TRIUMPH motorcycles

[Slogger]

just when you start thinking yes we make good gear in the uk


TRIUMPH say oh we are going to start making bikes in THAILAND

words dont descibe what i think of them

heres hoping they fail and its a lesson to those that shi* on the uk workforce

 

[kevplumb]

i used to have a 500 speedtwin what a workhorse in the heyday of the british bike industry

 

[Slogger]

http://www.triumph.co.uk/images/TRI_speedtriple_7.jpg

this is an awesome bike and now they say oh we are moving to THAILAND

i wish i hadnt bought it now

 

[kendor]

if they stay here prices to the customer would have to go up four fold, what does that suggest to you?
Would you be willing to buy at these prices from them on a regular basis in order to keep them british?

 

[Slogger]

they are making a profit now as it is

four fold ?? i dont think so


its simply they can make more abroad

but it will bite them on there arses cos most wont fall for it and decide against buying them

heres hoping they wake up

 

[Richardp]

Triumph is a great motorbike and is another example of how immagration adds to our rich culture, Siegfried Bettman, German born of Jewish parents, arrived in the United Kingdom in 1883 where he started building bicycles, first using the Triumph name in the 1890's. He built his first motorcycle in 1902. Triumph became well established in Coventry and had German connections with a cycle factory in Nuremberg.

 

[Nige F]

It suggests that this country is in a never ending spiral of increasing it`s cost of living (and cost of a roof over one`s head) because we all want to be Lord of the frigging manor.......In a hundred years DIYnot will be examined by historians and they will say .....That nutter from the Sussex forest was right Bring on the Yellow Peril

 

[ban-all-sheds]

And let's not forget why we lost our motorcycle industry.

In the '60s it was the 3rd biggest dollar earner after cars and whisky, but it was mismanaged into oblivion - the makers refused to innovate, and the bosses refused to invest. I believe that they actually laughed at the idea of an electric starter when the Japanese introduced them.

 

[Slogger]

your right bas and the fact that the uk didnt enbrace computer design sooner

 

[hermes]

but it will bite them on there a**es cos most wont fall for it and decide against buying them

Don't agree with this, people will buy bikes on their merits and not because of where they are made. Suzuki make bikes in Burma using forced labour - look how many suzuki's get sold.

 

[drspock]

My word some people have very short memories.
We used to have a flourishing car industry, but it wasn't lack of inovation that destroyed it , but the unions leaders and shop stewards at the time who were only interested in flattering their own egos.
I remember the mass walkouts because of demarcation disputes lead by whatisname, red ken!. Whatever happened to him?
It was nothing to do with lack of investment or initiative, but simply that nobody in their right mind was prepared to invest money in a workforce that would'nt produce the goods.
Yes I know that it was a long time ago , and things have improved a lot thanks to Maggie, but the Japs took advantage of our short comings in the 60s and 70s and have forged ahead ever since.
The only major manufacturing industry we have now thanks to the government , as they basically subsidise it , is BAE Systems.
We are now one of the worlds main armaments and weapons suppliers.
Some turnaround eh ,we export death!

 

[keyplayer]

Bikers generally fall into one of three camps. First you get your pro riders, couriers, who want shaft drive, heated grips and big fairings. This group cover the most miles by far, but don't like to waste money on their machines. Next come the troggy smelly types who drink real ale and like doing that silly dance to lightweight rock music eg. ZZ Top. Filthy beards and a love of wet t-shirt competitions are common amongst this group. Original Triumphs may be popular here although these machines never actually spend any time out of the garage in a pool of oil. And then you get your big spending nerdy race replica lookalikes, with the pricey one piece leathers and (mint condition) knee sliders. Within this latter group is where the big profits lie, but they only want to look like the current no. 1, which is never Triumph, and that's why Triumph will never do well regardless of location. IMO.

 

[Slogger]

your so wrong about the new bikes triumph have they are so good and made in the uk

there is total street cred in riding one shame they are going away to foreign shores



bastardsss

 

[kendor]

To me there is little to distinguish between triumphs and the "Jap" Bikes they all look and sound the same these days, triumphs have lost their character they used to have in the days of the tridents and bonnies etc where their characteristics put them into the "British Motorbike" category.

I feel the same for the Italians like Ducati, they may well be years ahead technologically from their 60's-70's counterparts but they just don't have the character that made the old Dukes what they were like the SS and SD's for instance, the whole chunkiness and sound and vibration made them feel like a proper motorbike and not a "boy racer" racetrack copy doing 170mph.

 

[masona]

I remember the mass walkouts because of demarcation disputes lead by whatisname, red ken!. Whatever happened to him?

Wasn't it Red Robbo I think Robbo nickname was form his surname I remembered Derek Robinson trade union in the 70's with the British Leyland