|  | Topic : Warranty work ... a warning to bigger bird owners |  |
| | | Thatch | | Thor |  |  | | Reg. Date | : | 24/06/2009 | | Posts | : | 3,655 | | Location | : | Savannah, GA, United States |
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| | Posted : 28 Apr 2010 - 19:31 Post title : Warranty work ... a warning to bigger bird owners | | | As my earlier post about the Harley hinted at, I had my bike in the shop recently for some work. I haven't mentioned the issue up to this point as I wanted to see how it was going to play out and what Triumph was going to do about it before I said anything. Well, it's all done now so I thought I'd review things with you.
For some time now I have known that the seat of the bike was rubbing a hole in the paint of my rear fender. If you remove the full rear pillion bracket (the black 'L' bracket) the seat will ride directly on the fender, there is a 'button' of sorts on the underside of the seat that rests on the fender and that part will rub on the fender eventually scrubbing off the paint all together. Now, I don't know if this is a problem for all riders or just larger riders like myself. (I've only been in the larger category while riding this bike). If you leave the 'L' bracket on this won't happen, BUT, who wants that ugly thing on there AND where did Triumph ever say to leave it on? (yeah I know, probably in the owners manual but who reads that?..... actually I've no idea if it says to leave it on or not) Personally I think if that part is required they should of given us a flat plate option to swap out with the 'L' if you ride sans pillion a lot. Regardless, I didn't really think much about it and was willing to let it go because it couldn't be seen.
However, after riding with my wife over one of our more recent weekend without kids (what do you Brits call it... a dirty weekend?  ) I went to take off the pillion pad and noticed a deep gouge in the fender paint, as if the paint was peeled up. At this point I was less than happy. I know how careful I am on taking the pad on and off and know even if I had bumped the fender it would of never done that. It took me a while to figure out what the issue was but after ruminating on it for a bit I figured out it was due to my size coupled with the design. You see when I sit on the bike with the pillion I am pushed forward. I don't like riding with the pad at all because I am jammed up against the tank. Typically I sit right at the crown of the seat and with the pad I'm pressed hard into the seat. Well, it seems that there was enough pressure there that I was pushing the pillion back and the two forks under the pillion were sliding back enough to press into the fender and gouge the paint.
While I could let the other problem go, a large gouge on the crest of the fender was not cool. So, I went to my local dealer to complain. We talked about it, showed them the damage. The service manager at Hot Rodz (Joe) was very helpful, understood the problem, noted that I took very good care of the bike and that he would go to bat for me and make sure it was sorted. After many communications with Triumph he was able to get Triumph to take responsibility. However, Triumph considers it a good will issue and was not able to recreate the damage. I suspect this means that other similar claims might have trouble being resolved and will be dependent completely on how much your dealer backs you up on getting things sorted. Luckily I have a great dealer.
The whole rear fender was swapped out, and the main seat was replaced as well. The dealer has also offered to trim down the hooks on my pillion pad to ensure the problem won't repeat but I'll probably sort that myself as well as add some padding under the pillion, just in case.
The only real difference now is that I'm back to a brand new seat. I had no idea how much I had broken my seat in, that thing does start out awfully hard, not that it bothers me, but it feels much different.
Tell you what else feels different, the bird after getting off that road glide. I can't even imagine making that choice over the tbird. There was absolutely nothing I liked about it more than my bike. Interestingly (and probably because of the circus bear comment I made in that thread) I felt like a dork on that thing.... the bird gives a whole different feeling.
Anywho, just thought I'd share in case anyone else has the issue OR wants to take measures to avoid the issue. Sorry, no pictures but I'll try to grab some if I can before they send the parts back.
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| | | KingOfFleece | | Set | | | Reg. Date | : | 30/09/2009 | | Posts | : | 304 | | Location | : | United States |
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| | Posted : 29 Apr 2010 - 01:14 Post title : Re: Warranty work ... a warning to bigger bird owners (Re: Thatch) | | | Our dealer just took in a 06 Dyna SuperGlide on trade. As we are getting ready for "Thunderbird Nights" on Sat. I took it out for a spin today. You have GOT to be kidding me. The H-D felt like a WW2 Willie Jeep after the T-bird. Horrible vibration (yes, I know they do it-I had 4 of 'em, but this was awful-most noticable on the slow down in gears 3 and 2 approaching a stop sign), very poor front brake, and a real tendencey to run wide under power in a real curve at a "spirited" clip. If that bike is the target (and Triumph says it is) I have no idea why anybody would ever buy a SuperGlide. Worst part? Cruising at 45 to 60 there is NO sweet spot in the motor unless you wind 3rd right up there. Wow. I was REALLY underwhelmed-I mean, we have a RoadKing in our mutual bike garage and I ride it from time to time-it's not bad-but the 'Bird at 13000 large is ALL over both bikes.
If only the clones knew....but don't tell 'em or Triumph will sell out of "Doo-Rags" before we buy 'em all up!
Oh yea, and the rear shocks S**K big time.
| | Post edited by KingOfFleece on 29 Apr 2010 - 01:15 |
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| | | zolti | | Thor | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 23/03/2010 | | Posts | : | 3,127 | | Location | : | newcastle , United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 29 Apr 2010 - 11:51 Post title : Re: Warranty work ... a warning to bigger bird owners (Re: Thatch) | | | thanks thatch
when i fited the lh dual seat it was raised as i went to fit the rear hex. meant i had to take off the bracket.
will be checking under the seat w/e as i did notice pads under the seat that rest on the mudguard. with the paint being so poor anyway now its water based any slight rubbing will affect it.
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| | | OKCTBird | | Set | | | Reg. Date | : | 16/10/2009 | | Posts | : | 52 | | Location | : | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States |
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| | Posted : 29 Apr 2010 - 11:52 Post title : Re: Warranty work ... a warning to bigger bird owners (Re: Thatch) | | | That's interesting Thatch, I forgot to mention to you the other night that one of the reasons the Bird is in for service, other than having chrome wheels and pulley installed, is that Trimph sent my dealer a new rear fender. Can you guess as to why? I suspect the same issue, the weired thing about the spot where the paint looked chipped was that it looked as though someone tried to cover it up and paint over it, looked like a factory cover up. So, I'm not sure if the pait chip on my rear fender happended for the same reason as yours. Triumph did step up and replaced it after requesting pictures.
Now I will be taking a look at the seat setup and see if I need to do something to protect the fender. I will be using both long haul touring seat and the single long seat as well at differnt times.
| Other bikes: 2005 Thruxton 904 bore kit, cams, intske work, CR carbs, BC exhaust, 2010 Husaberg FE390, 2011 Kawasaki Ninja 1000, 2009 Kawasaki ZX-6R (track bike)
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