British motorcycles in North America

[Hoonose]

Originally Posted by burdell

My '70 Norton Commando 'S' weeped a bit of engine oil. It leaked a lot of gear oil when a gear broke off on a piece of shaft, ventilated the gearbox housing, and went rolling down the street.

My '71 'S' burned more than it leaked. A Qt every 200 miles. Getting back to the USA, I used to run a can of STP into it once and awhile, and that improved it enough that I never had it fixed. About a Qt every 400 miles, and much cheaper US oil. A fix was offered on warranty, but I never did and I sold it a year later.

[burdell]

Originally Posted by Hoonose

My '71 'S' burned more than it leaked. A Qt every 200 miles. Getting back to the USA, I used to run a can of STP into it once and awhile, and that improved it enough that I never had it fixed. About a Qt every 400 miles, and much cheaper US oil. A fix was offered on warranty, but I never did and I sold it a year later.

Yeah, the valve guides on my were shot after a few thousand miles, replaced them with bronze guides and at least one issue was solved.

[mk3supraholic]

Love my triumph, no problems and the 675 engine has already proven itself reliable.

[Pilot1]

Originally Posted by Mouldy Old Schmo

Anyone owned a British motorcycle in North America? Is it true they leaked oil?

I had mid to late 1970's Triumphs, and Nortons for decades. The oil leak issue is way overblown with the older bikes. Yes, they will give the occasional drip, and I'd keep a cardboard sheet beneath them. The case has a VERTICAL split, and that's where the oil drips from.


I can not comment on the newer Triumphs, other than I WANT ONE.

[Blondebaerde]

Originally Posted by Pilot1

I can not comment on the newer Triumphs, other than I WANT ONE.

Newer? The Hinckleys? They've been around more than twenty-five years. I had a '96 Tiger. Worst bike I owned, which was still not exactly bad, and I kept it a couple years. It broke in various ways, though seldom badly. One might call that particular bike an "adventurer tourer," though the tech wasn't quite up to the task.
I'd call it mediocre execution of a great idea.

Second best rain bike I ever owned, though.

Traded in for good money, I'm not really complaining since it was my primary ride a couple years. It just couldn't in any way keep up with JPN equivalents, so that's what I went back to.

Ten years after, in 2010, I went to the then-new and then-revolutionary Ducati Multistrada. First time an adventure bike had actually been done truly correctly, with electronics around power delivery, traction control, ABS, preload, and general suspension compliance. That did not weigh 575 lbs full of gas.

Since, BMW GS's have partially caught up. Another story. Ditto KTM. I digress.

Triumph continues to evolve, which is pretty cool actually. They sponsor a favorite company of mine that hosts adventure rides. I may very well do a serious off road ride on a late model Tiger, light years from that '96 in every possible way. If you like triples, and many do, wouldn't hesitate a second to get one. Triples really do in some strange way behave mostly like inlines, but also some of a twin's torqueiness.

Former buddy of mine's c. 2003 Speed Triple was the most-useful street runabout I've ever ridden, for what it was.