So I have been having some thoughts since I got back from Ireland about the tiger 660 sport. I’d had it serviced just before I left for my Ireland trip so I was confident that the oil level was correct. After approximately 1200 miles into the trip the oil level had dropped from the top mark on the dip stick to the bottom mark. I topped it up to get me home. When I got home I booked the bike into Triumph to get it checked over. Basically the dealer couldn’t find anything wrong and contacted the factory. The response from the factory was that the loss was normal and that the industry guidelines is that an engine could loose up to a litre of oil in a thousand miles. I have never had a new modern bike (and I’ve had a few) use this much oil and since this time this loss of oil has been playing on my mind. Anyway I was out for a ride about three weeks ago and called into Staffordshire Triumph. I was wandering about and one of the sales guy’s asked if he could help. Without thinking about it I said yes I’m interested in a Tiger 900 GT Pro. We sat down at his desk and he confirmed the pricing for the bike. I asked him for a trade-in price for the 660 and to my surprise it was more than I had anticipated. I asked how long I would have to wait and again to my surprise he said they had a Graphite and Black one coming in the next couple of weeks. For a small deposit I could put my name on it. A quick phone call to the wife and I was back at his desk with my debit card in my hand. The final price with the panniers and crash bars added was agreed; I paid the deposit and got the final payment agreed. As a throw away comment I said to the sales guy I have a 1200 Thruxton R would he consider taking the two bikes as a straight swap for the GT Pro. After a bit of investigation on his computer he said yes that would be fine. So yesterday I picked up my new bike.
So really pleased with myself I set of for home. To my horror about 10 miles into the ride the tpms warning light came on. A quick check and yes I had picked up a puncture. I nursed the bike home and called Triumph Assist. No surprise when I gave the agent the registration number that he could not find the bike and without it he could not process the recovery request. I was very pissed off at this point. Anyway I ended the call and rang back and used my existing RAC account to log my recovery request. From this point forward the RAC were brilliant and were at my house in less than 50 minutes. The guy removed a bolt, yes a bolt from the tyre. He advised that it was unlikely that a permanent repair would be possible because of the angle that the bolt had gone in. At best he could plug it from the outside to get me to a tyre repair shop. So while he was doing the repair I started to ring around to see if I could get a tyre fitted that afternoon☹️. After couple of failed attempts I hit lucky with a company called F & B Motorcycle Tyres. They had a new tyre in stock and if I went straight there they could do the repair immediately. The RAC fella said he would follow me to the shop to ensure no issues along the way. and he did. He stayed with me until the guy at the shop confirmed the tyre was a write-off and he would replace it. He asked me sign his ticket and got on his way. 30 minutes later a £149 lighter but with a new tyre I headed for home. My day had started with delight and my new bike, moving to total disappointment thinking it would take me days to get the bike back on the road, to again total delight and relief to be back on the road within a couple of hours. Who would believe I had too write-off a brand new tyre on a new bike in less than a few miles. 5 stars to the RAC and F& B Motorcycle Tyres. I ended the day in anticipation for a proper ride on Saturday.
So today I started out for my first ride at 06:45hs. I managed to get about a 100 miles on the clock. The wife and I then went out for breakfast and some shopping. When I got home I had a read of the user manual and then connected my phone to the bike and at 16:00 hs went out again. By the time I got home I had put 216 miles on. I think I am going to enjoy this bike a lot.
Good choice If you find the front tyre tramlining a bit, change the front tyre for a 110/80 Radial tyre, it'll make a big difference. I had the same on the 800 XRt and the 900 GT Pro. No idea why Triumph insist on putting a narrow bias ply tyre on a road bike, which spoils the handling....
Cast your mind back ( or do a bit of reading if unaware) of the issues Triumph had with the Daytona 675 oil consumption? They claimed then that a litre per thousand miles or something was in spec. WTF not in my mind it is, and as you suggest @Wessa very debatable if that is acceptable.
Wow, Wessa! What a whirlwind! Congrats on your new bike. I hope you enjoy it. And that you have many happy and punctureless miles on it.
@Wessa: Congratulations to your great deal. I wish you all the best and many miles without any further "unplanned highlights" in the future!
Jesus Christ on 2 counts. 1, Jesus Christ that's brilliant, bloody good for you, well pleased for you. No 2, Jesus Christ, after 10 bloody miles . The Tigers are cracking bikes. As for the oil consumption, well I'm no mechanic, but doesn't that sound like a bit of bollocks. . Enjoy it Wessa, are you going to name it. Don't forget it can't be a he, or she, and must be non binary, and transgender fluid. . What ever the F**k that's supposed to mean. Brilliant. Good for you.
Congratulations on the new bike @Wessa I do like the GT Pro, be keen to hear your experiences getting to know it.
Thanks @Dawsy I will definitely provide my ride experience once I have got a few more miles on the bike.
Going too easy with the running in can cause high oil consumption. A bit of mechanical sympathy is all that's required.
Do you have a more in depth explanation on why this would be the case? I don’t think I was particularly easy with the 660 or any of the many new triumphs I have owned. None of them have used oil like it did.
As an irrelevant comment to your 660 oil consumption. In 29 years of owning my Thunderbird, the only time the oil level has ever gone down, is when I changed the oil. BMW's do loose oil, and that's a known fact. Well that's what the dealer said to me when I had 1150 GS.
The bores can glaze and the rings don't bed in as well as they should. Not suggesting that was the cause with your 660 but oil consumption up to 1000 miles per litre now appears to be the acceptable industry standard.
Reminds me when I collected my brand new Suzuki 850 GS in 1981. I drove out of the showroom, did 3/10 of a mile and dropped it on some diesel, Back to the dealers with 7/10 of a mile on the clock and replaced a handlebar grip, mirror and clutch cover. it took the shine right off my new purchase.
Your dealer was at best economical with the truth. My 1200gs never used any oil, my brothers did though. Apparently leaving the GSs on the side could in some circumstances allow oil to seep into the left cylinder. Mine was on the main stand when in the garage or parked for any length of time.
Mine was on the main stand too. Only had the bike over a year, never really gelled with it, to me it was like a sanitised sowing machine, plus the finish was nowhere near the finish on my 95 Thunderbird, so I traded it in for a GSX 1400.
