Third ECM needed for my bike

[Cide1]

On 2/22, my Trophy left me stranded, away from home.  Came out from lunch, and it wouldn't start.  Ended up being the wiring harness to the right hand grip had gone bad.  The dealer came and picked up the bike, and fixed the problem, along with the new cylinder head, ECM, side stand bracket, and software upgrades.  I got the bike back on 3/13 (20 days after the incident.

On 3/15, I went out to the garage to ride the Trophy, and it won't start again!  I call the dealer, who came and picked it up again on 3/21 (forcing me to be home during the day).  I have heard nothing until yesterday when I finally called them, and was told "we think it needs another ECM, the first replacement was bad".  Triumph finally authorized them to start work yesterday, and all that was authorized was for them to take the side covers off and investigate.  So the bikes been down for 12 days at this point, and parts aren't even ordered to fix it.

I bought this bike for long distance touring.  What happens when I'm hundreds of miles from a dealer and it won't start?  What good is a touring bike that I can't trust to tour?  It's fantastic when it runs, but so far I just make payments, and it just goes to the shop.

What would you guys do in this situation?  I'm pretty frustrated.

[Berber]

I am sorry to say this but I had the same situation and eventually got rid of it. I traded in for a CB1300 which I knew and loved. I miss so much about the Triumph but felt I had no choice but to get rid whilst I could still get a reasonable price for it.

It could be that after the next ECU change nothing else will go wrong.

Whatever you decide to do make it your own choice not the opinion of others.

[cropbiker]

Agreed. You have to go with what your gut tells you.

On the internet everyone will be prepared to give you their opinion and insist they are right. But in this type of situation only one opinion matters and that is yours!

[KenSmith]

Originally Posted by Cide1

What would you guys do in this situation?

I bought a Honda.

I'll still use the Trophy for day trips and occasional riding.

The best trade-in offer I got for the Trophy was $5500. All of the dealers know this is a problem bike and they don't want it. So I'm keeping the Trophy and trading my little CTX for a big CTX.

I've just written off the Trophy as a mistake -- a very expensive mistake. I'll ride it for entertainment and I might even ride it to work occasionally. But I won't ever trust it. I won't ever get very far from home with this bike.

I'll take day trips on Saturdays so I have Sunday in reserve to get home if the Trophy strands me. I might ride the bike to work once or twice per week if the weather is decent for walking. Mostly, I'll look at it in the garage and think about how I pissed away $19,000 on a bike that sometimes doesn't run.

I would feel like a con man if I sold this bike on eBay or Craigslist to some unsuspecting guy who thought it might be a good bike. It's not a good bike.

Triumph swung for the fence with the Trophy and they struck out.

[Oceandiving954]

  $5500 for a '13 bike under warranty???
sounds like someone's smoking something ...

[Cide1]

I actually already bought a Honda the first time the Trophy left me stranded.  With the Trophy in the shop, I was riding my old VStar 1300, which was feeling really heavy and under powered.  I traded it in on a CB500X, and have been really enjoying riding it.  We have a ton of old farm roads around central Indiana, made out of tar and chip, which this bike is perfect for.  I also had planned to commute on it, trying to keep miles off the Trophy.

The build quality on my Honda is fantastic.  It is a much less complex machine, so hopefully less issues.  Honda sells heated grips for it which have arrived and I will be installing soon, and I ordered a larger Givi wind screen and Givi's Trekker Outback hard aluminum cases.

[Cide1]

Yeah, $5500 is a joke.  For a TT SE, with all three pieces of luggage, no damage, reasonable miles, I would think a fair trade in would be $14k -$15k, and sell for $16.5k to $17k. 

New they are $19k plus another $1000 to get the top box.

The hard part in all this, is that I really like the bike.  I just want it fixed right, and I want some confidence that I can take it on long trips and not be left stranded and renting U-Hauls.

[Ernest T]

Originally Posted by Cide1

On 2/22, my Trophy left me stranded, away from home.  Came out from lunch, and it wouldn't start.  Ended up being the wiring harness to the right hand grip had gone bad.  The dealer came and picked up the bike, and fixed the problem, along with the new cylinder head, ECM, side stand bracket, and software upgrades.  I got the bike back on 3/13 (20 days after the incident.

On 3/15, I went out to the garage to ride the Trophy, and it won't start again!  I call the dealer, who came and picked it up again on 3/21 (forcing me to be home during the day).  I have heard nothing until yesterday when I finally called them, and was told "we think it needs another ECM, the first replacement was bad".  Triumph finally authorized them to start work yesterday, and all that was authorized was for them to take the side covers off and investigate.  So the bikes been down for 12 days at this point, and parts aren't even ordered to fix it.

I bought this bike for long distance touring.  What happens when I'm hundreds of miles from a dealer and it won't start?  What good is a touring bike that I can't trust to tour?  It's fantastic when it runs, but so far I just make payments, and it just goes to the shop.

What would you guys do in this situation?  I'm pretty frustrated.

I had (have) the same right switchgear problem and am waiting on a replacement.  This is at least the third instance I've heard of the right switch gear going bad.