[navy68]

Originally Posted by Raghu A

How is this for the horror show Triumph in India is allowing their service centers to do.

Gross violation of basic tenets of engineering. Any engineering set up is supposed to have a checklist for variety of activities. Guess these guys don't believe in such norms. Gosh, unbelievable.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Triumph India has announced the upcoming launch of the Street Triple RS on their Instagram page, and it looks like owners truly lost it and showered them with complaints of poor service! More than a 100 comments and nothing on the upcoming bike - Triumph should look into this issue fast!

Some of the owners have pointed out this thread too.

Came to know that an old friend and BHPian has his Street Triple stuck at the Triumph service center from last November onwards for a warranty replacement.

[Jaggu]

Some positive updates from my side: Senior members of Triumph India had reached out to aggrieved customers (including myself) and noted all our concerns, and assured that definite actions to be taken once the lock down is lifted. They would also be following up back with us. FYI I had shared contacts of all the customers who had reached out to me and with their consent.

Glad that Triumph India took notice to the post and have reached out to us, at the end of the day we customers love our bikes, and no one would want to loose value of their valued possessions

To be fair I have had positive experience during previous interaction with them (Street Triple detune fiasco) and looking forward to action / outcomes.

Even my dealer has reached out to me and I have already agreed on taking my bike to them post lock down to get it repaired.

[lionell]

Its the same story will all the big brands, have experience the same with Kawasaki, Benelli and Triumph. Kawasaki being the worst of the lot even worse than Benelli. These are experiences I've had as a first hand owner and being in a riding group. The best of the lot were the Honda ASCs.

[krishnaprasadgg]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Glad that Triumph India took notice to the post and have reached out to us, at the end of the day we customers love our bikes, and no one would want to loose value of their valued possessions

Glad to hear this, really hope they pull their socks up and get to some really good cleanup in dealership/svc level.

Incidentally, I happened to check their latest Instagram post about the Striple digital launch and the comments was filled with the bad experience people had had and a call for rectifying this and tons of comments about the Keerthi outlet too.
I have to say there were a few positive comments too, but when I saw quite a few comments which were almost very similar I got a feeling if it was sort of a save the face effort from the Keerthi guys or not. I sincerely hope it wasn't and that they are genuine experiences.

Anyways that's an awesome job Jaggu. I'm sure many people will be benefitted just because of this thread you took the effort and time to start and compile all grievances in one place.

Cheers
Krishna

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Some positive updates from my side: Senior members of Triumph India had reached out to aggrieved customers.

This has happened with my friend too after his post on the New Street Triple post on Instagram. There is a long story to this issue thanks to the lousy service folks at Keerthi Triumph which triggered all the problems.

He is waiting for the lockdown to be lifted to get the back finally after 4 months. It has spent a good part of 9 months in the service center in the 18 months of ownership. Hope things improve from here and see him ride more than park it at the service center

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Some positive updates from my side: Senior members of Triumph India had reached out to aggrieved customers (including myself) and noted all our concerns, and assured that definite actions to be taken once the lock down is lifted. They would also be following up back with us. FYI I had shared contacts of all the customers who had reached out to me and with their consent.

Glad that Triumph India took notice to the post and have reached out to us, at the end of the day we customers love our bikes, and no one would want to loose value of their valued possessions

That really is wonderful to read, it is sad that it has taken so much time and this level of negative publicity for such a big brand to wake up from it's slumber and accept that it has willingly turned a blind eye to a rogue dealer(s). Hopefully they put in some serious effort into fixing these issues, both at the sales level and service level.

As it is, the sales numbers for Triumph are pretty low across the country. News of bad service and improper commitments from the sales teams in one of the biggest dealerships (sales wise) has definitely turned a number of buyers away from Keerthi Triumph over the last few quarters. Hopefully things only get better from here, both for owners and for Triumph

[Jaggu]

Quick update: with things easing up I decided to get the bike ready for some ride if the opportunity comes up.

immediate issues that need attention are the front brake pads and shock oil seals. Got in touch with Keerthi and they have all parts except the fork oil, which they will procure and get back to me. If there is a huge delay I might go with aftermarket fork oil which a friend has with him. I will wait for couple of days for Keerthi to revert.

Fingers crossed.

[Frankenstein]

Shocking triumph service is bad, i experienced 3rd class service with Kawasaki too. Guess Harley Davidson is still the best, class apart in servicing , in fact nothing goes wrong with the motorcycle.

