Triumph Quality In Question

Shite happens. Let dealer fix it and ride on.

 

@B with Speed
B, sorry to read about your oil leak and subsequent concerns. I currently have a 2019 Speed Triple RS and have had other recent Triumphs--a 2012 Thruxton 900 and a 2016 Thruxton R. I've never had one drop of oil on the garage floor from any of them and nary a problem of any kind. I did have a couple of model-wide safety recalls but those were addressed quickly and successfully. A fuel pump sub-harness wiring issues on the 2016 and a quick shifter arm and brake pads on my current Speed Triple.

I hope that your local dealer gets the problem figured out and fixed pronto. The fact that my three Triumphs haven't had a similar problem probably doesn't relieve your disappointment one bit. This particular leaking Triumph is YOUR Triumph--and a new one that you're excited about. If your dealership doesn't or can't get the problem sorted under warranty, I'd certainly press them about giving you a new bike to replace the one you bought. There's a thread about a Speed Triple quick shifter problem and one of the forum members had such a problem that his whole bike was actually replaced. So there is precedent if it comes to that which hopefully it won't.

I'm sure that this oil leak takes some of the luster off the shine of having a new bike. Please let us know what transpires with your dealer and your bike. Best of luck to you.

 

I’ve had my speed twin for over a year and a half, no issues like this at all. Still in love with my bike!

 

Drink more?
Yeah definitely drink more

 

Oh, yeah, Dilli's right, B. Definitely drink more.

 

Your bike isn't leaking oil - it's marking its territory!!


Seriously, hang in there. ANY new product; ANY new machine and ANY new bike can have a problem. You are the unfortunate that got the Mekhong Hangover day product.

Hope it gets fixed for you!

 

I bought a slightly used (400 miles on it) t120 over the winter 2018 so last year was my first with it. No issues except at the end of longer rides there's sometimes appeared to be coolant on the fake cooling fins of the engine. No obvious culprit, thought I might have just rode over something, who knows right? This year in May I noticed it again, was getting ready to go on a multi-day ride so I took it into the dealer just to make sure. Turns out there is a bad casting in the head so the coolant was leaking through the cylinder head. Triumph covered the parts as a warranty claim but I still was on the hook for $1,200 in labor and I got the bike back in August which here in the Midwest means I miss the heart of the riding season this year. To say I was irritated with the brand was an understatement, but since the only two bikes I would really consider trading it in for are the1200 scrambler or a 900 tiger what are you going to do?

 

I love Adie's "marking it's territory" comment. But seriously, for the most part Triumph's seem pretty reliable. I think you can look forward to years of riding pleasure with a bike, as you said, is just the right mix of retro and modern.

 

Sounds like something vibrated loose.

Once one of my work mates pranked another who had just bought a Harley by dripping oil on his engine and the ground each day -didn't tell him until the dealer couldn't find a leak. But, your leak looks legit.

I agree, let the dealer fix it and ride on.

 

@EJB , I was stunned to read that you were charged $1,200 in labor for a warranty claim! As I've never needed to have a warranty-covered repair, I've not had that personal experience. And hope I never do. But over the years I have had some warranty claims on a couple of my Harleys and I've NEVER paid a dime of labor costs for that work. I'm going to ask my local Triumph dealer about that when I ride over there the next time. It just doesn't sound right to me. Is there anything in the warranty "fine print" about original owner or labor is only being covered for the first year or the warranty, etc?

 

@B with Speed in your third photo image is the black object at the bottom of the image a spin-on type oil filter? I'm not familiar with the model so don't know if it uses a canister type filter. I know this is more that a bit simplistic but, if it is a spin on, have you tried tightening it a fraction?

 

I've had many new triumphs over the years and have only had a problem with an oil leak on one, that was my Trophy se 1215 and that started when I was in europe on a trip. It was sorted by the dealer when I got back by tightening the nuts on the side case. Other than this all my triumphs apart from the speed twin have been trouble free...

 

I wasn't very clear, the actual warranty period was past, if the bike had still been within the 2 year warranty period there wouldn't have been any cost to repair the entire thing. Because it was outside the 2-year warranty period Triumph had discretion on what, if anything, they would cover and chose to cover the replacement parts only. Given that it was a clear manufacturing defect and nothing that broke or wore out I would have hoped for more but they really didn't have to do anything and the parts would have been an additional $1900 so I'll take what I can get. Still, a major engine repair on a 3-year-old bike with ~5000 miles on it is pretty poor.

 

Hopefully it will be a quick and easy fix that you'll soon forget about. On that note I bought a brand new trophy 900 in 92 after having BMW's for a few years. Triumph were new on the block then and it felt like a bit of a gamble. Rode the bike home from the dealers, 30ish miles, parked it up in the garage went in for a coffee, back out for a ride, wtf oil below the bike. Oh crap what have I done..... Dealer came out in their van, turns out it was a faulty oil pressure switch that was leaking. They replaced it in my garage (just happened to have one in the van, yeah lucky or was this a known fault). Had that bike for 5 years and 30,000 miles with only 2 blown fork seals (a known fault on these early models). I still miss it and wish I had the money to keep it as well as the new one....

 

Mate ...Jeez random things happen it will be ok

 

Agreed.
Possibly Thai-umph are desperately trying tho give their bikes “character”. Without the vibration of the original bikes maybe Thailand Tom has been told to leave bolts loose so new owners can experience the good old days.

 

I bought a Sprint RS brand new in 1999, ran it in then went on a 5 country European tour, gearshaft seal sprung a leak on the way back through France, nice coating of oil over the back tyre made for an 'interesting' ride to the ferry!
So not a new or unique problem, the RS was built in Hinckley? it was sorted under warranty, but while it was in I bought a Daytona, so every cloud ...

 

I'm having the same kind of concerns. I bought my speed twin in March. On July 4th weekend my gear shift lever linkage broke. There are no Triumph dealers near me so I bought my bike from a dealer 4 1/2 hours from me. They said I had to bring the bike in for warranty work so I just had them send me the part. They charged me $65 for a $6 part. I installed the new part. I did this with about 1500 miles on the bike at the time. Also, it took nearly a month to get the part so I lost that much ride time. Fast forward to Labor Day weekend. I now have 2800 miles on my bike. The same part broke in the same spot on the first day of my 3 day weekend. I call my dealer. After 5 minutes of being passed between service and parts department I'm told I will have to pay for the part again. At this point I'm ready to go clock tower on these folks. I explained the past events and I said this has to be a recall item. They gave me a number to Triumph corporate to plead my case. I told them I was thinking about purchasing another triumph in the future because my son would like to buy my bike from me. I told them that that will not happen if they can't stand behind a $6 $65 part. The dealership stood up and said they are sending me a new part and will cover the cost if the manufacturer does not. Thank you Donnie at Struthers Bros in Des Moines. But I cannot help but wonder when this one will break. It doesn't seem like there is a solution here from corporate. How many people here have had this kind of issue?