Truimph Thunderbird (1997) - known fault/valuation request

Forgot to mention - spark plugs changed, too.

 

That sounds good, especially the fork seals bit (my local dealer goes
round his showroom once a week, pumping the front forks of everything
on the floor, just to ensure the seals don't dry out)

No matter what he says on the phone, make it plain that if he throws
in a rack and a small Givi box or something, or a decent helmet, or
whatever, that he's got a deal, and that if he won't, you'll walk.
Dealers' behave differently when they've got a punter in the showroom.
He's asking over the odds, and there are plenty more out there, but
this one looks good enough to justify a slight premium.

Oh, and don't forget a decent warranty.

 

Would six months be good enough? He mentioned three, over the phone
which is a bit shite.

 

Three months should be long enough for any niggles to come to light, but
it depends what it covers.

 

Agreed. If it's three months for everything, absolutely everything,
then OK. If there's a maximum claim limit, or it doesn't cover X, Y
and Z, then not so good.

Aftermarket warranties are 12-month, but again, you really need to
check what they cover and their limits. A £300 limit on engine or
gearbox work is useless if the thing lunches its crank, for example
(not that this is likely).

Dealers like aftermarket warranties because they can charge for 'em,
and it's one high-value "accessory" that they don't have to pay for in
advance. So something like a year's *good* aftermarket warranty and a
rack might be a worthwhile deal.

 

"engine and gearbox". A bit shit, then.

 

Nah. What happens is that the dealer has a nice stack of warranty
booklets and forms, which have cost him nothing. He sells a bike and
an aftermarket warranty - or, more usually, factors the warranty price
(let's say £200) into the purchase price.

Takes payment, and notifies the warranty company, who let him keep
anything over and above what they would charge the dealer. Say £100,
because the usual profit margin is about 100%. Dealer pays the
warranty company £100.

Dearler is happy because he has not had to shell out any cash in
advance, as he would have to if he were selling a bike, clothing or
accessories. He's also happy because he doesn't have to pay 17.5% (OK,
15% atm) VAT on the money that's accounted for by the warranty selling
price.

 

Ah. So I was right - the dealer is in effect buying insurance [1] in
advance, in this case for £100 - it's just that he also gets the cost
plus substantial mark-up from the customer in advance, one way or the
other, so is never actually out of pocket.

[1] in my experience if the dealer then has to repair the car for
something covered by the warranty he claims the money back from the
warranty company himself.

 

Ah, I see what you're driving at now. Yes, correct.

Yes, correct.

 

Your view is contrary to a number of vehicle & tyre manufacturers.

Ford, understandably after the Firestone SUV tyre problems, is the most
conservative, recommending a 6 year limit.

Continental, Michelin, Bridgestone & Firestone recommend a 10 year limit.

Loads of sources appear on google, here's a couple:
http://www.safetyresearch.net/Library/SRS046.pdf
http://www.conti-online.com/generat...tal/portal/general/news/eBay_campaign_en.html

 

http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/uk/en/continental/portal/gener
al/news/eBay_campaign_en.html

Five sources being tyre manufacturers, then, who wouldn't want one to
replace tyres more often, oh no. And one Safety Nazi.

I don't think I'd be riding balls-out on (say) a Fireblade or R1 with 10
year-old tyres, but I've ridden (and owned) bikes with tyres a damn
sight older than that on, and never had a problem. And a Triumph T'Bird
does not fall into the "ultimate knee-down tyre-feathering speed
monster" category.

The tyres on it will be fine, as long as they've got plenty of tread and
aren't damaged. Trust me.

 

(The Older Gentleman) wrote in

For the sake of £150 I'd rather not. To paraphrase Bonwick in another
thread, crap tyres kill.

 

You do have a talent for almost OCD-like perception of risk and hazard
where little or none exists.

Let's apply the speed limit test ("30 mph is the safe limit") to this,
shall we? 'Cos it works so well.

OK, so six years is a recommended limit. Right, six years and one day.
Are you saying you'd bin tyres if they were this old? I mean, it's
beyond the limit? No, of course you wouldn't.

OK, six years and a week? No.

Six years and a month?

Seven years?

Seven years and a day?

Etc etc etc ad nauseam.

OK, so what *would* you consider a risky speed?

"Well, that would depend on the weather, the road, the amount of
traffic, the condition of the vehicle...."

Same with tyres. If the bike has been properly stored (and this one
seems to have been), then the risk is negligible.

If it's been left outside in bright sunshine (in this country? Hah!) and
huge extremes of temperature for a decade, and if the tyres have been
allowed to go flat as pancakes for all that time, thus distorting their
sidewalls for a long time, then yeah.

In the real world - not the fevered danger-ridden world of your
imagination - you'll look at them, check for any sign of tiny splits and
cracks, and make your own mind up.

I've ridden on 30 year-old tyres and they've been a bit hairy. That's
because they were visibly shagged, and dated from an era when tyre
technology was a bit primitive and (crucially) when product liability
laws were unheard-of.

You produce someone who's fallen off because their tyres were a day
older than the recommended limit (I mean, in your eyes a limit is a
limit, right? That is precisely what you're saying), and I'll eat my
Caberg.

In short, you're being silly. Politely.

 

Oh, and well done for the creative snipping of the crucial points I
made. Kudos.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, The Older

It still amuses me inordinately to see Americans award one another a
"kudo".

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

I have already made the greatest contribution to the fight against climate
change that I can make: I have decided not to breed. Now quit bugging me and
go and talk to the Catholics.

 

There are times when you have to spell it out in detail for the hard of
thinking.

 

They do?

<Baffled>

 

(The Older Gentleman) wrote in

<deliberately left unsnipped>

Yes, but it amuses me the way you get so irritated when someone suggests
there is a view that differs to yours. Look at all that lot you typed.
For me.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, The Older

They really, really do.

Well, "Kudos" is obviously(!) a plural, so one of them must be a "Kudo",
right?

The first time I saw it in an email it took a few seconds for the penny
to drop then I damned near wet myself. Mind you, the woman who sent that
also routinely typed "Wallah!" when she wanted to reveal something...

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

I have already made the greatest contribution to the fight against climate
change that I can make: I have decided not to breed. Now quit bugging me and
go and talk to the Catholics.

 

Visited Southend-on-sea today, fucking knackering drive from
Liverpool. Took a test drive out and really enjoyed it. I was a bit
shaky at first - my Bandit crash was about 3 months ago so took 10
minutes or so to get some confidence (I was convinced I was going to
bin it, especially as my wrist is still sore from the break).

Bike ran like a dream. Rear brake seemed a bit reluctant to do much
stopping (first time I used it I thought I was pressing the wrong
thing) so getting them to take a look. Bike was in top nick as well -
very clean, the only two minor niggles was a slight mark on the front
mudguard and a slight scrape on the exhaust.

I put down a deposit and am picking it up next week. Got a givi
screen thrown in and basic luggage, which I am fairly happy with. If
they can get hold of one they'll put a Triumph screen on for the
difference in wholesale price.

All in all I'm very happy with it and cannot wait to get back back on
a bike again.