BPHORSEGUY said:
The Triumph has several reports over 3 different forums of paint chipping off (including a dime size piece ) and plating coming off, all documented with photos. Mine is no different, I am afraid to touch it. One dealer said to not wash it for 3 months because the paint has to setup, I am not going to wash my new bike for the summer!!!! There are reports of stalling, bad fueling and ticking sounds and instruments fogging internally. All of these reports are on very low mileage or even the first ride. Triumph has a much better dealer network with parts and accessories more available. The Triumph rides, handles and stops great, just as it should!
!
I think you are safe to wash the bike. It turns out the paint chip photos shown on the Triumph Forum were not paint chips at all, they were just bits of white tape stuck on the tank. The owner thought he could feel an indent but was mistaken, false alarm.
There has been only one report of an instrument fogging, and now there is some doubt about that.
I gave my bike a good wash today and applied liberal amounts of hose water to the instruments, no luck at making fog.
I haven't had any stalls or uneven running but there have been a few reports of this. On the other hand, I wonder if the stalls are just stalls as in, let the clutch out too fast at an idle starting off, kill the engine. From some of the comments on the Triumph site, there are some very non mechanical people riding these bikes. I suppose that tends to be more common with new bikes than with the vintage crowd. The vintage bikers need to have some mechanical savvy just to keep the bikes functioning.
Mine went in for first service today, so I asked about the stalling issue. The Service manager said they have put ten on the road, no issues at all. I also checked with the Victoria Dealership, same report there.
The Service Manager also said that if I want to do my own servicing in the future there won't be any warranty problems with Triumph. According to him, Triumph is very good on warranty coverage and despite what is in the owner's manual, gives full coverage to owner serviced or non Triumph dealer serviced bikes. Triumph doesn't split hairs or look for an out on warranty, they fix the bike. They want people out riding the bikes, enjoying them and talking them up.
He said that the extended warranty coverage they used to sell is not so great. Those companies do look for an out in every way possible.
When I first picked the bike up two weeks ago I was surprised that the dealer didn't push extended warranty. Now I know why.
Glen