The reason I found this a mystery to me is the way the VIN doesn't display the country of manufacture like a car.
For example, a VW made in Germany has a WVW prefix. If its made in Mexico it has a 3VW prefix. If its made in the US it'll be either 1VW or 4VW prefix.
So, when I apply this decode technique to the Triumph, I see SMT which is Great Britain. To me that means that its also made there based on how the VIN is decoded for a car. So, thanks to the explaination of the 11th digit, I now know it's not, and there's a code for the manufacturing plant. To me, this means that decoding the VIN for cars and motorcycles are slightly different.
That's all I was trying to emphasize. I really don't care where my bike was made. I was trying to understand how this was determined.
I did check my official Triumph Service Manual for this information, and I couldn't find anything in it about VIN decoding either.
This is obviously a VERY touchy subject for some.
H.
