A Cautionary Note for Triumph

I'm composing this post in the hope that Triumph rethinks some issues discovered at this year's motorcycle show. I am a huge Triumph fan and rejoice at their current market share and the fun bikes that they produce. Yet do I really need to add that they had one near death experience in the 1980s because they did not listen to what their fans wanted?

I have owned two Speed Triples in recent years and that bike remains my favorite bike in the world. In recent years, I have become deeply interested in dual-sport or enduro type bikes. I think the two best moderately priced bikes in that category are the Triumph Tiger 800 XC and the comparable BMW F800 GS. Aside from some reputation for mediocre build quality on the BMW, one reason I have been virtually settled on stepping up to a Tiger 800 XC is that the company has stood for consumer choice, so far. I think continuing that approach is in the best interest for the company.

When I have walked into BMW dealerships in recent years, assuming that they deigned to notice a scruffy looking engineer type, I have gotten a very hard sell on ABS braking systems. To the point of belligerently demanding why a customer would not choose to have anti-lock brakes. In contrast, ABS has been an option available with other options a Triumph dealer, without this obnoxious hard sell. I insist on making my own choices and ABS may eventually be one of those choices, THOUGH IT HAD BETTER BE EASILY DISABLED FOR OFFROAD RIDING. And do I really have to point out that the Tiger 800 XC is marketed as a very offroad-oriented motorcycle?

However, the story I am starting to get from dealers is that starting in 2012, all new Triumphs will be equipped with anti-lock brakes. Not that this will be the default and purchasers will have the option of ordering bikes sans ABS but that only bikes with ABS will be available.

Aside from the irritation factor of wanting to make this choice on my own as an informed consumer, reviews of the Tiger 800 have described the process of disabling its ABS for offroad use as clunky and awkward. What this means is that if I am riding offroad and repeatedly bog down and stall, I may have to deal with the irritation factor of going through a cumbersome ABS disabling process many times in one day.

This could be a deal breaker for me, in terms of following through with my intended purchase of a Tiger next year. The BMW F800 GS's ABS is very easy to disable for offroad use and a used KTM Adventure could end up being another option I consider.

Think very carefully about this, Triumph.