Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Warranty/First Service

Tell me this isn't true. Just nearing 500 miles on the new TBA and was getting ready to do the required maintenance. I was looking through the stuff I received when I bought the bike and came across the warranty info. As I'm reading I see it says that the warranty will not be valid if the required serivce on the bike is not done by an authorized Triumph dealer. Is this a fact? If an "authorized Triumph" dealers doesn't sign off on the service the warranty is void?

I've always changed my own oil and done my own maintenance on my motorcycles and never had a problem with the warranty.

Has anyone had a problem with the bike after they have done there own maintenance and had the warranty not honored?

Input would be appreciated.

Triumph so far has gone above and beyond with warranty , as long as your dealer doesn't give you a problem you should be OK. I have heard of starter idlers being fixed at no cost out of warranty and thats quite the job seeing as it requires new cases. I just got a new rotor and bolts for Wendys bike under warranty at no cost and her bike is 2 years out of warranty and I have done all the service work from the day we bought it.

i've never heard of that policy, let alone any dealer raising a fuss over it.

just keep all of your reciepts for the oil and filters...mark the inside of your owners manual with the date and mileage (there is a spot for just such a record)...I have never heard of any dealer not honnering the waranty just because you did the service...but the record is good to have for proof (and for your own use as well)

Erie, I may be bucking things here but I would take it to the dealer for the first service. It is not expensive and it gives them a chance to follow up on the initial set up of the bike. It will also establish a relationship with your dealer. Be sure to let them know of any possible problems you've noticed. There is no charge for fixing new bike problems.

I feel fortunate to have a great servicing dealer (D&D, Pensacola, FL) and take my bike to them once a year for an annual service. I now let them know what adjustments I would prefer making on my own. They have really taken care of me when any problems have occurred.

Buy a shop manual and read through it and decide what maintenance you feel comfortable taking care of yourself. Personally, after three years, I'm really glad I've kept up my service records with my dealer. They have done a lot of warranty work for me after the bike was off warranty. The last one was replacing an entire engine casing after a starter part broke 8 months after warranty. That would have cost me thousands. Granted, Triumph is better than most companies about taking care of manufacturing problems, but having a good dealer working in your behalf is well worth a little extra cost to make sure everything is taken care of.

I agree with that totally. The first service is the most important as far as warranty goes and it does establish a relationship with the dealer.
I also have never heard of a warranty issue being denied because of maintenance records, but it pays to have the dealer on your side.

BUT , I have heard of bad dealers with bad mechanics, usually multi-marque dealers who have the Triumph franchise but no real interest in supporting them.

If you know your way around a bike, check it over after the first service. Get to know the dealership's owner, the mechanics, the parts people, and make your decision....
And as mentioned, keep records and receipts.

Thanks for the responses. I was just going by what the warranty said. I think if I document the service work I've done there shouldn't be a problem. I still may take it in for the first service.

In MN we don't have very many Triumph dealers and the one I bought the bike from is 250 miles to the south. There is one in Fargo, ND which is only 150 miles to the west, but since I didn't buy the bike from them I'm kind of hesitant to take it there. I'm not too sure about the dealer I bought the bike from as I'm pretty sure they did no initial set up on the bike at all. It took me three hours to remove the grease pencil markings from all of the fitting checks done at the factory.

Thanks for all your input.

I wouldn't worry about not taking it back to the dealer you bought it from. If you find a good shop that's closer then they'll take care of you no matter what. I would take it to them for the first service just to build a repoire with them and then take care of the rest, just keep records. I wouldn't take my bike back to the dealer I bought it from for anything. Of course they WERE a multi-marque shop (Honda/Yamaha/Suzuki Powersports shop) and they eventually dropped their Triumph line. I did get a good deal there and I love my bike but they were nothing like my current shop that sells only Triumph as their motorcycle line (besides the used ones that people trade in for Triumphs).

I decided that for the first one I would bring the bike in. I was not impressed by the service, but that's another story. I found out that the authorized triumph service requirement is only in the UK, and in the US (by law) the warranty must be honored no matter where the service was done.