Non Starter

[trophied]

I read on the K1600 forum yesterday a post from someone in the Fort Worth, Texas area who has been perusing the big K bike, or an RT, or a Trophy.  When he finally got good enough weather to test ride them all he rode the RT first and was unimpressed with the engine, then he rode the K bike and was not thrilled with the transmission or wind protection, but the engine was holy #***.  His chance to ride the Trophy was a non starter - as in would not start.  Neutral light, nothing, no one at the dealer could get it started.  So his comment was "guess that was an omen" and it looks like it will be the K bike.  These were all used bikes, and given the value of a used Trophy, I figure the dealer wasn't all that interested in quickly diagnosing whether it was a real issue and solving it quickly to get it going, since they could sell a higher priced K bike.  I think the dealer really did this guy a disservice in not getting him a Trophy test ride - he would have been amazed.  The very worst part of this whole scenario is that this guy is forever going to tell everyone that asks about his bike the story and how the Trophy was a piece of crap because not even the dealer could get it started.  The Trophy will now get negative comments from a non owner.  I'm no longer a member there so I couldn't, and probably wouldn't have commented anyway on the thread - his mind was made up.

[DaMonk45]

Sad but true, the bike will be blamed and not the dealer, which is where the fault is.

[atrophy]

You can start a BMW in neutral with side stand down and clutch out.  The Trophy has to have the clutch pulled.  If this was a BMW dealer they probably tried to start it with the clutch engaged.

The last time I had my bike at the triunph dealer to get my TPMS sensors installed the tech shut off the bike with the engine off switch instead of the key.  (I never do that)  I could  not figure out why the bike would not start and the transmission indicator showed "-"  instead of a gear.  Now I know.

[brbo]

On the first few starts I found this odd - I don't remember a bike that required the clutch in while in neutral to start -  an added safety step from Triumph I guess...

Originally Posted by atrophy

You can start a BMW in neutral with side stand down and clutch out.  The Trophy has to have the clutch pulled.  If this was a BMW dealer they probably tried to start it with the clutch engaged.

[trophied]

I'm presuming the clutch requirement in neutral is a safety precaution in case the neutral light is burned out or for some other reason it is lit while the bike is actually in gear.  I'm used to it and I like it that way, and I even hold the front brake firmly while I let the clutch out after first starting it to let it sit and warm up - just in case.  That was my original suspicion for the failure to start, and I guess it's a good thing I can't post there anymore because it would have created a logjam on their forum with all the beemerites rushing to post some other derogatory remark about the Trophy.

[w8d4it]

atrophy probably has it right.  dealer ignorance.

[TomHFW]

That original poster being quoted was me.  Having thought further about it overnight, I just have a really hard time justifying the significantly higher cost of the K1600, especially when I did not think it provided even as good a rider envelope as I now have on my Kawi Voyager.  Also, and just so y'all know, I DID also try holding the clutch in as we were trying everything else, but no luck.  Interesting, when I first turned the key and powered up the electronics, I saw the dreaded "audio not found" message.  Dealer did even try putting a jump box on it, but no go.  I do have to admit that I am somewhat concerned about reliability of the Triumph.  BUT, in fact, I do still want to go test ride the Triumph, and will try to do so next weekend.  I have heard that the rider envelope is among the best, and I do want to make a FULLY informed decision.  This is a great forum, and I have learned a lot by lurking.  I will let y'all know if I can get a test ride done.

[OhioWinger]

Thanks for owning up to it. I test rode the K1600 also and hated it, the Trophy is a better match for me. If you get a test ride let us know what your opinion is.