Re: Problems

["Gregory D. Girard" <ggirard@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

PROBLEMS...it would seem that noises from a fuel injection system are
nothing compared to what you might find in a BMW or Ducati. God bless
Ducait...love the bikes, particularly the ST4...but the Triumph is a very
refined and reliable mount in comparison tot he Ducati based on owning both.
And compared to flaky BMWs, the Triumphs are a dream. BMWs leak every fluid
they contain (engine oil, coolant, shaft oil, brake fluid, fork fluid) from
the appropriate orfice and electrical problems come standard on all K-bikes
(R-bikes are much better in my opinion). It is like they are made of
cheesecloth :)

Of course, my Honda Blackbird has an uneventful (maintenance-wise) 5000
miles and I do no expect to make a repair on it....ever, for any reason. In
fact, my local Honda shop (huge shop selling almost 1000 bikes/year) told me
that, in contrast to almost every other bike they service, they have yet to
make a non-scheduled "repair" of something that broke on a Blackbird.
Unfortunately, the meticuluously crafted 00 Blackbird is just not as fun to
ride as the RS by any stretch of the imagination, took $2000 of work to make
it comfortable/usable enough to tour distance on, is a horrible non-visible
dark gray color (only color in US), and has all its power in the top end
(140 HP of top-end rush). The Honda is an appliance and we purchased it as a
two-wheeled SUV knowing that at any given time, it would be likely that my
primary bike or my wife's bike (Triumphs to date) would be getting something
done when we wanted to go riding. Honda and Yamaha (maybe Aprilia ?) seem to
have the reliability thing down pat, but while extremely important, is
ultimately only one of several factors when it comes to serious fun.