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By the Numbers: Triumph Motorcycle Production

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The Prophet

3 - Number of Triumph Dealers I had to go through until I found one that was honest, relible, and had good, competent Mechanics.





Sorry, I couldn't resist, but this IS - or certainly was - Triumph's weak link back in '07 when I purchased the bike. On the one hand I have to ride 87 miles for accessories, to check out new models, etc., and for the great dealer events, one the other hand, the ride IS nice, and well worth it.

Since then, upon finding the third and final dealer in 2008, all is very excellent.

Ride Safe!

Bob

__________________

• A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. ~Lao Tzu
• Motorcyles are not my whole life, but they make my life whole. ` me

The Prophet

To be totally fair, and to explain why the "3" different dealers:

a.) The first dealer lied to me outright, and said that "Bonneville Blacks are no longer available for 2007", and then tried to sell me something off of the floor. This was in February of 2007! I quickly contacted another dealer, who said he could easily get me one delivered in five days, which he did...
b.) I DID get the B-Black in five days from said dealer #2, but it wouldn't start the very next morning, and the attitude was more or less "tough luck". After I contacted Triumph USA in Atlanta to intervene, and then they reluctantly (of course!) took it in the shop, but couldn't fix it after three tries. I ended up rejetting it myself, adjusting the carbs myself, and she has started beautifully ever after, even in sub-zero weather.
c.) Dealer #3 Team Triumph of Wisconsin, whom I contacted for the first oil change and check-up (I wanted to "do the right thing" warranty -wise), came off as painfully honest, totally sincere, and a very fair and reasonable shop. They are also huge enthusiasts of both Triumph, and the Sport in general, and good folks to boot! I've since purchased numerous Triumph brand clothing and accessories from them, and attend as many dealer sponsored events as I can.

Additional history...

Dealer #1 went out of business (or was forced out ?) about four months later. No surprise there.

Dealer # 2 is a Multi-Brand Dealer, selling three other brands besides Triumph. No focus?

Dealer #3, Team Triumph - is 100% Triumph.

There, I've explained it!

Ride Safe(and with good dealer back-up)!

Bob

Speedtrip

I hear ya Bob, had a very similar experience when I bought my first Triumph in '03.

The first shop I went to was in Tulsa which was the closest to me at the time. This was a euro bike shop that had BMW, Guzzi, Ducati and Triumph. The shop was stuffed with five year old bikes marked with full mrsp prices and probably the surliest staff I've ever met.

I had done my research and knew what bike I wanted an '03 BRG and Cream Thunderbird. I chatted with the owner and told him what I wanted. He informed me that there was no way to get what I wanted and I would be just as happy with a new three year old Legend for the same price. I sez I'd think on that and get back to him, never did. That shop is no longer around....

After this I was a bit discouraged about Triumphs so the next week I called another Triumph shop in Little Rock instead of making the trip. When I called I talked to the owner who turned out to be a super nice knowledgeable fellow that sez he can have the bike I want in a week. I'm back on the band wagon.

The following week I'm in the Rock looking at my spankin' new T-Bird.
Turns out that the shop is a hole in the wall place with three employees, my kind of shop. Unfortunately the owner soon retired and sold the shop to the Little Rock BMW dealer.

A few years pass and I am in full blown lust for a new 1050 Speed Triple. I ride down to to LR to give the new bike a demo. The new shop is a beauty big and shiny with a warehouse full of bikes next door.

I love the new S3 so I ask the salesman how much? He sez full msrp for the demo and $300 more for a new one. I sez let me think on that and I'll get back with you, I never did. Funny thing, that shop is out of business too...

Once again I'm looking for a new Triumph dealer so I ride to the next closest one in Eldorado Springs MO. This is a small mom and pop dealer surrounded by one hundred miles of corn fields, I love it. I buy the S3 from them for $300 under msrp. This remains my Triumph dealer and I still visit once in a while just to hang out, demo bikes, eat hot dogs and meet good people.

Maybe this downturn has helped weed out some of the bad dealers out there just hope it didn't take to many good ones.

__________________
-Shaun-

The Prophet

I often tell the story of the "no start" when my Bonneville was new, because it's a great example of a bad mechanic with significantly more opinions than technical expertise - a recipe for disaster.

First the Sales guy on the floor couldn't talk enough about how the "new" Triumphs were so much better than the "old" Triumph's, and had all the modern conveniences and reliability factors to compete with the Japanese brands. Sign here on the dotted line...

Then - when it wouldn't start - the "mechanic" taught / informed me that: (These are actual, verbatum quotes)

• England doesn't have winters!
• British gas is crap!
• These bikes (Triumph's) aren't built for the cold!
• British bikes are always hard to start, that's part of the culture, and fun of it (define "Fun")!
• The float level has nothing to do with startiing!

... and other, less amazing, or less startling facts I unfortunately fail to remember. From experience, I knew that guys like that are absolutely useless to try to respond to, so I wisely let it pass, and fixed the bike myself. Been running beautifully since, so no big deal.

The Dealer I finally chose is excellent. My wife and I visit frequently, and even though he knows we are not necessarily going to buy a bike today, he let's us take new models out for an hours (or so) spin, and is sincere afterwards in listening to feedback. We always make a point of buying something, usually cool Triumph T-shirts for our two grandsons - they love 'em.

Plus... free coffee!

I know I'm constantly waffling about trading in my Bonnie for something else, but I'll do it again (watch out Jamie!). More and more I am backing cautiously away from a new Road King as a big, long range comfy Tourer style bike, because of the whole HD business direction, and so on. Scares me. I predict HD will be Chinese based investment group owned before 2016.