[ethanhunt123]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Quick update: with things easing up I decided to get the bike ready for some ride if the opportunity comes up.

immediate issues that need attention are the front brake pads and shock oil seals. Got in touch with Keerthi and they have all parts except the fork oil, which they will procure and get back to me. If there is a huge delay I might go with aftermarket fork oil which a friend has with him. I will wait for couple of days for Keerthi to revert.

Fingers crossed.

I am curious why do you want to go for OE fork oil and pads ? There are much better and cheaper options available - EBC pads, Motul/Liqui-Moly fork oil etc

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

I am curious why do you want to go for OE fork oil and pads ? There are much better and cheaper options available - EBC pads, Motul/Liqui-Moly fork oil etc

Fork oil I have been happy with OE product that came with the bike for road use, reason 1. 2 if I say aftermarket, again I will have to get into the convincing mode. Instead, let them do as recommended.

Brake pads am happy with current ones and I really don't want to run around to figure out the right part number and type. Anyways they get consumed in 7-10k km with my use.

[ethanhunt123]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Fork oil I have been happy with OE product that came with the bike for road use, reason 1. 2 if I say aftermarket, again I will have to get into the convincing mode. Instead, let them do as recommended.

Brake pads am happy with current ones and I really don't want to run around to figure out the right part number and type. Anyways they get consumed in 7-10k km with my use.

Isnt your bike out of warranty ? If Keerthi Triumph still makes a fuss - they are being very moronic. On the other hand - VST Ducati will put whatever you want in your bike - as long as its of the same spec. No questions asked.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

Isnt your bike out of warranty ? If Keerthi Triumph still makes a fuss - they are being very moronic. On the other hand - VST Ducati will put whatever you want in your bike - as long as its of the same spec. No questions asked.

Yup, it is 5 years and way out of warranty, but I am fine with OE oil. Anyways they have got it now and scheduled a service coming Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Triumph India folks called and updated me about some training they have completed for technicians at my dealership, process change with regards to job card, delivery after service, service scheduling through appointment etc. Sounds good and they seem to have taken some steps based on customer feedback doc we had shared earlier.

I informed the team that I already am coordinating with service for my bike and will share the ground level feedback once done. Fingers crossed, anyway my list of job is minor and straight forward stuff.

Triumph India is in touch with others also. Unfortunately, due to the quarantine clause, they can't travel and meet in person. Which again is a non-issue for me personally.

- A bike that was stuck due to part unavailability, the part was delivered to Vijaywada after custom clearance and managed to get the work started, in spite of the service center facing issues due to lockdown.
- Another customer whose bike which had a rat bite also seems to have been delivered is what I was informed.

I have shared all this info with the WhatsApp group also.

But as they say, the real proof is in eating the pudding and I am volunteering to be the taster

[Jaggu]

Unlock 1.0 - return to Keerthi Triumph for my bike maintenance.

So as mentioned before I had scheduled an appointment with Keerthi Triumph Bangalore to get my bike back to being ride worthy, was getting eager to ride Tiggu with things opening up.

It was scheduled for 10 AM yesterday and I had received an SMS, call and email on Monday confirming the same OR giving me a choice to move it for later, if inconvenient. I liked this process, coz I was about to commit to another work meeting without remembering the service appointment. This I believe is a new process and they give you an exact timeslot so that you won't need to go and hang around while another customer is being serviced. Anyhow, I reached at 9.55 AM and promptly received by Customer Service Person and then the Service advisor met me.

Will list down new processes in place at this dealership, would recommend this to all dealership if they have not done it.

• Strictly take bikes based on prior appointment and limited to about 6 bikes in a day for now. To be fair that is a decent number considering the facility, number of mech etc. My thought always has been it is ok to take time and charge more, i.e if you deliver a good job!
• Bike and owner details collected and a job card was printed
• Bike was given a walk around and all the minutest of marks were shown to me, I was wondering why can't they just video or photo it?
• And that is exactly what they did, pics of the bike was taken from all angles on an iPad
• Job card was given to me and a couple of indemnity signatures taken
• There is a display of vehicle taken on that day displayed at the reception, along with owner name and time slot.

Usually, this is where one goes home, but I had clearly told them I would be standing by and as a special request allowed to be inside the work floor. But if not there is a CCTV camera that is projected on a large screen at the customer lounge. So you can make out what is happening to your bike. More like watching it through a glass partition seen in other service centers.

