Sick dog of a bike (Thunderbird Storm)

[Aikironin]

Hi All,


I'm having a real crisis of trust & appreciation for the Triumph brand right now.

I bought a brand new Speedmaster & had it play up 4 times in the first 18 months, including corroded fuse box & Alarm failure

I traded up to a Thunderbird Storm with 3.8K on the clock for £10,800 with an extended years warranty, to have this turning into another sick dog...

2016 plate, now at 6000 miles on the clock in 7 months , it’s been properly maintained & garaged to this point,

Symptoms:
It has been running rough & poor on fuel
Engine sounds a bit rattly & occasionally feels like almost piston slap...
Fuel Gauge dropping from the expected mileage range in significant crunches every time I pull away & then idle
E.g. from a just filled tank giving 158 Miles to go, riding less than a mile & it drops to 122 miles, then pull away again & a mile later it's dropped to 103 miles...

It' s been to Carl Rosner twice without being cured (charged £45 twice for that privilege)
It's been to Jack Lily twice since then, without being cured (Lily want to charge for me a 6K service for checking Cam chain & tensioner/ valves (both of which they admit had no faults, didn't need adjusting & no idea what 's causing the problem)
(currently in bits at Jack Lily)

I'm hearing the same old Triumph song from both dealerships: 'warranty will cover if there is a faulty part, but any adjustments are chargeable'...
I'm being asked authorize a full stripping the bike down (to pay for it under the guise of, if no fault is found) while they try to identify what is the matter...

2 questions:
Has anyone else had this problem / what caused it?
Does anyone have the contact email/ number for a director at Triumph? (Paul Stroud?)

Desperately seeking satisfaction & a reason to stay with Triumph
Steve

 

[DaveM]

It is always sad to hear of problems like this and I sure hope that they sort it out for you.

I would try getting hold of Nick Bloor if you can, I think these contact details are still good.

Triumph Motorcycles
Mr Nick BloorCEO Email [email protected] WebsiteFor the Ride Advice from CEOemail.com How to write your email to a CEO

 

[Rocky]

It's a bit shocking to hear of problems like this from Triumph.
Not good publicity at all and you would think these problems would have been ironed out long ago.

 

[Qship]

The 1700 cc Thunderbird engines have been known to be "rattlers" sometimes. There are stories all over different forums about the engine knock on theses bikes. Sometimes people are lucky enough to get the pistons and jugs replaced on Triumph's dime, sometimes not. Sometimes it quiets them and other times it comes back soon after the "fix".
No one has definitively found the cause of this that I know of, but the engines keep on working, sometimes for many miles, without problem.
Also those bikes are prone to the MAP tubes (small rubber vaccuum lines)under the tank disconnecting occasionally. Causes rough running, stalling, etc. Easy fix, just reach under tank and reconnect.
As for your mileage indicator/trip computer acting up, hard to tell. If you are accelerating hard, it will compute the distance to empty based on you driving habits at the time. If you get out on a longer stretch and ease along, it may improve/change. It does sound rather dramatic the fluctuations you describe, and really cannot comment much on those problems. Perhaps a ECU issue.
Hope you get 'er sorted out soon, 'case the T'bird line are great cruisers, and would hate you see you lose out on some great riding enjoyment.