That said, I'm leaning now towards a new Thunderbird SE, but don't like the Red color. IMHO, bikes should be black, end of story. Make it in black, and I'll buy it sez me.

That said, I'm pretty sure my dealer could get a black one, and accessorize it to morph into an SE.

Jamie - can the forward footpegs/shift mechanism be relocated back about 2-3 inches? If so, this would be the best bike hands down for touring.

Lastly, one big thing preventing me (waffling!) from trading in the Bonneville is the fact that it runs beautifully. I've never had any mechanical issues whatsoever (25,600 miles as of today), and with the various mods I've done she pulls very, very nicely (torque-wise) with 216 pound of me, the waif-like wife(!), and significant luggage on board. Cruises at 85mph or so all day long if I choose, and if solo riding can still take the local twisties with the best of 'em. Plus, she looks good (both the wife AND the Bike!).

There are not too many bikes (or old wives!) you can say all that about.

Where was I? Oh yeah - point of all this senseless blarb is: Choosing a good, honest, sincere Dealer is "Big Time" important. That said, anyone reading should chime in with good / bad / indifferent experiences, and share the wisdom with fellow riders. Thanks.

Good, honest, forthright Dealers deserve a nice pat on the back from us...

And bad, dishonest, weasel-like Dealers deserve a well-earned kick in the a**!

Ride Safe!

Bob

Jamie

No, it can't. You can get RAISED pegs (apart from real "rearsets", that is, ) from RAASK, but they can't be moved backward. That is until RAASK or another aftermarket supplier comes up with a relocation kit of some sort. Jamie

motowebmaster

I was at the Victory/Indian/Triumph Dealer in Tulsa last weekend. The experience wasn't what I'd hoped, there were a few 2011 models on the floor but nothing that I lusted for. The 2010 Red/White Speed Triple was cool-looking, but didn't think it would be ridden more than my VFR.

So I went back to the Bonnies. Although there were some interesting bikes there, it is apparent that this model isn't selling consistently in their shop. The salesperson was experienced, but didn't know Triumphs that well. He asked me about my history with Triumph, and I explained the bike's I've owned - most of which he wasn't aware of. He didn't know what an Adventurer was, and had never seen a 955i Triple --- Has it really been that long On the other hand, he didn't know what a VFR was either.

To be fair to the dealer, I was interrupted by clients in a panic, ended up going back to Arkansas and escalating a major issue. During my pacing-on-the-mobile-phone mode, my interest was caught by a couple priced-down Victory cruisers. One was a low-profile bike signed by Cory Ness, the other was an 8-Ball.

The shop that SpeedTrip is referring to is operated by an old-school racing enthusiast, so it may be worthwhile to check out things up there.

__________________
Shawn
My Photos

The Prophet

It's of interest to me how/why so many Dealers are... so different.

You could make an attempt to categorize the numerous varieties, but there would be so many. In some, you are ignored, in some - three salespeople attach themselves to you leechlike the minute you walk in the door, negating any browsing, and more often than not - potential Sales.

Others treat you like an annoying distraction - I had one dealer / Salesperson (in Florida) attempt to have my wife and I wait while he caught up on his paperwork, so we actually waited around nearly 20 minutes - seriously attempting to purchase a +$220.00 Jacket that I wanted, but we soon became so pee'd that we dropped the Jacket and walked out - and he never even looked up from his desk. (Update -we drove by this place while in Florida last May (2010)... place was empty, and doors and windows were whitewashed and covered with "For Lease" signs. What a surprise!)

You would thnk that various brand names have seminars; classes in "How to run a dealership"? What to do / not to do? Apparently not?

I know our main Dealer goes to Orlando, and also to Vegas for at least two Triumph generated meetings every year. One wonders what they discuss.

I can't complain at all about our Triumph dealer in Wisconsin - great folks, zero problems. But other than that, the best treatment I've received has been while visiting Harley dealers. "Need some help? Yes/No, o.k., let me know, etc."

In the end, it may be a simple case of the downward spiral, or vortex "flush" as I sometimes call it.

1.) Business is bad, traffic declining, low sales.
2.) Raise prices to cover losses - sales decline further.
3.) Cut / lower wages of the Mechanics - guys leave replaced by the desperate and woefully undertrained/underexperienced. Callbacks increase, Customers are dissatisfied, shop reputation falters.
4.) Cut Sales commissions to cover losses - Experienced sales people depart, replaced by otherwise unemployable types.
5,) Cut back on counter help, parts inventory. Customers become agitated and look for parts and accessories elsewhere.
6.) Sales continue to decline - raise all prices once again.
7.) Shop is virtually empty - creditors are at the door.
8.) Out of business.

A simple, very common, eight step process that seems to be the norm these days. Why?

I'll also add that when times were very good - say the years between 2002 and 2008 - those shops that sincerely took care of Customers, were polite and fair, and made long term solid relationships with the folks visiting their shops - fit the proper bike (both technically, safety-wise and financially) to the proper customer, are most likely still in business.

During that same time period, those shops that took "advantage" of the easy (read risky) credit, sell as many as you can generate loan paperwork for - thereby treat customers as digits, or temporary annoyances necessary to make piles of money - are gone... out of business. Seems fairly simple doesn't it?

In the end, I'd guess that there are as many different style Dealerships as there are different human personalities. It most likely all depends highly upon the owners' personal characteristics, and the attitude and atmosphere trickles down (or up!) from there.

Ride safe!

Bob