When I originally planned, it was just brake pad replacement and front fork overhaul, the idea was to get the bike rideable that was on my mind. During my interaction with the service, I had shared other stuff while copypasting from the phone todo list thingy. The service advisor offered to get those also done, so the list of the job was as following:

• Replace both fork oil and seals
• Lubricate headstock bearing
• Replace front brake pads
• Rear Suspension overhaul
• Check for oil leak at clutch cover

They started off with the front fork removal, which was relatively easy along with the headstock / T stem. The right side shock was leaking, so I had decided I will do a complete overhaul of both sides including replacement of seal and dust cover, since the bike had completed 5-year mark. Mind you the fork oil was never attended in the last 5 years and I realized that is a bad idea. The bike has just 20500 Kms on odo, but when they drained the old oil, it was looking like typical bangalore sewage water.



Head mech and his junior did a good job, carefully removing the parts, cleaning it thoroughly, leaving it to dry for a bit before refilling and reassembling it back. Few of the finer points they did I want to share.

• The headstock and shock bolts were taped with masking tape. This helps avoid leaving spanner marks.
• Used Teflon tape to protect the seals and the shock pipe from damage while assembling, and carefully removed off before final assembly and refill.
• Using proper tools, which has always been the biggest reason why I prefer a dealer for these big bikes. Especially major jobs.
• Constantly referring to the manual for all the torque settings.

My opinion these are great practices to have while working on these expensive and fast bikes.

Similarly, the headstock bearings were cleaned up, regreased and reassembled. The mech's always have this habit of keeping it little towards the tighter side, which results in tram lining as soon as your tires wear a bit at the center and have flat spot. That was my first intervention to set the bike up the way I liked it. The mech was very receptive. Almost 3 hours had gone by then and it was 1.30 PM, their lunch break is at 1, in spite of me prompting to go for lunch they ensured the front end was put back before taking the break. Attitude matters in everything...

Since I did not plan to do all the additional work, I was not prepared with lunch, instead I enjoyed my smoke and coffee for lunch. The folks their offered me refreshments, but I declined due to strict COVID related orders on outside food from high command lol Was surprised to see both the fellows return to work as soon as they had lunch and not that typical, I will take my one-hour break no matter what.

Next was rear suspension lubing and clutch cover packing replacement. Triumph recommends the rear suspension lubing at 40k kms or 4 years. My bike was going to be 5 soon but just done 20k kms. Clutch basket had a very minor wetness around it, can't really say it was leaking but instead of waiting for this to erupt into an issue, decided to replace the packing. So while the main mech was removing the clutch basket, sidekick was loosening all the suspension stuff. That is when I realized, gone are the days where you plug in a grease gun. Tiger requires the whole rear suspension, swing arm, wheel, brake and brake lines, and even silencer end can to be removed! for this job. No wonder very few service center does this job. It is a good half a day job if you ask me.

Almost everything off!



Clutchbasket meanwhile, the packing came off 95% intact and the last 5% was as usual being biach! The mech patiently cleaned up all the residue while keeping clothe to cover the basket.

This reminds me, I am going to be 44 and maybe since 14 been working on bikes and cars. Spend months of my life in garages and one thing that gives me the gut feel that a mechanic is good, is the way in which he goes about his work.

• Does he ensure he spends that additional time to get the right tool out?
• Does he clean the parts before and after?
• Does he cleans the tools?
• Does he clean the overall area?
• Does he use a mat or some kind of packing while keeping parts even on a clean floor?
• Does he clean up afterward?

If these ticks, you have got a keeper! Trust me! with my 30 years of service center experience. LOL. Good thing the mech I had yesterday was doing all this. To be honest, I have seen the PVR Triumph guys do this, apart from them maybe 5 or 6 out of the 20-30 mechs I have worked with would have shown similar behavior like this and they always did great work on my vehicles.

Back to the bike, the parts indeed needed some TLC and lubing and it was showing signs of decoloration/surface oxidation apart from the muck. Both the guys sat and cleaned up all the parts and then lubed it with grease before reassembling. Putting the rear swingarm was not an easy task, I got into an unscheduled con call and was walking around with zoom in my hand, watching 3 people struggling. There is a method by which the swing arm has to be inserted facing from top, and they soon figured it. By the time I finished my zoom meeting, they had assembled the suspension and was putting back the front sprocket and wheels. The sidekick almost missed crimping the lock nut for the inner sprocket and the sen guy was working on the other side. I noticed it and immediately alerted them and they sorted that out. If I were to nitpick, this was the only misfire with my experience yesterday, though not many would realize, that small crimp is actually a safety net for riders' life!

