Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Thailand Americas

I was at the local Triumph dealer yesterday and saw the new America in Pacific Blue and White. I liked it enough to seriously consider trading my '04 Blue and White T100 on it ... that is until I looked at the VIN on said America. The Assembly plant code was T ...not the J I was used to seeing. I know J is for Jackhill Road, Hinkley England ... I assume the T code is for the Thailand assembly plant. I immediately ceased all consideration of this bike. If I didn't care where my bike was made I'd have bought a Honda, or Yamaha or whatever the hell else the asian market is producing as a cruiser. So my question is this ... are ALL the parallel twins now assembled in Thailand ??

I do not know for sure but it seems that in the age of the Meridan factory,,, there were some production facilities in some of the "former colonies" in asia. Hmmmm ?

Well the last sickening rumor that I heard is Yes all of the vertical twins are now or will soon me made in Thialand,
yes that Mecca for pedophiles. Whose natives have the quaint custom of selling their daughters into slavery.

On my America it starts off with SMTTJ, I wonder what these letters stand for. Maybe this could be a question put to TRIUMPH at the next factory tour

If that's the case .. then I won't be buying another new Triumph. Suppose I'll have to go to the used market to get a true Made in England ... British motorcycle.

Your loss dude. The bikes aren't manufactured in Thailand, there assembled there. From what I'm told, there is very little actual manufacturing in the plant.

The quality has been as good as any from england. The only issue were having is that they must have a fuel storage problem in Thailand, and have had to do some carb cleaning at PDI on some of the new carburated bikes.

By opening this plant, Triumph was able to reduce costs, and lower the prices of every model by 1K US dollars for 07. If I was to swap tags on the bikes, you wouldn't know the difference by riding it.

It's like Harley......... There not made in America, there assembled here, or as they say "Born in America" Sorry you feel the way you do. Oh you better check your car/ truck if it's an American marquee. It's chock full of parts from Thailand, Tiwan, Turkey, Japan, and a host of other places.

If quality drops in the twin cyl line of Triumphs, I be the first to screem and shout. It's not an issue as of now, and we've sold at least 5 bikes from the Thai plant. Everybody loves their bikes.

Cheers

I think a lot of people feel that way Babu, If Bloor wants to hurt his US sales this is the move to make. So now the next time somone asks me "Is Triumph still made in Briton?"
guess my answer will have to be somthing like "Um no but this one was." and hope he dosnt ask anymore.

I'm with you. I understand the logic why it shouldn't matter, but it does to this aging coot. I want Nigel, Simon, or Adey assembling my English manufactured marquee with the best foreign parts available. Sure hope my '05 lasts another 35 years or so. Excuse me while I go buff my prized 11th character "J" plate.

Regards,

Tom

Would you buy a bike assembled in the UK by Thai workers ..... ?

I most certainly would purchase a Triumph assembled in the UK by Thai workers, Adey.

The difference is that the one I would purchase was Assembled/Made in England. I know on some level it may not make sense to some folks ... but if I'm buying a British motorcycle I want it to be assembled in England. In addition, Triumph needs to stap wrapping these bikes in the Union Jack and making use of old pictures of Dylan, Steve McQueen, and Brando riding classic Triumphs to sell their now Thai assembled Triumphs. Bottom line ... I buy Triumph because it's British, assembled in Thailand as we say in the SOUTH "ain't British".

Hypothetical question, if I paid an extra 1k ... could I special order a Hinkley assembled Triumph America ??? If the answer is yes ... I've got the money. That's how strongly I feel about it.

Adey I see your point, however I dont think you are nseeing the point on this side, The bikes being built in Thailand,I'm sure are very bit as good as the onces built in England. And current US Triumph owners will I think for the most part remain loyal to the brand so long as quality remains high.

Where Triumph may loose on this is with new US customers.
I can see any good HD dealer telling somone that may be waivering between brands "Oh btw Triumph is made in Thailand" . Sadly to say the selling point may be that Asian built bikes, no matter how well built, or how superior they truely are. Are looked down on over here.

