioned it started smoking on one pot and lost power after roughly 200 miles of riding. Never mind it's 50yrs old and I still love it. I was never going to be anything other than a hard up pensioner anyway.

 

[Don the Don]

Found a NOS barrel for the T120r (£200) and standard bore pistons (£100). When pulling the motor apart it turned out to be on +60 rebore so easiest route is new top end !!! . Crank bearings next ... over £50 for one and £25 for the other . Had I mentioned it started smoking on one pot and lost power after roughly 200 miles of riding. Never mind it's 50yrs old and I still love it. I was never going to be anything other than a hard up pensioner anyway.

Never mind mate, as a rule all old Brit bikes have the potential to be money pit's, we have all seen the old phrases "fully rebuilt" "yes with all the old parts" Love them or hate them they will always keep you occupied if only looking for replacement parts

 

[MartytheMartian]

You know it kind of bugs me that, because of the spares policy on Triumph's these days it's harder to get parts for a 2002 Bonnie than a 1959 Bonnie. All the big four from Japan continue to support the survivors of their past ranges right back to the sixties and seventies but Triumph don't give a fuck about helping out the folks trying to keep their twenty year old Bonnie's or Daytona's running. Seems it's all about the buck and little to do with pride in product.

 

[half ton]

You know it kind of bugs me that, because of the spares policy on Triumph's these days it's harder to get parts for a 2002 Bonnie than a 1959 Bonnie. All the big four from Japan continue to support the survivors of their past ranges right back to the sixties and seventies but Triumph don't give a fuck about helping out the folks trying to keep their twenty year old Bonnie's or Daytona's running. Seems it's all about the buck and little to do with pride in product.

There are loads of available parts for early Triumphs Marty, Harris (who built my Matchless) are still doing batches of parts, Then there's the guys selling the parts ... seem to enjoy talking bikes and always very helpful , It's a different world to most modern dealerships

 

[Don the Don]

Triumph's customer service and backup are well known to be pathetic, After market is the way forward there are company's like sprint and Norman hyde that are gathering space on spares, it appears that Triumph's policy is: once you have dropped a model say air cooled Bonnie for water cooled then fook the back up, they can stick their water cooled Bonnies up their arse they are not worth the price and are far from issue free.

 

[MartytheMartian]

Aye that's what I was getting at @half ton You can get virtually anything for a Triumph made in the days before John Bloor but trying getting anything like a crank case component, head, gear assembly, crankshaft, even wheels for a John Bloor era onwards Triumph and you are fucked unless you are exceptionally luck and, if you can find something 'New Olds Stock' expect it to cost at least half what your whole bike is worth. Christ good rust free wheels, if you can find 'em as the Italian made rims rust if you look at them will set you back a few hundred per wheel. I recall coming across some 'New Old Stock' one and I think the were about six hundred each and that's just the bare wheel with no discs, tyre, etc.

Suzuki, Honda etc. will actually make parts for your 1970's bike if they don't have them in stock but Triumph don't even hold spares for a bike when the model isn't even ten years out of production. I could be wrong but I seem to recall it was actually something like just a few years after a model is discontinued that they stop stocking parts for it. It's an attitude that sucks and I don't think it does the brand any favours.

Having said that I had my Union Jack painted bonnie (Britt) out of the shed today to run her up and check her over with a view to getting her MOT'd on Tuesday when my Insurance comes into play and she is a fuckin' beautiful looking bike as is my green Daytona, I love Triumph bikes but I can't say I love Triumph the company at all.

 

[Don the Don]

Suzuki, Honda etc. will actually make parts for your 1970's bike if they don't have them in stock

"Spot on" I watched an Henry cole motorbike show [I know] he was overhauling a 70's Suzuki 750GT [Kettle} and a guy from Suzuki pitches up with a van loaded with spares from Classic Suzuki no bother, it was the same when he rebuilt a Kwac Z900 shit load of parts no bother, even getting a genuine Triumph front sprocket [with the buffer pads and correct hardness] can be a job locating, as a caring company the new Triumph stink

 

[MartytheMartian]

Aye, back in the nineties I had a 1981 Honda CB250RS and I needed a tacho gear for the cylinder head and a speedo drive gearbox. There were none to be had 'in stock' so Honda Japan made the parts. Took maybe three weeks for them to make them and ship them to the UK and for 'book' price. Aye they weren't cheap but the bike needed them and there weren't even any around secondhand at the time. Triumph on the other hand, if a part is in stock it will probably cost more than your bike and if it ain't you're screwed. The crankcases are a case in point - Due to their own design weakness there is that famous risk of the sprag clutch bearing point on the crankcase going bang and replacement crankcases are a ridiculous price, if you can get them. A replacement tank, only available now for the efi model, is something like fifteen hundred quid including VAT. Ridiculous.

