Dismal quality.... EVERYWHERE! Hinckley Triumph

concours

concours

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The Rocket III had weak brakes all of a sudden. The right front rotor was misted with what I thought was fork oil weapage. (Mad wheelies, often!) So I washed the rotor & pads, installed a wrap around tampon to buy me some time.
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The brakes were fine... for a while.
The tampon stayed dry.
It must be the piston seals thought I.
Turns out, the bleader screws had the surface finish of a moonscape. WTF?!?!
Who thinks BRAKES by the lowest bidder "globally sourced" is great idea? No engineers? No surface finish specification? No quality control?
What other time bombs lurk?
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I just replaced a GSXR rear caliper that looked like that internally, only much, much worse.

That one was likely down to infrequent fluid changes and water absorption.

Glen
 
When items are imported into Australia, there is virtually no inspection and test. We rely on mutual recognition of ISO9000 quality certifications. It is the sort of thing which led to the Grenfell Tower disaster. - neoliberal deregulation.
 
worntorn said:
I just replaced a GSXR rear caliper that looked like that internally, only much, much worse.

That one was likely down to infrequent fluid changes and water absorption.

Glen
Click to expand...
This one pictured was poor machining. :mad:Then plated. I've been in the metal trade my entire life.:oops: The corrosion you mention is whoooooole different deal, I've been fixing that (jalopies & junkers) since I was a boy.o_O
 
acotrel said:
When items are imported into Australia, there is virtually no inspection and test. We rely on mutual recognition of ISO9000 quality certifications. It is the sort of thing which led to the Grenfell Tower disaster. - neoliberal deregulation.
Click to expand...
Yeah..... ISO9000.... just a costly procedure of reviewing hollow procedure to make people who've never worked with tools feel better. Barf.
 
Fast Eddie said:
When everyone chooses their purchases based on whatever is a few bucks, or even cents, cheaper, manufacturers and suppliers are forced to do the same.

This is more of a societal / cultural issue than something that can be pinned on a trumped up political agenda…
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Political agenda? Really?
Just to CLARIFY, that it wasn't a bust on my British Brothers, this HARLEY brake (and spokes) story (my Sister's brand new bike) should help you understand. Hence, the thread title....

Trump this:

www.advrider.com

2012 Harley Softail spoke wheel LOOSE!

So, my Sister is headed to the dealer for the 1000 mile service on her new bike, expressway for 30 of the 35 miles. She feels it getting mushy, thinks...
www.advrider.com www.advrider.com
 
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concours said:
This one pictured was poor machining. :mad:Then plated. I've been in the metal trade my entire life.:oops: The corrosion you mention is whoooooole different deal, I've been fixing that (jalopies & junkers) since I was a boy.o_O
Click to expand...
The early Hinckley stuff was not like this
My mate had an early model sprint the quality was extremely high
The plating /powder coating etc
You only had to pull a wheel spindle out to see quality of machining
 
baz said:
The early Hinckley stuff was not like this
My mate had an early model sprint the quality was extremely high
The plating /powder coating etc
You only had to pull a wheel spindle out to see quality of machining
Click to expand...
Agreed. In 1995, I wanted the BRG 1200 Trophy soooooo bad. Wasn't in my family plan responsibility budget then.
 
concours said:
Political agenda? Really?
Just to CLARIFY, that it wasn't a bust on my British Brothers, this HARLEY brake (and spokes) story (my Sister's brand new bike) should help you understand. Hence, the thread title....
Click to expand...
I was answering the ‘neoliberalism deregulation’ BS comment that was not posted by you … and am basically agreeing with you !
 
I have two Hinckley Triumphs, one made in UK, the other in Thailand. I've had the UK bike ten years now.
Haven't had to do anything to them other than consumables.
They both tidy up as new. They both seem really well built and go like hell. I have quite a few friends running Hinckley Triumphs now too, same result. I sure wouldn't call that " Dismal Quality Everywhere", but maybe Triumph has slipped recently.
What year is your Rocket 3 and how many other issues does it have?

My only complaint about the Hinckleys is I have to force myself to ride the old bikes once in awhile.
I do this with insurance, which happens to be very cheap for the old bikes, fairly expensive for the modern.
The old ones get you back by requiring more maintenance and repair. A lot more!
This thread has reminded me to change the brake fluid on all the bikes, old and new. And coolant on the modern bikes, that's another area that is easy to ignore but will bite at some point.

One friend was having electronic difficulties with his 2019 Thruxton R.
We were able to trace the problems to the heavset 5'9 tall 69 year old object intermittently mounted on the seat!


Glen
 
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Fast Eddie said:
I was answering the ‘neoliberalism deregulation’ BS comment that was not posted by you … and am basically agreeing with you !
Click to expand...
Where do the parts come from now that we are globalised ?
'Quality does not cost - it pays' - when you have a well-educated highly-paid workforce, it might make more sense to move up-market.
As I understand it, Mini Minors now have BMW engines and are made in Germany. What were the British doing ? I have always liked British designs.
The 961 Norton Commando will probably end up being made in China or India.
In Australia, we cannot make rocket motors, gun barrels or aircraft parts out of locally made steel.
 
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acotrel said:
Where do the parts come from now that we are globalised ?
'Quality does not cost - it pays' - when you have a well-educated highly-paid workforce, it might make more sense to move up-market.
As I understand it, Mini Minors now have BMW engines and are made in Germany. What were the British doing ? I have always liked British designs.
The 961 Norton Commando will probably end up being made in China or India.
In Australia, we cannot make rocket motors, gun barrels or aircraft parts out of locally made steel.
Click to expand...
Minis are made about 5 miles from where I live as it happens… in Oxford !

But as to the rest, we agree! It’s just that we disagree as to the cause. Free markets and deregulation should not drive acceptance of poor quality. There is no link there. The link is purely cost. People choose poorer quality and then seek justify it, purely to save money (ie greed). You seek to blame a political body / institution. My view is ‘if only it were so simple’?! My view is far more cynical in that it’s basic human selfishness and short sightedness that’s at the root…
 
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