More Brit-Built Triumphs !

Fast Eddie · Mar 4, 2022

Triumph are back in my good books again !

baz · Mar 4, 2022

Fast Eddie said:
Triumph are back in my good books again !

View attachment 85530

Can't read this on my phone
What bikes in are they going to build in the UK?

worntorn · Mar 4, 2022

Does this mean we can be friends again?

baz · Mar 4, 2022

worntorn said:
Does this mean we can be friends again?

Ah it depends
If they make all the parts and build the Bonneville in England
Then I'll be friends with everyone!

Fast Eddie · Mar 4, 2022

baz said:
Can't read this on my phone
What bikes in are they going to build in the UK?

Not sure.
The article states that Hinckley should be “running at full capacity within 9 months, starting with the Tiger 1200, while the Tiger 900, Speed Triple, and R3 will follow before the end of the year”.

Whether or not that’s the full list of models I don’t know. But they say they’ll be producing 20,000 a year here.

The ‘classic’ range hasn’t been built in U.K. for a long time, so I’d doubt they’ll be on the list personally.

storm42 · Mar 4, 2022

I am going on a factory tour tomorrow, do you have any questions for them?

Fast Eddie · Mar 4, 2022

storm42 said:
I am going on a factory tour tomorrow, do you have any questions for them?

I doubt you’ll get an answer, but I’d love to know their strategy behind what they build where.

storm42 · Mar 4, 2022

I guess that will be cost driven.

daveforty · Mar 4, 2022

Factory tour is interesting. Make time for a browse around the museum / display part as well.

John Bloor's own T140 is stored on a rack in the factory, the guide will point it out. It is identical to my T140, although it probably hasnt done as many miles.

Mentioning that real Rocket 3s are BSAs might not go down too well.

baz · Mar 4, 2022

storm42 said:
I am going on a factory tour tomorrow, do you have any questions for them?

Could you be ask them to please remove the union flag from their logo and products

worntorn · Mar 4, 2022

This sort of thing on a French built bike must really get your goat then!
Some of them even get registered as original 1950s Vincent motorcycles that were produced in Stevenage, U.K.

Doesn't bother me, I'm glad they are in business and building interesting bikes.
In fact I had a set of these cases ordered at one time, but Patrick Godet decided not to go ahead with it for reasons known only to him.

baz · Mar 4, 2022

worntorn said:
This sort of thing on a French built bike must really get your goat then!
Some of them even get registered as original 1950s Vincent motorcycles that were produced in Stevenage, U.K.

Doesn't bother me, I'm glad they are in business and building interesting bikes.
In fact I had a set of these cases ordered at one time, but Patrick Godet decided not to go ahead with it for reasons known only to him.

The Godet stuff is brilliant
I wouldn't care where it was made if it keeps these old bikes alive
A bit like full auto heads for Norton's and cnw commandos
If people are registering these Vincent's as a Stevenage built machine then that is clearly wrong and I wonder about the motive?
Ask the average hinkley triumph Bonneville owner where his triumph was made he will tell you in the UK

worntorn · Mar 4, 2022

I find just the opposite here. All of the folks riding Triumph's know where they are made.
Both of mine have a nice sized very clear " Made in" label, one UK, one Thailand.

Glen

Fast Eddie · Mar 5, 2022

Glen, as I’ve said before, the Godet crank cases shown in your picture are actually made in England. They are made as new parts for Vincents, by the company who own the Vincent name and rights. They are identical (as far as I know) in external appearance to the originals… inc the cast Made in England text.

A lot of Godet components are sourced in U.K. in fact.

But, as a French made reincarnation of a Swiss / Brit bitsa, it’s an entirely different thing to a mass manufacturer deliberately choosing to exploit a national identity as part of their brand image. I’ve been to Godets place a lot, and his stands at shows, I don’t recall him using a single Union flag inspired logo.

Godet make a handful of Swiss / Brit bitsa reincarnations a year. They have no dealer network. Anyone wanting one has to deal directly with the workshop in France. It is inconceivable that any buyer could possibly claim to have thought their bike was built anywhere other than picturesque Rouen.

The 20,000 bikes a year coming out of Hinckley in future should should be PROUDLY emblazoned with the Union flag IMO !

Fast Eddie · Mar 5, 2022

worntorn said:
I find just the opposite here. All of the folks riding Triumph's know where they are made.
Both of mine have a nice sized very clear " Made in" label, one UK, one Thailand.

Glen

Glen, that’s not the case in my experience. I have met many, many, Triumph owners who incorrectly believed that they were riding a British built bike (although, in fairness, many of them didn’t really care much either way).