Here the thing and we have Chevy Suburbans built in Mexico we call them American. What bugs me is like the UK we have lots of unemployed blue collar workers. I got to say the Thai plant bugs me. Would it stop me from buying a new TBA?
That will be a tuff call

Guys,

Now you have me interested! Honestly, I love my 05 America and feel ****** proud to ride such a fine motorcycle. Nothing would change that. But now that ****** curiousity is starting to kick in. What letter in the VIN is the Assembly plant code? I'd like to know where mine was built.

Steve B.

Sorry 'bout the *****. It didn't know that word wasn't allowed.

Steve B.

US Made (California/Minnesota) Fender Deluxe Stratocastor $1199.99
Mexican made Fender Standard Stratocastor $399.99

Most important part of the guitar (arguably) the neck is made in the US for both plants. I'm betting the electronics and hardware are the same, but for some strange reason I myself don't quite entirely fathom, where it's assembled is important to me. Based on the price difference in this example, I'm guessing it's important to others also.

It's "worth" more to some knowing the assembly plant was in Hinckley and shipped from the manufacturer's origin.

Looks like the Canadian Guinness is kicking in.

I completely understand why it's being done Adey. But I come back to my question. If it's all about the dollar/pound or whatever the currency is in Thailand. If I were willing to pay more to have a Truimph from the UK plant ... could I do that ? Do you know the answer to this or do you know from whom I can get an answer ?

Because I love the bikes and I'm willing to spend the extra money to get a UK built Triumph.

as long as quality stays the same or maybe even better i guess i can deal with it, i am 100% against companys going to the east for this kind of thing but sadly it is common practice in just about all things

Frank

Some things I know about VINs:

first digit

"J" means Japanese (built, not country of company origin)
"K" means Korean
"1" means USA
"2" means Canadien
"3" means Mexican
"S" means English built

I'm sure every country of origin uses a specific code for the first digit. If your Triumph starts with "S" it was built in England. I'm quite sure if built in Thailand it would have the specific code for it.

For what it's worth, I'm glad my Speedy was built in England. I'm all for the Brit bike built domestic. But I'd feel pretty badly if the company went bellyup if it could be avoided by manufacture elsewhere. Money's money after all....... sometimes it sucks to be sure.

Cheers, Mike

I can not understand Triumph's marketing idea. Why wouldn't you build the bikes with the strongest link to your heritage (the twins) in England and build the sport bikes which are marketed to the youth crowd in Asia? I have to agree with Bobu this is probably my last twin.
Tommy

Mike, the first few characters you are referring to in a VIN correspond to the manufacturer's certification code. Position 1 = Region
Position 1 - 2 = Country
Position 2 - 3 = Manufacturer
Position 4 - 8 = Model Specific
Position 9 = Check Digit
Position 10 = Year
Position 11 = Assembly Plant
Position 12 - 17 = Serial Number

These are the generic position identifiers .. Triumphs are slightly different in some ... but the magical Position 11 is the SAME. Refer to the thread link below for the specific position reference for Triumph .. it's a few posts down in the thread.

Here's a couple links for you:

Triumph.rat post regarding Triumph VIN's along with a faxed decoded sheet.

VIN Decoder

Plug your VIN into the Decoder to get SOME specific info. You'll have to refer to the post from Triumphrat.net for the J code equalling Jackhell Road, Hinckley Assembly Plant. The bikes I looked at had a T in the magical position 11 ... I have no idea what T stands for ... but since Triumph only has ONE plant in England that uses the J code .. I'm assuming the T code is the Thai plant. So until someone can give me facts to the contrary I'm going with the idea that those were all Thaiumphs.

Thanks Bob, you saved me a lot of typing. I was going to use late model Ford F series trucks as an example. The 11th character in many (but not all) is "M for Mexico" but the World Manufacturing Identifier (WMI) is 1FT for US Ford motor company. Lots of examples on the road (though you will run into many "N" for Norfolk assembled F series trucks).

Regards,

Tom

It's those d*mn unions, I'm tellin' ya. Why should companies pay workers a decent wage?(you know, those workers who put in 8 hours a day assembling those various parts sorted from around the world) If those workers wanted a decent wage, they should have stayed in school and learned how to screw...er...utilize their intellect in order to "get ahead"!(like sending their fellow countrymen's jobs offshore)

You see...that's all it is! Why do you think Harley-Davidson assembles all their bikes in Swaziland now? It's because the american buying public just will not put up with having to pay a premium for their product anymore!!!