 

[Don the Don]

What Triumph don't make others will, India has stepped up to the mark on lot's of items for a fraction of the cost, and if you ain't too fussy they can provide

TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE T100 (2001 - 2008) FUEL GAS PETROL TANK/FIT FOR | eBay

Here is the TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE T100 PETROL TANL available with best quality and best match. To Fit Model : TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE T100. To Fit Make : TRIUMPH. We makes steel tanks in 18 gauge heavy steel sheet and also made all the alloy tanks in 14 gauge alloy aluminum sheet.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[MartytheMartian]

Tanks I have unfortunately, I've got two spare unpainted tanks that I plan to re-paint at some point. The big worry would be the aforementioned Sprag going tit's up. I don't have a great deal of confidence that the after market fix kit would actually prevent that disaster happening. I've heard tell, that the best way to avoid it is to never try and turn over the engine with a dying battery or tried to start so many times that the battery is flattened. The theory is that it's a weak forward kick from the starter that fails to oppose a possible kick back which is meant to be what causes the fracture. I pray that that disaster never befalls my two bikes!

 

[Don the Don]

Although my Bonnie has the Triumph beefed up Crankcases I still fitted the safe start adaptor, Each person has their own opinion, to me it is a well made piece of kit and the fixing materials are the best of the best, the same stuff that is used to hold items on fast jets like Vortex generators in much harsher environments, Like I said each to their own,
"BUT" that is only part of the problem, when you turn the ignition on, on modern bikes the headlight comes on "WHY" if your battery is low to start with what good is it going to be to spin the engine over, that too is a big issue, as for me I also fitted the Motone start battery cable that stops the headlight coming on until lights are selected, in fact I have fitted these to all my bikes as I don't like my headlights on until I want them, if I had my way all bikes would still have kickstarts. mock as you may but [touch wood] I have never had an issue on any bike and it's piece of mind to me.

 

[MartytheMartian]

Personally I think it sucks that Triumph didn't include a kickstart. Not only would it have finished the 'classic' look off but it would also keep you fit if you chose to use it regularly and, well I like the idea that, even if your battery is low, you can still kick your bike into life. Given your expertise on matters of structural security from your service I'd be more inclined to buy into the safe start as an option. I guess I still struggle to trust any kind of resin sticky stuff over actual solid metal and I think it sucks that Triumph didn't address this issue themselves even if it was a reasonably rare failure point. I'd also be interested to know whether it's a weakness due to repeated kick backs or whether it's a weakness that was inherent in the casting. My bet is on the latter. The big issue of course is that, if it does go tits up, you can't buy replacement crankcases so your bike is screwed unless you know someone who can repair them and, even if they were available Triumph would take the absolute piss with the cost of them.

I hate the 'lights always on' shit myself and I'm glad that my two 2002 Bonnie's and my 2002 Daytona all have the lights off unless you want them on. I don't really buy into the idea that having your lights on makes you more visible to other road users except on dull days and think it's shit that the option to have them on or off is taken away on modern bikes.

 

[half ton]

I fitted a safestart to my 2003 Bonnie just for peace of mind, My brother has a 2013 865 the 865's have a stronger "reshaped" case, But there must have been a couple of damaged 865's as well because TTP do the safestart for them as well now. As for lights on /lights off .. I used to think it helped but now every car on the planet seems to run with DRL's or headlights on, So bikes have become invisible again.

 

[Don the Don]

Triumph didn't address this issue themselves even if it was a reasonably rare failure point

Triumph did ATTEMT to address the issue on the 865 but did not do a good enough job, the area is beefed up but that is not the issue, Triumph upon realising that they had fooked up to start with should honour any issues that arise from incidents to any owner of the bikes new or second hand, BUT they don't the same way that folk with water cooled Bonnies have had to fight to get their bikes fixed.

 

[Don the Don]

resin sticky stuff

It ain't just resin, these thing's can be machined drilled and are stronger than metal I have seen the surrounding metal break first rather than the mend,

 

[Don the Don]

I fitted a safestart to my 2003 Bonnie just for peace of mind, My brother has a 2013 865 the 865's have a stronger "reshaped" case, But there must have been a couple of damaged 865's as well because TTP do the safestart for them as well now. As for lights on /lights off .. I used to think it helped but now every car on the planet seems to run with DRL's or headlights on, So bikes have become invisible again.

"Yes" it can still happen as the short vid below shows, A bike battery is small compared to a cars so why take power from it by having lights on when starting a bike? The sister company UTP do the safe start

 

[half ton]

It ain't just resin, these thing's can be machined drilled and are stronger than metal I have seen the surrounding metal break first rather than the mend,

My brother has used it in race engines on the intake side when flowing the head .... never had one fail

 

[MartytheMartian]

It seems to me that Triumph, when John Bloor was at the helm, was basically a 'legacy' project for him. He wanted to overengineer and be the hero that brought Triumph back but, since his son and the money men took over, around the same time as production started moving to Thailand, it all became about the cash and not the pride in product and service.