TRIUMPH Complaints

The turn indicators on my motorcycle will randomly fail and the display will read “ left front indicator failure” etc. This has happened on all four indicators and the fault will continue until the motorcycle is shut off. This happens almost daily on one of the four indicators. There is a very real danger of other drivers not knowing of your turning because of an indicator malfunction. Through social media I have learned that this is a problem numerous Rocket 3 owners are having and Triumph has been aware of the problem for months now and has not corrected the issue. I took mine to my local Triumph service department and they were able to duplicate the problem but had no solution stating they contacted Triumph for support. It has been two weeks and no reply or remedy has been received from Triumph. There has also been a problem with the rear brakes fading and with some owners the rear brakes have completely stopped working. I took mine to the Triumph service department and they performed the recommended brake bleeding procedure. The brakes were better for three days then went back to the same fading condition. This is also a common problem with 2020 and newer Rocket 3 according to numerous social media posts.

The rear brake failed completely. No pressure from the ABS system. There is a recall for this issue and it was already completed. The dealer confirmed the problem happened a second time and performed the recall procedure a second time. Many people have had repeat failures of their rear brake, including myself.

WHEN DOWNSHIFTING FROM 3RD GEAR, THE TRANSMISSION FREQUENTLY BYPASSES 2ND GEAR AND GOES INTO NEUTRAL. THIS IS TRUE NEUTRAL, NOT A FALSE NEUTRAL, AS THE NEUTRAL LIGHT COMES ON IN THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THIS SITUATION IS VERY DANGEROUS AND COULD LEAD TO LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE MOTORCYCLE. WHEN DOWNSHIFTING FROM 3RD GEAR, THE EXPECTATION IS THE MOTORCYCLE WILL BE IN 2ND GEAR WHEN THE CLUTCH IS RELEASED. WHEN THIS PROBLEM OCCURS, A LOSS OF CONTROL CAN OCCUR WHEN THE MOTORCYCLE DOES NOT SLOW AS EXPECTED, POTENTIALLY LEADING A RIDER TO OVERSHOOT A CORNER, INTERSECTION, ETC. THIS PROBLEM CAN OCCUR WHENEVER THE MOTORCYCLE IS IN MOTION AND ATTEMPTING TO DOWNSHIFT FROM 3RD GEAR TO 2ND GEAR. THIS HAS HAPPENED NUMEROUS TIMES SINCE I BOUGHT THE BIKE IN 2019. WHEN I BROUGHT THE BIKE IN FOR THIS CONCERN, TWO DIFFERENT TIMES, THE DEALER COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG.

My bike started to have some problems while riding, especially when turning right the engine will just cut off so I stopped riding because it was kind of scary. The bike did not start at all unless the handlebar was turned all the way to the left only, trying over and over, it looks like there is a short just like the recall. I was finally able to take the bike to the shop on my own coin, it took a bit over a week to get diagnosed and repaired which is not bad at all. I have another bike and I was not really in need of this one. My 2017 Street Cup has just over 4,000 miles, it is pristine, never ridden crazy or even on rain/offroad, always garaged or if not under a weatherproof cover. Because of that, I was surprised to find out the dealer service department was actually charging me for one of the 2 issues found with the bike, which seems very related to the 2 recalls the NHTA issued to not only Street Cups, but all similar bikes from the similar year. Another issue, is that because I was not able to start the bike and move it, my battery died and I had to also get a new battery, this is less than a big issue because I waited so long to take the bike to the shop, but it would not happen if the bike did not have a manufacturer problem.

REAR BRAKE: REDUCED BRAKING IN REAR BRAKE WORSENING OVER TIME. PROBLEM WAS CAUSE FOR RECALL, AFTER RECALL REPAIR, I HAD A SECOND DECREASE IN BRAKING POWER WHICH REQUIRED ANOTHER FIX. PUMPING THE BRAKES WHILE RIDING SEEMED TO KEEP THE BRAKE AT LEAST OPERATIONAL BUT NOWHERE NEAR WHERE IT SHOULD BE. FUEL GAUGE: STOPPED READING FUEL LEVEL - PART WAS REPLACED AND SEEMS TO WORK AGAIN. THIS WAS A PROBLEM THAT WAS INDEPENDENT OF WHETHER THE BIKE WAS MOVING OR NOT CLUTCH FAILURE: REDUCED CLUTCH EFFICIENCY AND EFFICACY BEGINNING WITH NOT BEING ABLE TO FIND NEUTRAL PREDICTABLY AND EVENTUALLY BECOMING HARD TO SWITCH GEARS. PROBLEM IS CURRENTLY IN FOR REPAIR WITH NO KNOWN CAUSE AT THIS TIME. THE CLUTCH WOULD NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY WHETHER IN GEAR AND MOVING OR STATIONARY.

