Corrosion

Unless the bike has been kept in a heated garage, wether it has seen rain or not, the cold and damp of an English winter will cause corrosion unless protected with light oil or similar.
I have used my 2012 Bonnie regularly throughout the winter sprayed with FS365 and It has definitely helped preserve the finishes, not perfect but good enough to confidently use the bike and FS365 again next winter.
Fortunately mine has mag wheels so no spokes to worry about.

 

Hi yes this bonnie is the first bike I have had thar has not got spokes and it is a lot easier to clean. I have used wd40 in the past and this year I used acf 50 to use a jap bike over the winter it was okay but did re apply regularly but my stanchions and swingarm will need a good bit of attention as soon as I have time.

 

I have used my Scrambler throughout the winter and for the last month it's been a daily commuter. It was off road last night and I ended up riding round a quarry so the bike isn't babied. There has been tiny signs of oxidising and surface corrosion on the usual parts but a quick rub down and squirt with WD40 and the fortnightly blast of Scottoil 365 cures it.
Maybe I'm wrong but motorbikes are made of metal bits, designed to be ridden in all weathers and aren't jewellery so to me it's just routine maintenance. Doesn't make it a "pile of crap" but it depends on what you're looking for out of it.

 

Hi yes I agree if you look at your car or van in the engine bay or undrneath you will see plenty of rust although I underseald my van with dintrol and it helped. It just a bit different when you start to see your bike start to show signs of wear and tear with rust oxidisation and scratches but if you use it that's what happens when you use something be it a bike car or pair of shoes.

 

Totally agree, when I got my Bonnie it was 4 years old, absolutely mint condition with 2k miles, it must have been kept in somebody's front room.
I bought it to use and I clean and polish it as required, it still looks good at 5 years old with 8k on the clock now.
Not as perfect cosmetically as when I got it but I enjoy riding the bike, and accept that next year it will look a bit more 'weathered' still.

 

I've had bikes for close on 40 years and really don't need uninformed opinion on routine maintenance or the properties of metals. The T120 was kept in a heated, insulated shed and maintained to a ridiculously high degree. It wasn't a maintenance issue it was shit manufacturing. 40 year old Suzuki with no corrosion, Triumph moly coddled from day 1 with corrosion showing after 3 months. 8 year old Yamaha that's run regularly on salt covered winter roads and rigorously maintained as required. No corrosion!!
The clocks steamed up, the clocks rattled about on their mountings. There was numerous recalls and the seat felt like it was ready to fall off. Others had corrosion on the shocks, throttle bodies and engine casings on new bikes but apparently all these faults are of the owners rather than Triumph.
Given the problems I experienced with the bike, the dealer and the company "Pile of crap" is a fitting description of what I got for my £10000.

 

I've followed your posts with interest and I think you really have had a 'bad' bike old git.
Others have experienced some degree of corrosion and other issues but not it appears to the degree your bike has had.
For £10k and buying brand new you are quite right in expecting a better quality product.

 

Triumph are to blame, we don't want shiny things which don't last we want practical, reliable, well built smart bikes to ride. It took 5 weeks arguing with triumph to reject my 2016 ST3 "R" because of poor finish (mainly the Ohlins). I was over the 30 days to be in a strong position and accepted the "S" model as a replacement but this ruined my experience of buying a new Triumph and spending £12K, one of the reasons she's up for sale I've no love for her which is sad.

 

Well thats fair enough Rocker, spending that sort of money and having bad customer experience is unacceptable.
I would also be looking elsewhere, hopefully Triumph will get their act together and now aim to exceed customer expectations.
it will be interesting to see how the new Bobber stands up to the elements.

 

Paying £10,000+ for a new bike - it should be bloody perfect from outset and stay that way for a very long time.

 

It would be interesting to hear where the bikes that are having all the quality issues are made,i think the 11th character of the vin number will tell you were it was made,i read somewhere that J = England and T = Thialand, not sure the letter for Brasil?

 

'H' ????

 

Ive read this somewhere myself Dougie and I cannot find the link, I think it may have been on the Triumph Rat forum.
Pasher: 'H' could be Hinckley ?
There is a definite distinction on the VIN which indicates country of manufacture or part manufacture.

