Are triumph as bad as I'm told ?

Discussion in 'Newbies Hangout' started by Leegrimo, Apr 30, 2016.

  1. Leegrimo

    Leegrimo Active Member

    Apr 30, 2016
    23
    28
    Manchester
    hi guys I'm new iv been ridding two years on a cbr 125 and I think it's time for a bigger bike. I'm in love the street triple but the bikers I no all 3 of them say there unreliable ? One the then owns too and right now there both of the road lol.
     
  2. GaryM

    GaryM It's him, you know who. Him from you know ....

    Apr 28, 2016
    862
    500
    Patna , Ayrshire
    Never had any problems with mine. On my second Triumph now.
    In the old days 60/70's they were but then most bikes and cars were then.
    It wasn't till Japanese bikes started appearing that reliability improved.
    Honda is meant to be one of the best for reliability etc, but from my own personal experiance I could say Honda are the biggest pile of .... Ever as I had a terrible one that hadn't been maintained till I bought it so
    are they basing this on your friends bikes?
    So why are the two your friend owns off the road? Are they maintained correctly? Are they modern Triumphs or old one from the 60/70's?
    As to the other two guys that don't even own Triumphs have they ever owned one?
    On what do they base their view (apart from your friends bikes) that they are unreliable ?
    So more information and possibly you need to question your mates as to why they hold those views.
     
  3. thebiglad

    thebiglad Old fart, still riding !

    Sep 25, 2013
    5,066
    1,000
    Central France
    Hi there Lee, I've re-read your post a few times and honestly I can't understand what you're trying to say.

    If you would like feedback from a Triumph owner, then all I can say is that I owned a 2010 T100 for 5 years and it was totally reliable, no problems at all.

    If you have any specific worries then ask away.

    The Street Triple is a very high performance bike for a newbie rider - are you sure you're ready for that?
     
  4. Leegrimo

    Leegrimo Active Member

    Apr 30, 2016
    23
    28
    Manchester
    My friend has a tiger that's done 30k in two years that off the road because the starter motor has gone! And he has a new 2015 Bonnerville that's not running. He loves triumphs and tells me to get the bike I like.
     
  5. thebiglad

    thebiglad Old fart, still riding !

    Sep 25, 2013
    5,066
    1,000
    Central France
    Well it strikes me as an odd coincidence that your mate that you know has two Triumphs and neither of them are in working order.

    For example, do you know what is wrong with the Bonneville? Perhaps we could help?
     
  6. GaryM

    GaryM It's him, you know who. Him from you know ....

    Apr 28, 2016
    862
    500
    Patna , Ayrshire
    Likewise I thought it odd that both bikes are off the road at once, which is why I asked did they get maintained correctly.
    I find Triumph no worse than any other bike I've owned. I do maintain my bikes but even then you can still get problems.
    I've had two bikes over the years which gave me major problems one was a Honda and I inherited the problems with it. Seemed ok at first but required a fair bit of work to eventually get it right.
    The other was a Suzuki which dropped a valve ( was only 3 years old) which meant a top end rebuild.
    So back to the Triumphs I've owned , they have given me absolutely no problems.
    Ok I've just bought the second one but it's a 5 year old bike that's been barely run in those 5 years.
    As to Triumphs being unreliable the biggest problem I hear generally with triumphs is how they depreciate when sold from new.
    As to buying one would I of course. The speedie is meant to be a great bike. You will find a big differance from a 125 with that.
    I've never heard any major scare stories about reliability with any bike nowadays. Yes you can get a bad one but that applies to any make.
     
  7. Leegrimo

    Leegrimo Active Member

    Apr 30, 2016
    23
    28
    Manchester
    Thanks guys my friend is a bike instructor so I'd say he looks after his bikes.
     
  8. Leegrimo

    Leegrimo Active Member

    Apr 30, 2016
    23
    28
    Manchester
    I have been ridding two years now and done over 6k in that time. I past my test on a Suzuki 650 so i think I'm more than ready.
     
