Speed Triple Rs 4th Gear Problems

Popped into the dealer for them to take a look this evening and my replacement part is now on order.

I discussed this with my dealer and they said it wouldn’t be an issue.

Even if it was, I’d change it back to factory spec before they ever saw it!

I was also told that they have seen this exact issue a few times in the workshop and they’ve just double checked the measurements and then filed the contacting material off the arm.

 

In order for the quickshifter to operate properly the shaft has to be a specific length, don’t adjust it. As far as this issue it is a horrendous oversight by the Triumph engineers that they missed this. Dealers shouldn’t have to be grinding away at parts on our bikes for Christ sake.

 

It's not that big of an oversight, it's a tolerancing issue.
The arm that the shifter contacts is cast, most casting surfaces have a standard of +/- 1mm, unless otherwise specified (certainly in the motorsport industry)
The machining work is then carried out on top of this, so the tolerance between two important features, such as the spline and thread in this case, will be spot on, normally +/- 0.1mm for this sort of thing.
This means that the surface we are having issues with could be anything upto 2.2mm closer or further away than the previous one, and still be a perfectly acceptable part.

The way around this, is to 'check machine' the area in which you have a known issue. This would remove any potential problem material. Its safe to say that triumph have not been doing this.

I suspect as triumph haven't had an issue in the past, and it's perfectly reasonable to assume that the first 100-500 shift arms were all made in the same batch, and were all lucky in that they were mid limit or negative material.

Also, the length of the shift rod, unless drastically different, won't make a blind bit of difference, I have carried out testing which proves this on a number of occasions.

As I have said, issues like this are my day job, I work with transmission systems on a daily basis which alone cost more than this bike. I promise I would never recommend anything which would damage anyones bike.

 

I haven't got this issue ( 2010 bike and no QS) but curious about how you would adjust the height of the gear arm to your personal preference?
Or is it a case of it being a set length and can't change it so you just have to accept it?

 

Hmmm, not sure how I messed up my reply to SteveRS's post. It looks like I replied to my reply based on the font! Sorry.

 

Burny-13, thanks for the photo with the red circle created by the advanced software and data analysis tools. It was most helpful as have been your other posts.

 

Sorry but I respectfully disagree. Maybe it’s just me but I don’t think it’s acceptable to spend $20,000 on a “new” bike and have a gearbox get destroyed within two weeks of ownership from an issue that should have been spotted before hand. A MASSIVE oversight on a very small part.

 

Sandi, if these are your photos then I would recommend you disengage the shift assist until a new arm is installed. It’s not worth the risk of destroying your gearbox.

 

Sorry Steve, I didn't mean to come across that I didn't agree with you. I do, it should never have happened! Never mind how much the bike costs, it is 100% wholey a failing on their part.
I was just trying to state that I can totally see how it's happened, and tried to explain that for everyone.

I think I may have bit more sympathy for triumph since I have just come across from an MT-10, where problems, issues and oversights were more common than the good bits! I had frame paint being rubbed off by body panels, a quick shifter which just didn't work at all if it got too hot, or too cold! A swing arm that was corroding after just 18 months use.
The fit and finish of the entire triumph range is ALMOST flawless in comparison.

It also took triumph less than 6 hours to promise me a replacement part, vs yamaha's average of 5 weeks, with chasing, from complaint to claim acceptance.


I have been a bit of a busy bee this evening, changing my indicators, relocating the horn and also having a bit of a play about with the fitment and clearancing on this issue. I have now, for the time being, just moved the shift arm round one spline, without changing anything else, this gives PLENTY of clearance and no other clearance issues that I could see, even with a borescope down the hole in frame where the rod goes through.
I am planning a ride tomorrow evening so will be sure to give it a good test and get back to you guys.

 

I tried moving the shifter to a position that would have given adequate clearance and it didn’t make a difference, as it still false nutraled and slammed into the next gear. At the time I was unaware that it was a clearance issue, I was just trying to get a better shifter position. I have two brothers, one owns an mt 09 and the other has a GSX S1000, and neither have had any issues after three years of ownership. Besides that blunder I absolutely love the bike.

 

Have either Albi or Burny_13 got a part number for the revised QS linkage/arm as my local dealer have not heard anything about this yet and I was about to re-instate my QS. TIA

 

Thanks for checking out the photos I posted and for your feedback and recommendation, Steve. Yep, that's what I was afraid of. I'll disengage the shift assist today and I'll also be calling my dealership pronto. I'm hoping that folks respond to jeznewsome's post and provide an actual part number. Do you know it, by any chance? And, most importantly, how is your bike after the new arm install?! Hope you're getting out on the road on that bad boy.

 

Yes! This would be incredibly helpful. Please share that number if you have it or can get your hand on it. I'll be calling my local dealer and having a part number would be awesome.

Also, it seems most folks on this thread are from the UK and Canada and not from the U.S. Has anybody out there from the U.S. who's watching this thread had quick shifter problems and contacted your local deal and/or Triumph USA?? I'd like to have my informational ducks in a row prior to contacting my dealer. As I mentioned in a previous post, the guys at my dealership most likely haven't heard about or dealt with this quick shifter issue as they don't sell enough units here in Tucson. In fact, they've only sold one since I bought mine last November. Thanks!

 

Hey, Burney_13, in addition to a part number if you have one, what did head office actually call/name the part in question that needs to be replace under a warranty claim?? Thanks!

 

Sorry I don’t know it. Oddly enough my dealer replaced the arm without even mentioning it to me, almost Like they tried to hide the replacement. Bike is working great, l love it, but I won’t be engaging the shift assist until Triumph acknowledges the issue and says what the fix is.

 

Well...my dealer might be in denial, but thanks to the info on this forum, I've now obtained a written response from Triumph UK and my dealer has been asked to submit a warranty claim. I'll keep an eye out for the part number.

"I can confirm that the company has been investigating a concern that some customers have experienced with the shift assist on the Speed Triples. A fix has been identified and the dealers are being advised to fit a new linkage clamp, the part number which will be supplied to the dealer."​

 

MrTriple, thanks so much for including the quote from Triumph UK. That is extremely helpful and will give me something concrete to share with my local dealership. Thanks also for keeping an eye out for the part number. I'm going to speak with my guys at the Tucson shop today and if I by chance get a part number I'll be sure to share it ASAP. I suspect they've not even heard about this issue at this point so I'll be starting from scratch on my end and the quote you sent will provide a good place to begin. I may also put in a call to the Triumph USA folks in Georgia as I've called them a couple of times in the past and actually been able to speak to a human being who turned out to be helpful.

 

Steve, SO glad to read that your bike is working great. I'm sure you are happy be have it in your garage--and back out on the road! I hope that Triumph steps up, acknowledges and notifies owners about the issue, and provides a fix. Seems that they should do a recall on the part. I have a couple of Harley-Davidsons and Harley corporate seems to be good about doing just that. Not that there have been a ton of examples but when there have been issues, affected owners have been notified and dealerships on top of getting the part(s) replaced pronto. With Triumph, we shall see. I did have a safety recall on my 2016 Thruxton R several years back and that was addressed quickly and to my satisfaction.

 

Thanks Sandi. I wish you luck with your dealer and I hope you have a replacement arm installed soon, so we all can enjoy our bikes as they were ment to be. Cheers!