(the preceeding was offered of course tongue-in-cheek, as I guess that there just might be an upside to all this Harley-Davidson "mystique"-talk, and for people actually willing to pay that premium for all that American-built "mystique".

So Bobu, I think it's about time to face the fact that there really aren't any national borders anymore in most cases. The whole idea that some sort of nationalistic pride of craftmanship is, and has been, an anchronism for some time now, though I have to admit that I find your offer to pay a little more for a "british-built" Triumph somewhat quaint and actually somewhat noble. The realities today are that if you want to support a "tradition", you sir will be highly outnumbered by the rest of the buying public, and you will not be heard by the bean counters(those were the "smart fellows" who stayed in business school and learned how to crunch the numbers, and thus only they deserve the "big bucks", ya know...tongue-in-cheek again, BTW) who know that the overwhelming numbers of the american buying public, unless some sort of perceived notion of "mystique" overrides their monetary-sense(such as paying 3 friggin' bucks for a cup of coffee at Starbucks), will look to pay the least amount they can for their goods.

You sir are an anomaly...and evidently so are all those americans who still buy Harley-Davidson motorcycles...proudly STILL assembled in the good ol' U.S. of A!(by union members making decent wages)

In other words....I'll bet Mr.Bloor has a whole bevy of smart little bean-counters, who using their actuarial charts, know to which degree that you Bobu are that anomaly, and know to what corresponding degree the remaining vast numbers of consumers couldn't care less about buying a Triumph assembled in Thailand.

So though Triumph does have a "heritage" that they could protect and build upon by making their machines only on that little island of their's, their "mystique" isn't strong enough to "make the numbers work".

(but I hear ya, dude)

Cheers,
Dwight
(what was that quote by that big-eared little Texan who made a half-hearted attempt for the presidency a while back....oh yeah...."That great sucking sound coming from the south"....but in this case, south-east Asia)

There are a lot of bikes with more size, better drive lines and more power.

I bought my bike because it looks like a classic Triumph and was made in England true to its heritage. Triumph wrote the book on cool in the 60s. "Triumph" Made in England is cool.

Thaiumphs suck. They are not cool. They simply put a British worker out of work for the sake of profits. There will never be a Thiumph in my garages. They should not have the right to park next to a real Triumph "Made in England".

And another thing! For the Americans on this site. For many decades now, our greatest friend is Great Britain. Where we go they go etc. We have died for them and they have died for us. After 9/11 they played our anthem at Buckingham Palace. You may not know what kind of gesture that is. It ain't small, trust me. They brought me to tears with their support for us. We should not repay them by buying a bike that shipped jobs out of their country to a third world country for the sake of profit.

That Thailand plant means Brits not working. It means jobs and money shipped out of England for the sake of a bottom line. That is not cool. We need to not buy Thailand built bikes for the sake of the British worker. We need to also not buy them because they are not cool.

Well, now you know how I feel about outsourcing.

Like to add my own two cents here. Before I go any further I would like to say that I do like having a Brit bike and like the history and tradition stuff as well as any one. Now I also bought my bike because of the style and performance. The only thing I would add is I don't understand these six year old hissy fits on where these bikes are or not made. Compairing this situation to Jap bikes is a rather week arguement too. The reason I have a Triumph instead of a Jap bike is because of Triumph's unique style. I really could give a frigg where these bike are made. So as long as Triumph makes reliable motorcycles that are affordable and they keep their unique style they will still have my business.

Dwight, you're my hero. Did you find my lost bag yet?

Mine's an older Samsonite with the letter (H)oboken in the serial number. It's a JetBlue transfer. I haven't "cooked' with "oregano" for a number of years now. Though I do miss its flavor, I'm sure it doesn't meet the standards it once did.

My favorite rant is people in America complaining about jobs being outsourced as they drive off into the sunset with the volume turned up on the Sony Radio in their Subaru.

Subaru. Assembled in Indiana.

Told ya it was a whole new world with no borders, didn't I?

All I know is I'd buy a Harley for sure if they were assembled in England!

Is a Honda or Kawasaki assembled in the US a Japanese or an American bike? Maybe we should use whatever rule of thumb we have for that question to decide what a Triumph assembled in Thailand should be considered.