  9. jonesy

    jonesy Active Member

    Mar 26, 2016
    84
    28
    worcestershire
    There are some very unreliable things around !!
     
  10. thebiglad

    thebiglad Old fart, still riding !

    Sep 25, 2013
    5,066
    1,000
    Central France
    The very best of luck to you then.
     
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  11. Tigcraft

    Tigcraft Unheard of Member

    Mar 29, 2014
    2,620
    800
    Holmfirth West Yorkshire
    Triumphs are no worse than the rest but it's an 'Englishmans thing' at least
    (And don't start me off to where they're made!!)
     
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  12. crispey

    crispey crispey creme de la creme

    Nov 6, 2014
    7,229
    1,000
    Uk
    Hi Leegrimo, welcome. regarding your mate the driving instructor and other mates with street triples that's good advice to get the bike you like and the one that suits your riding style. If I had a mates that owned and didn't rate Triumphs and had 2 that were off the road I wouldn't go for one nor keep one. When I bought my first one I had no mates with Triumphs but bought one , Thruxton, because I liked the style and the marque, and through this forum found loads of mates who owned Triumphs, I also researched them a bit and found the majority of reports good, a year and a half later I bought another, Tiger 800, both second hand. I think you have to go with gut feelings and/or majoritys. your majority, your mates, is theyre unreliable so take their advice and don't buy one. Unless you do some research and find a greater majority somewhere that love them and swear by them. Which ever you do I wish you luck and if you don't choose Triumph I think it'll be your loss. On another note, your instructor friend hopefully will have some warranty left on his 2015 Bonnie so should get it fixed through that and hopefully will have one bike back on the road.
     
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  13. Richard H

    Richard H Noble Member

    Oct 26, 2012
    1,132
    300
    Swadlincote Derbyshire England
    The Street Triple is the best middleweight naked bike money can buy. Reliability is right up there with the Japs, Mrs has owned two now and did 20,000 trouble free miles on the first one.
    It can be a decent first bike but only if ridden with restraint.......it's a high performance bike that can get you into trouble quickly.
     
  14. steve lovatt

    steve lovatt Something else

    May 12, 2014
    9,218
    1,000
    North Yorkshire
    The simple answer is no, Triumphs are not as bad as you've been told. Despite your mates issues, Triumph do not have a reputation for unreliability. Things can go wrong but that's the same for any bike make, including Honda.
    Personally I bought a 2004 Bonnie with 27000 miles and a 1993 Trident with 35000 miles and neither bike ever had a problem.
     
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  15. Leegrimo

    Leegrimo Active Member

    Apr 30, 2016
    23
    28
    Manchester
    Thanks for the info I'm looking to buy one as soon as I see the colour I want.
     
  16. Rooster

    Rooster Grumpy Member
    Subscriber

    Sep 14, 2015
    1,655
    800
    Droitwich, Worcestershire
    Reliablity by brand based on a survey size of 12,300 motorcycles

    Brand
    Percent failed
    Yamaha/Star 11
    Suzuki 12
    Honda 12
    Kawasaki 15
    Victory 17
    Harley-Davidson 26
    Triumph 29
    Ducati 33
    BMW 40
    Can-Am 42

    You want reliability by a Yamaha.

    You want class buy a Triumph.
     
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  17. crispey

    crispey crispey creme de la creme

    Nov 6, 2014
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    Blue is the more reliable colour. 8 out of 10 cat owners said so
     
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  18. GaryM

    GaryM It's him, you know who. Him from you know ....

    Apr 28, 2016
    862
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    Patna , Ayrshire
    But black ones go faster. 9 out of 10 cats said meow to this statement :)
     
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  19. Leegrimo

    Leegrimo Active Member

    Apr 30, 2016
    23
    28
    Manchester
    What about green then lol. It's blue or green for me guys.
     
  20. GaryM

    GaryM It's him, you know who. Him from you know ....

    Apr 28, 2016
    862
    500
    Patna , Ayrshire
    10 out of 10 cats regurgitated a hair ball at those choices of colour :)
     
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