Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge the Thailand plant?

hey guys i was hoping you all could give me the run down on what Triumph is doing with the Thailand plants?are all the bikes being made there now?are they producing them at Hinckly and assembling them in thailand?just curious and would like to be well informed

No, not all are made there. Actually, none are made there. Most of the motors are built in Hinkley. Some parts are manufactured in Thailand. Most of the parallel twin bikes are assembed in Thailand. For now, the new Thunderbird is completely manufactured and assembled in the UK.

Soren

Oh boy, here we go...

Do the Thai bikes use a different oil? Sesame maybe?





later, Tom.

The Thai made bikes have that faint showroom new smell ....

"soy desire" And they lack the traditional Brit enamored Bulldog inference in terms of the overall performance.

Thats why all the "Black" speedmasters are made exclusively in Britain......hence superior performance and the like new smell of "fish and chips"

They are easy to tell which bikes are made there - the tank badges say "Thaiumph"

They have a parts plant and assembly plant in Thailand. The industrial complex in Thailand is actually larger than Hinkley with a much larger production capacity. There is no evidence that the motors are not made in Thailand. You cannot believe anything Triumph tells you as they have been less than forthright about Thailand since the beginning.

For two years after they started building in Thailand their web site continued to say all the bikes were manufactured in their modern 21st century plant in Hinckley.

The 11th character in the bike VIN will be a T if it was assembled in Thailand. If you live in the U.S. or Australia you can almost bet you will not see a J in that spot indicating Hinckley.

The production facilities were opened for obvious reasons. EPA issues are non-existent in Thailand, worker rights and wages result in about a 60% reduction in labor costs. You don't have union, worker compensation, vacation, or sick leave to deal with. There are no export tariffs in Thailand making it a very attractive area of for major companies to do business. The Generals took over the govt. function in 2006 so there really is none of that pesky govt. bureaucratic stuff to deal with.

You have asked a valid question. The smartalec comments you have read early in is because of the original arguments when it first happened. There were some that said Triumph is an iconic "Made in England" bike and this is horrible. Others were opposed to the exploitation of a 3rd world nations people for the purpose of profit. Others realized that for every Thai built bike there would be Brits not working. Similar to the 40 plants in Mexico for GM and the unemployment in Detroit.

Luckily, all those ideas have been shouted down and silenced so everybody has gotten behind the idea that its a global market and anything anybody does in business is OK>

Rolex, by the way, now makes watches in Mexico. They deny it but I see them all the time on the border for $50.00.

I really want to know why some of our members are sooooooo upset when Thailand is brought up. Just don't read the thread and you won't stress so much.

Anyhow, that is the Thailand thread in a nutshell.

Remember to make a distinction between Thialand and Taiwan , the latter being Red and exporter of inferior quality goods . Some folks get 'em confused .

"Global economy" means your primary exports are money and employment, something that can't be sustained for any length of time.

That is right. Eventually you will run out of rich people to buy what the poor people built. And you will be left with a bunch of..............

I get confused at that point about what happens, something like recession, or repression or whatever. But when you run out of rich people, what will the poor people build then? hmm, I dunno, maybe cheaper stuff for poorer people. Or, maybe they will have to go back to making their own stuff! Like they should have been doing in the first place.

wow!didn't mean to stir up a hornets nest!i was just wondering what the deal was.does hinckley still make bikes?is the J and T thing definitive?can you request a hinckley made one from the dealer or does hinckley only produce certain models?

My observations are limited to the American market.

The only Triumph models I know anything about are the air cooled parallel twins. The move to Thai production seems to have occurred in 2005/2006. I have not seen any 2005 or earlier T serial numbers. 2006 is a mixed bag with either J or T serials... possibly an indicator of early or late in that year's production. 2007 on out have T serial numbers.

As pointed out earlier, at the moment all Thunderglides are assembled at Hinckley.

I do not know if you can special order a J serialed bike or not.


Edit:

From the British Chamber of Commerce

Quote:

---

Triumph's first factory in Thailand was opened in May 2002 and was established for the manufacture of motorcycle components including Frames, Fuel Tanks, Header Systems, Swinging Arms, Engine Covers and Chrome Plated Parts. A second factory was opened in 2006 where a wet painting facility and assembly line have been established. A third factory, opened in 2007 includes high pressure diecasting and machining. The company now employs approximately 800 staff in Thailand.

---

My dealer says he hasn't noticed any quality difference in the Siamese twins. My guess is they will ..."run for you long time!"

Twins made in Britian are for British and EU consumption. You can't order one from the dealer, but you could travel to Britian and ship one back.

Victory motorcycles are made in the U.S.A.

Hey Ron, really enjoyed reading your summary of this topic.

Well said about global economy .I had a 1974 Harley Sportster XLH that was factory equipped with Japanese indicators,Japanese starter motor etc.[Made in America?]
Australian Holden[owned by GM America] pickup trucks are made in Thailand.BMW has a Thai factory etc,etc,etc.
One question,the 11th character in my VIN is a 7.
3rd,4th,and 5th characters are T T and J.I wonder if you can tell where it was made?
I'm guessing Thailand but I don't care a lot though 'cause although I was born in England,I'm Australian to the core,been married a Thai lady for many years,and ride a 2007 America.It's all good.

No way!

An internetz expert claims that fully 90% of the parts used in building a Victory motorcycle come from "Taiwan, China, and Japan.."


But then again, of his 2007 America (which will only have heard a British accent if Monty Python is playing on a garage telly) he stated: "I am well aware is not manufactured solely in Britain."


I think somebody has been measuring in dick inches

Taiwan is not red or a part of Red China, since WWII. It is Hong Kong that was returned to Red China recently. Taiwan will never go Red Commie.

Why oh why did I read these threads? Sigh... I'll never learn!

The Thailand plant... is that something you eat?

NOT

I just thought that we probably have had members here that didn't know where there bike was assembled. Wow! that may be a surprise to some.