Is there a Triumph in your past?

[hlmiskelly]

I've owned two Triumphs in the recent past, a 2007 Tiger 1050 and a 2009 Bonneville.  When Triumph pulled their product from the reputable dealer who had represented them for decades and moved to another dealer with a poor reputation I quit Triumph.  Glad I did as I love my 2015 FJ-09.

[angrygirafe]

15 hours ago, kilo3 said:

Never again.

Amen. Owned a 2012 Tiger 800 for 10k miles and four very expensive months. What a maintenance nightmare. 

[bowlin01]

Yes.

Triumph Sprint st1050, wonderful bike for 2-up touring.

 

Edited March 25, 2020 by bowlin01

[Dave76]

Yeah, had a 2016 Speed triple R. Wont be having another Triumph. Was off the road for 6 weeks whilst they tried to sort an oil leak and the Brembos never worked right. Had it back half a dozen times. Gave up in the end and got the Tracer

 

 

[Willie17FJ-09]

its the jaguar of motorcycles. Mechanics nightmare

 

[keithu]

This was my TT600. As you can see I had it set up with aux fuel, etc. 

Maybe I was lucky but I didn't have any trouble with it over 35k miles. I also found it was surprisingly easy to work on, despite the full fairings. The oil and filter could be changed without removing any panels, and all bodywork fasteners were the same. If needed both main fairings could come off in less than five minutes. The tank could be pivoted up or removed without removing any bodywork. The radiator was hinged so I could check valves or replace sparkplugs without draining the coolant. The valves never needed adjustment in 35k miles.

From a service standpoint I found it to be very thoughtfully designed. So basically it was the exact opposite of the FJ-09!

[betoney]

7 minutes ago, keithu said:

From a service standpoint I found it to be very thoughtfully designed. So basically it was the exact opposite of the FJ-09!

What is difficult about working on the FJ?  Its a naked with a screen, you can have it town down to the airbox in about 10 minutes.

[keithu]

3 hours ago, betoney said:

What is difficult about working on the FJ?  Its a naked with a screen, you can have it town down to the airbox in about 10 minutes.

Well for starters, there is the fact that despite being a semi-naked motorcycle you have to remove SEVEN different panels using SIX different kinds of fasteners before you can remove the tank. That is just ridiculous and makes me angrier every time I do it. I've owned 12 different motorcycles over the last 30 years, and I don't think any of them required even one fairing panel to be removed before the tank, much less seven. This 10-minute job on the FJ was a 2-5 minute job on everything else I've owned. 

And of course, tearing it down is just the start. Re-fitting all those seven panels in the right order with their interlocking tabs, overlaps, and various fastener types is an exercise in extreme patience.

I don't know what the design goals were for the FJ-09, but maintenance access certainly wasn't one of them. This is why I contrasted it with the TT600, which had some design features that were obviously intended for rapid service. Those included a fairing cutout for the oil drain plug, a single fastener type for all fairings, and a hinged radiator. I'm sure some of this was because Triumph engineers fantasized about racing TT600.

Too bad there isn't a popular race series for 850cc triples with upright riding positions. 

[betoney]

38 minutes ago, keithu said:

you have to remove SEVEN different panels using SIX different kinds of fasteners before you can remove the tank.

I get where you are coming from but apart from the single philips fastener on each side at least all of the fasteners use a 4mm hex... that counts for something doesn't it?😎

[keithu]

That is true. I remember watching a friend remove the fairings from his '88 CBR600. I think he needed four or five different tools to complete the task. 

Most of the FJ fasteners might be 4mm, but there are so many different types: 1/4 turn quick release, short fine thread, long fine thread, short fine thread with a shoulder, course thread, etc. They come off easily, but then later you have to remember which ones go where.

There seems to often be an inverse relationship between overall reliability and ease of service. Ever tried to work on a Honda? Car or motorcycle, they are all dreadful. My Toyota Tundra, which probably has the longest lasting motor I will ever own, has by far the most difficult oil change I've ever seen. Yes, even worse than a Nissan Maxima V-6!

[koth442]

I'm with Keithu on this one. It's really annoying to remove so many panels to remove the tank. BUT, it's all a 4mm hex, so Yamaha gets a few points back for that. Just a few though. 

On the other hand, my Daytona had fewer fasteners to remove the side fairings, they were all 5mm hex, AND you didn't have to remove any of them to remove the tank.

[roadrash83]

I wonder why I never owned a Triumph or any other British ? Could be because I grew up with British sports cars🙂

[keithu]

37 minutes ago, roadrash83 said:

I wonder why I never owned a Triumph or any other British ? Could be because I grew up with British sports cars🙂

LOL, thanks for the reminder! The TT600 isn't the only Triumph I've ever owned.

You want to hear the saddest thing ever? I sold this car to buy a Katana 600.

[Mvich]

I owned an MGB. It was a great car when it was running. Unfortunately, I never knew when that would be.

[keithu]

The TR-4 was quirky but not all that bad, really. Once I learned how to use a Unisyn to sync the SU carbs it was easy to tune. The only persistent failure I had was the generator, which burnt up twice in one year. Everything else I could usually fix with safety wire and string (not kidding).

It helped that most of the time I owned it I was stationed at NAS Point Mugu. The #1 source for British car parts in the USA, Moss Motors, was a short 30 mile drive away in Santa Barbara.

It really was the perfect car for a young single guy in SoCal. But then I discovered motorcycles...