Look at the decoloration and oxidation of the swing arm axle bolt! They did fine emery to clean and then degreased and wiped clean before packing it up with new grease.



Even the bush was all dirty and started to oxidize.



Almost ready to go back in, they did clean the whole darn thing well.



Anyhow the handgrips were replaced and I had readjusted the risers since it was not set up right earlier, that was me... so I can't blame anyone else lol.

I had washed the bike on Sunday, this is something that I have been practicing fo years on all my vehicles. I water wash them and ensure it is clean as possible for mechs to work while giving for service or repair. In fact, as a service best practice, this should be insisted upon, helps save a ton of cleaning/clothes, saves the nuts, bolts, the tools, and overall keep the technician in a positive frame of mind while working on vehicles.

After all the work there were some hand smudges, which they cleaned up and then the mech guy went around the bike in detail, sometimes touching on a bolt or two that they had accessed, just to rule out if they missed something. Again important trait of a good mech! He did customary control and electrical check and the bike was brought down for a test ride by the service advisor. After 15 mts of the test ride, the advisor comes back and calls me to show the electrical checks etc. I stopped him since I was there all the while and was getting tired without any proper food since morning.

Mech and advisor sat together prepared the bill, yup it was not cheap. It never is cheap like a commuter, but I was always of the opinion these bills are justified for once in 2 year kind of maintenance the bike needed. Advisor explained me the bill before payment and that was the end of the story.

Parts came to 10k INR.



Labor about 7.5k INR, now each job seems to have a set rate. Earlier it was an hourly basis. Rates look reasonable to me, though one might find cheaper rates at a nonauthorized workshop. But that is how dealer business is the world over, but then you get some assurance of standards.



Bike is feeling A1 finally! it is ready for the rides. First the 20k kms job done by PVR Triumph and now by the Keerthi Triumph guys. Tiggu the Tiger is back as NEW. Today I set the tire pressure once again, using my gauge and had a blast riding Tiggu to office. I am very happy that it finally worked out well without any hitch!

Why such a long detailed write up?

I thought it is fair that way, I had no trust in the whole Triumph thing to go back. But Triumph India and the dealer assured me... even challenged me to give them a chance and prove a point. And fair and square they did well. Now skeptics can say this was because I was the person behind the thread, TeamBHP mod so special preferences, etc. But at least I have seen that if I stand around I can atleast get things done right. To be honest that is the reality of Indian service centers at least 95 or even 99% of them. Unless you have a good connect with floor folks, they really won't care for the vehicle or ride as the owner does. We can get into a debate about this, but thanks to our complex social, economic, and individual ethics cauldron of magic potion elements, I personally don't see things changing to a "perfect scenario" anytime soon. Now I am a skeptic too..

I shared most of this service feedback with our service whatsapp group, as well as the dealer. Flagged off with a caution and suggestion to the dealer, so that the same experience is offered to all customers, irrespective of who they are and to thank the guys who worked on my bike yesterday. Dealer mentioned they are continuing with the training process so that more coverage comes in. He also assured all the bad apples from the floor have been removed and the current lot is a bunch of good guys. With regards to the whatsapp group, there are still some misfires here and there, and hopefully sooner or later things will improve. As they say customer confidence can't be built in a day. Consistency is the key and it still has to go a long way, of transparent and real actions from all parties involved to really make that difference. For the sake of brand I do hope it does happen!

Last but not the least... a BIG thanks to Dharani the main mech who worked on my bike. He might not remember but I have had a very brief experience of getting the tiger front brakes cleaned when he was with another private outfit and before he joined Keerthi. It was his day 2 there and overshadowed by a senior mech and he was nervous, he had buggered the caliper pin check nut/screw then. I will now forgive you for that! with this time's SUPERB job done!

His sidekick (apologies I forgot to get his name).

Skanda the Service Advisor and Shilpa the Customer Service Manager. Good job guys! and keep up the good work. Small things matter and will save a great deal of heart ache and money for customers.

[krishnaprasadgg]

This is great news. Glad that they have started to work back on their work ethics.

Just hope they maintain this towards all customers, I mean even the unsuspecting guys who are not aware of this fiasco in the first place.

I really wonder if they will keep letting people to observe the bikes being serviced. I remember being outright denied when I had asked, even the CCTV footage thing in the common area was not there.

Regardless, wonderful to see this post!

Cheers
Krishna