REAR TURN SIGNAL INDICATOR STEM BROKE OFF WITHOUT CONTACT AND NOW HANGS BY THE WIRE. THIS SPECIFIC ISSUE WAS RECALLED IN 2012 MODELS OF THIS BIKE, AND IS IMPACTING 2011 AS WELL. THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY, IN STORAGE IN FACT.

CAM CHAIN TENSIONER FAILED ON ENGINE AT AROUND 29,725 MILES, 27 MONTHS AFTER ORIGINAL PURCHASE DATE. I WAS RIDING AND WENT TO EXIT THE FREEWAY, DOWNSHIFTED SEVERAL TIMES AS I APPROACHED TRAFFIC AND THE TRAFFIC LIGHT, THE MOTORCYCLE SHUT DOWN. I WENT TO RESTART THE BIKE BUT ONLY GOT A LOUD CLATTERING SOUND COMING FROM THE ENGINE. THIS WAS TOWARDS THE END OF A ROUGHLY 2 THOUSAND MILE ROAD TRIP OVER 7 DAYS. ALL FLUIDS WERE CHECKED THROUGHOUT THE RIDE AND THE BIKE HAD BEEN MAINTAINED AT THE DEALER OR BY DEALER SERVICE MANUALS ITS ENTIRE LIFE. THE DEALER TOOK THE BIKE APART AND FOUNT A FAILURE OF THE CAM CHAIN TENSIONER LED TO THE CHAIN JUMPING OFF THE SPROCKETS AND CAUSING PISTON/VALVE CONTACT. I REACHED OUT TO TRIUMPH NORTH AMERICA AND TRIUMPH UK FOR WARRANTY/GOODWILL WARRANTY WITH NO RESOLUTION. I WAS LUCKY THAT I HAD MY CLUTCH IN WHEN THE MOTOR FAILED AS IT WOULD HAVE CAUSED THE REAR TO LOCK UP AND POTENTIALLY LEAD TO A CRASH.

THE ISSUE IS INCONSISTEN BRAKING PRESSURE ON THE FRONT BRAKES. WHEN THE FRONT BRAKE IS INITIALLY PULLED THE LEVER FEELS SOFT AND HAS NEARLY AN INCH OF TRAVEL, THEN IF YOU IMMEDIATELY RELEASE THE LEVER THEN PULL IT AGAIN THE BRAKES SEEM TO ENGAGE AT THE CORRECT SPOT IN THE LEVER PULL. I HAVE NO PHOTOS OF THIS AS IT IS OBSERVABLE ONLY BY FEEL. MY DEALERSHIP HAS ACKNOWLEDGED THE PROBLEM AND HAS ATTEMPTED TO SERVICE THE BRAKES MULTIPLE TIMES WITH THE SAME OUTCOME.

SOFT FRONT BRAKE LEVER THAT CONSTANTLY RETURNS AFTER MULTIPLE BRAKE BLEEDS. FIRST PULL OF THE FRONT BRAKE LEVER IS SOFT, FOLLOWED BY A MORE FIRM SECOND PULL. HAPPENS WHEN STATIONARY OR WHEN MOVING.

THE BRAKE LEVER GOES DOWN TO ALMOST TO THE HANDLE BAR ON THE FIRST PULL IN FOR THE BRAKING. I HAVE TO PUMP IT FOR A GOOD BRAKE FEEL AND RESPONSE. IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION YOU DON'T HAVE TIME AND IT IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM. I HAVE TRIED WITH THE TRIUMPH DEALER FOR A FIX AND EVEN TRIUMPH OF NORTH AMERICA, BUT TO NO AVAIL. I HAVE REPLACED MANY PARTS OF THE BRAKING SYSTEM AT MY COST LOOKING FOR A SOLUTION, BUT AGAIN TO NO AVAIL. THERE ARE A LOT OF COMPLAINT CASES IN THE TRIUMPH FORUMS, BUT ALL WITH THE SAME RESULTS OF TRIUMPH DOING OR ADMITTING NOTHING. I REPORTED HERE BEFORE, BUT HAVE NOT GOTTEN ANY RESPONSE BY YOU OR TRIUMPH.