Re: [ST] Test sporttourers

["Anderson, Neil G (CPR)" <andersng@xxxxxx>]

Ashley Bennett wrote:
> Even after that sort of review they are still not selling in big numbers
in
> the States, please explain why. What more do people want from a bike ?

I think problems with the dealer network aren't helping sales in the US.

I moved to Charleston, South Carolina in January, very keen to buy a new
Tiger and started looking for dealers.  Charleston is a big city but the
only dealer here quit selling Triumph to concentrate on BMW & Honda; two
other dealers about two hours from here have parted company from Triumph and
a third is about to.  The nearest dealer to me is now 250 miles away in a
small town - haven't been there yet but I'm a bit nervous about buying from
them in case they also stop servicing Triumphs.

I've heard various stories about why the dealers stopped selling Triumph -
basically it seems that John Bloor wanted a large number of dealers in the
US, succeeded initially in getting the number wanted but then somehow the
deal isn't good enough for them to stay Triumph dealers.  As a Triumph fan,
I'm quite concerned about this - I actually sent a letter to Triumph UK
about it a week ago, addressed to Bloor himself.  No response yet, but I
expect he's more aware than I am of what's going on anyway!

The distances between dealers in the US are much larger than in Europe.  I'm
keen to buy Triumph based on my experience with the ST, so I might be
prepared to ride 250 miles to my dealer, but someone else who's wondering if
he should buy an ST or a VFR is likely to go for the one with the nearest
dealer, unfortunate for Triumph.

Neil

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