Suzuki V-Strom (VStrom) Owners Club DL250, DL650, DL1000 & DL1050
Other Stuff => The Blue Oyster bar => Topic started by: nigel s on March 26, 2025, 05:03:55
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Posting this to get thoughts on long term reliability on the 800 sport and Triumphs in general.
Not thinking of trading in my bike just yet, but like to test bikes that MAY be a possible future ride ( when they get a couple of years older and cheaper ) while they have demos available, so have a test ride booked in Saturday on the strength of this blokes vid. He is the same size as me so if he likes it there is a good chance it will fit me .
https://youtu.be/H37lBAKa6NA
I have avoided Triumphs so far ( I nearly got a 1050 Tiger Sport years ago but ended up with my gen 1 Fazer 1000 which was absolutely reliable for the 77, 000 miles I had it ) due to fears of high mileage reliability, some manage huge miles trouble free...others less so...Hmmm :shrug:
Reliability is my number one thought in buying bikes as a rule ( my recentish KTM SMT 990 being a lesson I learnt, great bike but infuriating too ) ...have any members had any of the modern Triumphs, if so what was your view on long term reliability?
Ta :thumb:
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Nigel, we see and hear of bikes with very high millage but don't always see the cost of those miles, a motorbike can be the same as Trigger's brush, if you know what I mean.
I saw a "71" plate triumph yesterday with rusty shocks. I don't know it's millage and that was the only rust I could find. I had a Triumph Trophy 1200cc years ago. It was very clean when I bought it used and very clean when I sold it. I was very happy with the way it went, handled and in the time I had it nothing went wrong.
My next bike was a VFR750, I tried to get my mate to buy the same but he bought a Triumph (both used) , both bikes were very clean. I clocked up lots of miles on mine and nothing went wrong, it was as clean when I sold it as it was when I bought it however, my mate had a problem with his Triumph.
The Triumph was looked at by him and a local mechanic but ended up in the Triumph dealer in Plymouth. It stayed there for most of the summer while they searched for the fault and it cost him a fortune when he got it back.
I was talking to a chap who runs a motorcycle group in Plymouth who rode a Triumph which had done mega miles, I was impressed, during the conversation he mentioned that it did have a replacement engine during those miles, not so impressed.
I am not meaning to run Triumph down and they do make some great looking touring bikes but as to the reliability? What are the other options? I have owned 7 BMW's and know that the later ones, 2000 onwards are not as good as they look but I'm not sure about the 800's (I almost bought one some years and bikes ago.
If you ever feel the itch to buy a Triumph I should visit some biker meets and look at some that have been used, also try to talk to the owners to make sure they are not also a Triggers brush and ask the mileage and if it has been ridden in rain and salt. :thumb:
Just my humble opinion.
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Just a word of caution, my highly pampered and well looked after Tiger 1200 needed a pair of discs & pads at the front and a new driveshaft at the rear in under 12,000 miles. Non of which were under warranty, hence why I part exchanged it. If I had neglected it or abused it I would say 'fair enough' but that thing had more marks from polishing than from useage!
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Ta gents ,
I am yet to be convinced by Triumphs long term reliability, but I will give the bike a go and see if I like it and ponder.
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I had a T100 for seven years before getting my 800RE, and had no issues apart from the suspension getting very tired after five years. Fixed that with Hagons front and back. However, in 2017 when I got the bike, the nice colour options only came with the unlacquered engine casings, so mine never saw a salted road... I considered the Tiger 900GT last year when bike shopping but the RE was a better price and, well, I'm fairly sure the RE's finish will last better.
Personally I don't like the back end of the 660 or 800 TS models. But that's just me.
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Out early today on the CBR600RR taking the long way round to Lings to test the Tigger.
First it is not an ADV.
Or sports tourer.
Or a sports bike.
It IS as mad as a bucket of eels however.
Huge fun.
Feels very light and manageable moving it about, the riding position is identical to my 650 with maybe a smidge more leg room...so good.
Good in town, good on the duals...The screen is excellent, I did not notice it...so doing it's job.
Thrashing down b roads is its happy place, it wants TO GOOOOO.