When Triumph operated a multi site strategy, it was easy to be unsure. Then they went to 100% Thai, that’s when confusion was removed (for most). Now they’re reverting to a multi site / country operation, the potential for confusion will return.

baz · Mar 5, 2022

Fast Eddie said:
Glen, that’s not the case in my experience. I have met many, many, Triumph owners who incorrectly believed that they were riding a British built bike (although, in fairness, many of them didn’t really care much either way).

When Triumph operated a multi site strategy, it was easy to be unsure. Then they went to 100% Thai, that’s when confusion was removed (for most). Now they’re reverting to a multi site / country operation, the potential for confusion will return.

Yes some I have spoken with know their bikes are made in Thailand but really don't care !
And it doesn't happen so much these days but when the Bonneville was reborn many people bought them believing they had bought a continuation of a real Bonneville made in the UK

worntorn · Mar 5, 2022

No doubt some did. No harm really as they had a totally different but much more reliable nag under them.

I recall trying to convince a friend that he should look at a near new 2015 Bonnie 865 that was at a good price. He was 75 years old at the time and losing upper body strength, as we all do.
He had fallen 3 times on his Yamaha TDM850, a very top heavy bike. These falls all occured while shifting the bike around at fuel up.
The last fall broke his collar bone and dislocated his shoulder, so he decided to sell the bike and look for something a bit lighter. He was looking at the Kawi Versys 650 , but that is also quite a tall bike, potentially top heavy.
He is British and has always owned old British bikes as well, had 4 or five of those at the time but wanted a modern bike for all of the usual reasons.
When I mentioned that the Triumph T100 , still a chunkster , but a fair bit lighter than the TDM, might work for him as it carries it weight low, he gave it some thought.
He surprised me by saying, in a somewhat hushed tone, " I'm not convinced that a non-Asian bike can be reliable enough for my needs".
I had a good laugh and told him, no worries these new Bonnies are British designed and Asian built.
He bought it just when I bought the Thruxton R. We both put on 11,000 kms that year, the most he had ridden in many years. It was a great bike for him. Looking British but acting Asian.

Glen

baz · Mar 5, 2022

worntorn said:
No doubt some did. No harm really as they had a totally different but much more reliable nag under them.

I recall trying to convince a friend that he should look at a near new 2015 Bonnie 865 that was at a good price. He was 75 years old at the time and losing upper body strength, as we all do.
He had fallen 3 times on his Yamaha TDM850, a very top heavy bike. These falls all occured while shifting the bike around at fuel up.
The last fall broke his collar bone and dislocated his shoulder, so he decided to sell the bike and look for something a bit lighter. He was looking at the Kawi Versys 650 , but that is also quite a tall bike, potentially top heavy.
He is British and has always owned old British bikes as well, had 4 or five of those at the time but wanted a modern bike for all of the usual reasons.
When I mentioned that the Triumph T100 , still a chunkster , but a fair bit lighter than the TDM, might work for him as it carries it weight low, he gave it some thought.
He surprised me by saying, in a somewhat hushed tone, " I'm not convinced that a non-Asian bike can be reliable enough for my needs".
I had a good laugh and told him, no worries these new Bonnies are British designed and Asian built.
He bought it just when I bought the Thruxton R. We both put on 11,000 kms that year, the most he had ridden in many years. It was a great bike for him. Looking British but acting Asian.

Glen

Just have to agree to disagree
It makes me sick to my stomach as a long time British bike lover and owner that a bike made in Thailand is promoted as a British bike
In my opinion it's wrong on every level

daveforty · Mar 5, 2022

A lot of the major components for the bikes assembled at Hinckley will have been made at their Thai factories, so where the bike was finally assembled is probably irrelevant.

And parts like the brakes / switches / suspension have always been bought in from specialist suppliers.

I did the tour in November, it was interesting. Went round on a Saturday, so the place wasnt working, would have felt a bit odd doing the tour while people were working. We (used to, pre Covid) get tours where I work, and while I understand people are interested in what we do, I dont much like being watched when / if I am up to my ear'oles in it.

They dont let me guide visitors around.....

baz · Mar 5, 2022

daveforty said:
A lot of the major components for the bikes assembled at Hinckley will have been made at their Thai factories, so where the bike was finally assembled is probably irrelevant.

And parts like the brakes / switches / suspension have always been bought in from specialist suppliers.

I did the tour in November, it was interesting. Went round on a Saturday, so the place wasnt working, would have felt a bit odd doing the tour while people were working. We (used to, pre Covid) get tours where I work, and while I understand people are interested in what we do, I dont much like being watched when / if I am up to my ear'oles in it.

They dont let me guide visitors around.....

What bikes are assembled at hinkley?