I think I'm done with owning Triumphs

[tazshido]

OK, I get to pick up my 2006 955i Tiger from the shop after getting the 18K mile service done. I'm now $1200 poorer and I don't see myself ever being willing to put out that kind of cash again.
The nearest shop that will even TOUCH my Tiger is 50 miles away and is a stealer called Northern Colorado Eurosports in Loveland Colorado. $900 dollars for a service???? I also decided to let them handle the chain and sprockets change and that cost $300.
Triumph can get me back the day they build a bike with Hydraulically adjusted valves. Until that happens I'll be riding Japanese.
Look for my "for sale" add very soon on this forum.
The 06 Tiger is a wonderful bike and I have hadd a blast handing Harleys their tail lights. but the asking price for service is prohibitive.

[jwray76]

Taking the any bike to the dealer is a bad idea. Either learn to do maintenance yourself or find a good shop that will take care of you.

[Mustang]

you HAVE to service it yourself

Hondakawasuki dealers are no different .

and a Jap bike has no soul  :shock:

[cosmo]

Yup.
You can buy different, but dealers all charge the same. And all motorcycles need maintenance.

Will be sorry to see you go. I've ridden them all, started with Triumph ('72 OIF Tiger), and will end with Triumph (now, 955i Tiger).
They ALL needed maintenance, but the Triumph made me FEEL better after the work was done.

Cosmo

[JetdocX]

I absolutely love to hear an owner bitch about the high cost of dealership maintenance. :roll:

$900 roughly equals how many man-hours of labor?

What do you have against businesses making money?  

Like all the others here have said, do the work yourself or pay someone to do it and smile when you sign the check.  Oh, make sure to thank the tech who busted his ass making sure your bike was done right the first time.

And you're fooling yourself if you think a Japbike is going to cost you less to maintain, but you'll find this out soon enough.

[Timbox2]

I have to say that $900 for a small service( Which the 18k is) does seem a little excessive, Its about what Id expect for the 12 or 24 with the valve clearance check.

But the others are right about other makes, the last time I had a Jap bike serviced by a stealer was 2004, I had a Kwak ZRX1200 at the time and I let them do the 12k, stangely it was around £450, about $900, but that was 7 years ago.

[chairhead]

$1200  :shock: ,
id love to know what they did to charge you that much,
ok $300 for the C&S,which sounds like you could have done yourself?
but decided its in the shop they can do it,most likley they charged an hours labour?,plus the initial cost of the C&S so $300 isnt bad me thinks

how many new parts(if any)were fitted,lets see a run down of the final bill
im not doubting you just interested :D

[Sasquatch]

Shops need to make money.  Most shops barely make enough money on the sale of a bike to make it worth selling them.  They make up the difference in parts and service.  I know of a local dealer to me pays $22,000 a month just to floor their Triumph bikes for sales.  Where do you think that money comes from?

I charge $70/hr for my suspension services.  Sure, seems like a lot.  And if I billed 8 hours a day, every day, I'd  be a happy boy.  Not the case though.  I can spend literally hours with a customer on the phone and in emails doing everything from giving bids and answering his every question, all to have him buy his stuff from somewhere else.  It is part of the gig though, and I do it with a smile.

Shops also have insane overhead.  Do you realize what they pay just for liability insurance?  As soon as you mention "motorcycle" to an insurance sales man he starts planning the next Bentley he is going to  buy with your money.  Then you have the salaries of all the employees, tools, training for the mechanics, and tons of parts on the shelf that may sit there for months before they sell.  It all has to be paid for.

And then top that off with the fact that America is the second most expensive country to own a business in, thank our government for that one.

If you dont want to pay, learn to turn your own wrenches.  That is the bottom line.  If you think it is going to be cheaper to service a Jap bike, think again.  How many jap bikes have hydraulic lifters?????  Very few.  Very very few.  And there is a reason for that.  Hydraulic lifters do not like the high lifts, steep ramps and high RPM's that motorcycles have.  Shims are much more reliable.

[Mustang]

OK, I get to pick up my 2006 955i Tiger from the shop after getting the 18K mile service done. I'm now $1200 poorer and I don't see myself ever being willing to put out that kind of cash again.
The nearest shop that will even TOUCH my Tiger is 50 miles away and is a stealer called Northern Colorado Eurosports in Loveland Colorado. $900 dollars for a service???? I also decided to let them handle the chain and sprockets change and that cost $300.
Triumph can get me back the day they build a bike with Hydraulically adjusted valves. Until that happens I'll be riding Japanese.
Look for my "for sale" add very soon on this forum.
The 06 Tiger is a wonderful bike and I have hadd a blast handing Harleys their tail lights. but the asking price for service is prohibitive.

My little brother lives in Cheyenne and bought his Bonneville at Loveland and felt he got treated good .

He just had a 12 k service done by them and was only charged what they quoted him , so he new what the damage to the budget was going to be , before he even left the bike .

And BTW they did it when it was scheduled and he waited for it , they were done in a couple hrs.

He was happy happy .

Dealer service aint cheap like the others have said , that's why TIGER TRIPLE is here . There are enuff people here with knowledge of the beast that a few questions will have you spinning your own wrenches in no time . Assuming you are competent enough to twirl your own tools .

[BruKen]

I should scan in what my old 1150GSA's 3 year / 12000 mile service cost.  :shock:

I'm thankful for the Tiger

[NKL]

If you can't do it yourself motorcycle or car ownership is expensive no matter what make, a mate of mine is a Honda mechanic and I can't believe the cost of some of the services he tells me about.

[KuzzinKenny]

Hey tazshido !! $1200 is a lot of $$ for an 18k service.......

https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http ... hrome=true (https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www.triumph.co.uk/media/enTiger955cc2001onwards.pdf&embedded=true&chrome=true)

do remember that Triumphs get serviced every 6k and most jap bikes get serviced every 4k

hope ya change yer mind about sellin her  

KK

[Nick Calne]

Selling the tiger and buying something else similar is only gonna cost even more.

Why is it that cars need servicing every 12000 or even more but bikes only manage 6000 at best?

[BruKen]

High performance, wet clutch, gearbox, all in one housing sharing the same oil. It's amazing that there is any longevity at all tbh.

[cosmo]

Harley have hydraulic valve adjusters.

Why'nt ring them up and see what a 12K service costs??

Cosmo