Reminds me of my old KTM SMT 990..and probably as reliable long term :shrug:
I got 55mpg on a fast mixed route so 200 miles on a tank should be OK.
The Showa suspension ( big piston forks and shock ) is OK...but could do with some work . I am spoiled by my modded 650 and the RR to be fair. They are the same ( 150mm travel front and back , same front, 10mm less at the back as my 650 ) as fitted to a lot of middle weights at the mo and thanks to 2112 we know they can be sorted :thumb:
All in all I was mightily impressed...get a test ride.
I prefer it to the Tracer 9....if only to look at ..the Tracer is one UGLY bike :shrug:
Will I get one.....maybe in a few years.... yes....but with the 650 as back up for when it is in having the back brake ( copyright Harley Davison ....sorry Asmith61 :bow-blue: ) put right...or some such.
Probably ?
Ho Hum
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I had a deposit on a Tiger Sport 800 but a few things conspired against it - the dash looks poor by comparison with the competition and can be difficult to read in sunlight. I'd have been buying it from a dealer that's not so local and even the nearest dealer is 30 miles away. The dealer, part of a small group, could, I thought, have made it easier for me to purchase through a nearer dealer in the group.
Centre stand, USB socket and a few other additions are extras.
So I bought a 9 month old, 630 mile V-Strom 800 with centre stand and hand guards already fitted and first service done. And came up at the right price.
Having ridden one previously and been impressed, this one was local and there's a dealer only 6 miles away.
Still running it in but the motor is amazingly grunty running in A mode and despite me thinking of it a a 'tiddler' compared to my previous gen 2 1000, I reckon it's gruntier.
Comfy too on a 130 mile ride last week.....and the dash is miles better than the Triumph.
Oh, and the economy, whilst limited to 7k rpm, I wasn't hanging about, it was still showing 70mpg.
Still got the Hornet SP on order but that won't be here until end of May/early June.
Ditched the CFMoto 450MT due to delays associated with KTM's problems as the importer.
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I am in a similar position. My dealer that supplied my 650 new is no longer a Suzuki dealer, just Honda now ( Though they have an arrangement to validate existing warranties with Suzuki due to the trained techs still there ). That means no "official " Suzuki dealer in Norfolk now :GRR:
Lings ( Triumph ) is an hour away too.
You are right about the dash on the 800 Sport, and the auto switching lighting is odd. When it is day the auto switching just has the DRLs on and an annoying light on the dash :shrug: it can be overridden but seems all a bit over complicated, trying to fix a problem no one had???
I would not worry about getting a used 800 RE out of warranty ( tried one and liked it ), a used Triumph out of warranty...less so. Hmmmm.
Again , not something I am too concerned about as yet, my garage is full , and I am not done with my nicely sorted 650 .... at 35k I have just got it run in , :icon_wink: ,and the RR only has 8k on it, but in years to come I will have to ponder on which way to jump.
You are right to get the Hornet now....before Honda realises they got that price a couple of grand too low ..wow!!
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I'll wait for the gen 2 TS800 with revised dash in a couple of years.
As for Triumph reliability, up until two weeks ago I owned a '21 765 STR for nearly 4 years, only problem with that was the quick shifter failed quickly (within a month or two) and was replaced under warranty, other than that, routine servicing.
My brother has had a 2012 675R from new, it's not done many miles in that time but no failures.
Some later Triumphs are on 20k mile valve service intervals, including the TS800 but Triumph dealers know how to charge for all servicing.
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Probably right there about the dash :thumb:
How many miles on the 765 ? ( same question to Sir Trev and his T100? )
When I mean long term reliability , I mean how does it do when past 50k . Which for me can be at about 3 years old if I have a good couple of years . One of the reasons for me happily keeping the Strom.
Ho Hum
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My 765 just shy of 5K and my bro's 675 about 7K - not big mileages (we both have other stuff to ride) but on some of the Triumph Facebook pages some do 30-40K with routine servicing, whilst others have a few engine failures (it's a bike for hooning about on after all) but a lack of servicing probably plays its part.
I'll ask at my local Triumph owners club what sort of miles others have done, they do plenty of continental trips, there hasn't been any horror stories of catastrophic failures.