Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge All Scrambled out.....

Heard yesterday from the dealers doing the engine work on my Thunderbird LT....engine stripped and no obvious damage. But they'll rebuild with the new parts Triumph sent them.
Don't suppose II'll get it back for at least another week and then it goes up for sale, no matter what it sounds/feels like.
Meantime, I never thought I'd say this but I'm avoiding riding the Scrambler they lent me.....its just too uncomfortable and impractical for me.....a bore on motorways, can't carry anything except myself on it...wife wont sit on it as it hasn't got a backrest and the seat is a plank.
Oh well, its a learning experience....its be a good commuter ....gets through traffic jams nicely.
Meantime I'm been trawling the UK ads for TBAs...probably will go for a low mileage 07-08 model( still got carbs and has the later crankcase) but am occasionally tempted to just buy a new TBA LT.
Anyone running a new TBA LT?
If so whats the verdict?
Thanks
Al

I loved the short time I spent on a Scrambler.

But, we don't have highways around here.... only mountain or ocean roads.

Plus, with the TORs, it was singing!

I wouldn't ride it on long and boring highways either.

Yes, I reread my post. Didn't mean to slate it...I think it could be a lot of fun, but it doesn't suit my own needs right now.....I need to travel distances on my bike with luggage and the occasional passenger.
As a second bike though, yes please!
Al

OK, I have to say it but the Scrambler is surprisingly a big hit with my Beloved.
She's finally got on the back after much carping about the lack of a backrest....only to finish our 75 mile trip out yesterday with the comment that she doesn't need a backrest anymore.......oh and she likes the plank seat too.
They're a strange species.
Al

So, three weeks on my Thunderbird LT is still in bits at the dealers....Triumph sent the new top end but apparently forgot it needed to include pistons.
My Beloved went to said dealers with me yesterday....and scared them witless.( I fear no man, but my wife?.......)
Upshot was we got to choose anything in the showroom to borrow for our tour of SW England tomorrow...... and she opted for a Yamaha XVS 1300 with luggage.
Oh, well, anything for a quiet life.
Al

Don't you live on the same island as the factory? Seems really long for parts.

Yep. couple of hundred miles away...might as well be the dark side of the moon.
I have been polite, have been assertive, have ranted......nothing wakes these muppets up.
Al

It does seem odd, whenever I need parts the dealer seems to be able to get it delivered next day if ordered in the morning.

Its because there not making any money out of you, there probably losing and thats not going to make you Mr Popular. Most motorcycle dealers here would be the same.

Oh well, time for a good rant here maybe?
I've spent the last 3 decades on Harleys Triumphs and Guzzis..never owned a bike with more than 2 cylinders.
I sold a perfectly good Softail Custom and a truly lovely California to fund my LT( stands for ' lots of trouble' I suspect.
I will say in the universe's defence that, if a bike has an inherent problem it will show up on theoneI buy.( eg....3 successive big twin gearbox failures.... unheard of,eh?)
This is not the forum to praise Harley but I suspect that if this fault had occurred in one,itd have been sorted in 2 weeks at the most...if necessary they'd have phoned round and found a set of pistons somewhere.
Poor service I expect from Guzzi.. it's legendary....my last but one Cali had an ecu failure and the factory didn't seem to have made any Spares
So I keep a stock if secondhand ECUs in the shed.
But I don't expect such apathy from a company attempting to steal sales from HD with a flagship cruiser....to be lamely told after 3 weeks waiting that they forgot to send a set if pistons...and that it'll be another week before they get to the dealer...that's truly crap.
Jeez, I could hitchkhike to the factory and back in half that time....and a week to post them? This country invested the postal system.....are they short of stamps at the factory?
Bah.
Meantime our annual holiday is here.....my wife threw a fit in the dealers Saturday as we can't exactly tour on a Scrambler....in the end they offered her any bike in the shop.....and she chose a battle scarred Yamaha 1300 with a set of bags and we'll be using that....
To say I'm unimpressed with Triumph is like claiming the Titanic struck an ice cube.
Al

I'd say bad dealers.I wouldn't blame the brand.I'd blame the dealers, at least in the first instance
We had one in Brisbane Australia.Many moons ago it was the Triumph dealer.I had a bad accident and it took them EIGHT months to get the bike back on the road [it should have been written off].
The new Triumph dealers are MUCH better by comparison but of course there's 40 years time difference as well.
The old Triumph dealers are Harley dealers.My friend has a Harley.The back cylinder kept cutting out.It's designed to when the bike gets hot in traffic.
After $3,000 worth of repairs and replacement bits[It was well out of warranty] They found finally it was a $40 sensor.Bad dealers

Get back to your America was it? or Speedmaster.That's where your heart is I think.

No, for once it's the factory's fault I think.They were aware of a batch of badly machined pistons and liners but chose not to recall...over here many cruisers do little mileage..... can't help but think they hoped to cut down warranty claims by saying nothing .
Whatever the reason, the dealer is embarrassed, I am peed and my Beloved is incandescent with outrage.
If nothing else, the Yamaha xv1300 I've borrowed to tour on has highlighted the superb handling, comfort and performance.....of the Thunderbird.
Al

Yes, I'm prepared to give the Tbird another chance......would need to run it in again anyway before I'd sell it to anyone..... but everything will depend on whether it sounds and feels OK when I get it back.
Even if I keep it, I will save some pennies and buy another TBA soon as I can.
Al

Good on ya.The TBA/Speedy are THE bike to have in my biased opinion! A T-bird would be nice for a cross country trip but for my use my TBA is the one for me!

I gotta say I've done some big interstate trips on my america, would have no problem riding it around Australia, my usual touring speed varies between 115 and 130 kph. I dont need (or want) a 350 plus kilogram behemoth of a motorbike to do that.

That's true .

I fell in love with my bike all over again after I got the jetting sorted out.Beautiful.
Two up with luggage the T-bird might shine.
Although I used to tour on my 650 Yamaha two up.
[I now probably weight as much as the two of us did then though!]

Much of what I do next depends on intangibles.... when it's back if it feels OK.....if I can feel confident and comfortable... eg I once had an Evo Softail lose its oil pump....one rebuild later it was probably OK but I never trusted it again and sold it....just couldn't live with it.
I will probably on this basis sell the Thunderbird and buy one( maybe even two!)TBAs.......
Its wait and see at present.........
Al