 

My bike is garaged and sits alongside a Honda and BMW in the same garage, they have done considerably more miles, one a 2015 and one a 2011 and neither show any signs of rust ANYWHERE on them.

To me to say a bike is to be used is completely correct but to say when you use it, it'll rust like an old tobacco tin is unacceptable. So my first call will be to the dealer but I suspect the second will be to Triumph. If necessary I'll go legal.

 

All of the Bonneville range are built entirely in Thailand as are the Streets (and have been for a long time now)

The issue of corrosion keeps rearing its ugly head but it's hard to judge how widespread is the problem and how many bikes are affected. People with these issues understandably are posting a lot of messages but how many are happy with the bikes they have ? As I've said elsewhere my Bonnie is the 7th of the modern Triumphs that have been in our garage and a year on it looks as good as new and I love it. Likewise to date the Newcastle Dealer has not had one bike with corrosion issues.

Again as I've said elsewhere if you have these problems please take it to the top if you have to, as I can't believe the Bloors would ignore something potentially so serious that it might damage the brand.

[email protected]

That's the CEOs email address should you care to get in touch

 

Dozer, you are correct, corrosion this bad is unlikely to be epidemic. Most likely a manufacturing batch issue.
Its extremely unlikely that the builder of the bike, wherever in the world they may be, would be the same people as those who have completed the plating (or other metal finishing) process.

Furthermore, unless the following conditions are met;
1. A large number of customers are complaining about the 'same' issue,
2. Triumph directly get to hear about it - NOT your individual dealerships!!!!!!, and
3. Triumph then decide the issue is creating enough public noise and dissent among the potential buying public that it justifies full component traceability.
Only if all of the above are happen will Triumph implement proper corrective actions to ensure the cause is properly addressed. Moisture inside the clocks is a prime example of Triumphs admittance of there being an 'accepted' issue when they replace the clocks free of charge with few quibbles.

My T120 is now one month old with 1k miles. I gave it a good clean on the weekend and noticed a very small flake of chrome plating coming away from one of the spoke nipples on the rear wheel. There are, so far, no other signs of corrosion anywhere. Needless to say that I will be keeping a very close eye on how this progresses.

The CEO would be an excellent focus point to escalate a complaint. Good luck to all.

 

My dealer was very sympathetic to my concerns and have taken photographs etc to forward to Triumph to support my claim so I cannot complain about them.

I really don't care where the bike was built, any product sold in the UK by a UK 'manufacturer' has to be of a certain quality and I don't believe the finish on mine is good enough.

 

You're dead right toffeeboy, none of the Triumphs are what I would call cheap so you do expect to get a good quality fit for purpose product for your money.
When you own other makes of bike you have a direct comparison so it is easier for you to justify.

 

I agree just clearing up about a query as to where the bikes are built. The 800 tigers are also built in Thailand everything else i.e. Larger engine unit bikes are Hinckley built. That said the local guys have seen some bad engine paintwork hidden away behind the Sprint fairings.
The same dealers work on multiple bike Marques (including Honda) and most if not all have some issues so I reckon it's more a general mainstream problem than Triumph/Bonneville specific.
None of this excuses or makes it right though !

 

Mine has been fine so far re corrosion but i am extra vigilant TBH because of things i have read here and experience over the years (garage + bike + winter = trouble). I'm not convinced modern stuff generally is upto much nowadays, i have a 18 month old vw that clonks and has strange noises coming from the suspension, its done 15000 steady miles by me alone and the paintwork is as soft as i dunno what and marks up stupidly easily, anyhow. Back to bikes. I did see a new 16 plate Thruxton parked up a fortnight ago and it looked like it had been under the North Sea, honestly. It was as rough as old boots, filthy dirty, the cases were all oxidised, the rims dog rough and the throttle bodies were scabby. The guy riding it didnt seem overly bothered but he clearly NEVER washed it and i guess it lives outside. He roared off into the distance lickety split but I could not believe a bike roughly 1 year old could look so weathered.