[ST] RE: Lurker surfaces... educate me, please

["lowedaph@xxxxxxxxxxx" <lowedaph@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Lists like this tend focus more attention on problems of the minority than on the satisfaction of the majority. Nevertheless, if reliability is of the highest importance, you might want to look to other marquees. I?m not privy to any special information, but my seat of the pants guess is that Triumph?s quality control is slightly worse than say, Honda?s. So Triumph may have a higher percentage of problem bikes, but there are more problem Hondas on the road because Honda?s production is so much higher.

Equally as important as how often problems occur, is what happens after the problem has occurred. Triumph is more likely to have parts shortages (due to inability to meet demand, inaccurate forecasting, etc). The new factory in Hinckley and the new warehouse in Newman, GA may improve things. The other factor that significantly effects the ownership experience is the quality and quantity of the dealership network. Triumph currently has about 225 shops carrying the marquee. By my rough count, that?s almost double what they had two years ago. But that?s still far less than Honda. Furthermore, the numbers hide an attrition rate that is probably higher than more established marquees, nor does it reflect a shops enthusiasm, competence, and commitment to the marquee.

If your bike absolutely, positively has to be reliable, if you could never tolerate having to wait 4 weeks for a part, if the closest quality shop is a 2 hour drive, if you need to support of a mature, maximally efficient manufactor behind you, then buy a Honda. There is a price to be paid for ?character? and if you?re not willing to pay it, you?re going to be unhappy with a Triumph.

Daphne

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