2014 TTSE, purchased 10/2015 - 3000 Mile Follow-up

[PoconoTTSE]

So I have posted a few bits about some initial impressions, pretty much all good but I finally had a chance to do some back-to-back ride days - piling up about 1300 over an extended weekend and first and foremost (and finally) I find this is an excellent tourer.   It gave me plenty of room to pack for 5 days, albeit a solo ride the missus may have pushed the limits on that, but I did not use the Tank Bag which would have definitely added enough room.  It was of course fantastic on the back roads and turns and more than adequate on the highway.  As it’s a little lighter I did get tossed around a little in the wash of a big-rig; I do find the BMW K bikes to track a slightly better on the highway, even some of the bigger HD’s for that matter. 
Gremlins. 
I had cruise on and about 200 miles in first day, cruise dropped out and while I am still thinking it was something I did, bump the brake or roll throttle forward – it caught me kind of off guard but I swear I saw the gauges ‘cycled’ – tack and speedo dropped to 0 and came back, bike stayed running and nothing else cycled, like pre-check electronics when you first turn key.  Has this been discussed anywhere else?  Now this did not happen again for the rest of the trip.  Funny enough, I met up with a small (100 bikes) Triumph gathering in Bennington, VT the next day.  There was a guy who worked for Triumph, not a full blown tech but knowledgeable and while he had not heard of such a thing, the first thing he asked was did I get it wet?!?!  He had heard of a low oil pressure warning because of that along the way?!?!  This brings me back to an earlier post about some owner manual specs and getting this thing wet.  Well the answer was, no and yes.  Not on this ride, but about a week prior on a short excursion around home I got caught in pretty much a downpour, then sun came back out.  No issues the rest of that day (75 miles) and it went in the garage and did not come back out until this ride soooo… stay tuned I guess.
Starter Switch, I have noticed on more than a few occasions, maybe 1 in 10 starts this year (don’t recall it happening at all in the fall when I got bike and I did put 2000 miles on), when I depress the switch nothing happens immediately or I have to do it again.  I was thinking dirty contact?  Would seem odd being the bike is this new and not happening frequently enough for me to do anything about it yet.
Low Oil Warning Pressure warning, odd that was said above as it did happen with me, but I think because of me.  Mostly when I shut this and any bike off for that matter; I come to a stop, shift into neutral and turn off the key.  There are some occasions because of where I am parking, on a hill, I use the kill switch which lets the dash still active.  Two time on the trip I had such occasion and when I cut the engine I got the warning.  Now oil level was/is fine but I found that odd.  I tinkered with this a bit, I would come to a stop, go to neutral, let the bike idle a bit (maybe 10 seconds) no longer under any load hit the kill switch and no messages.  Anyone else?
Rear Brake, I had read previously, in my research leading up to my purchase that the rear brake gets some low marks.  Actually I demo’ed a used bike with about 4000 miles and found the rear brake a little flat and underwhelming.  Didn’t bother me enough to not buy a new bike and my first impression was that the rear brake was as good as any other and attributed the flat brake to perhaps premature wear from someone over using.  By design most of the stopping power is in the front and by application I put more in to the front when applying brakes.  Well, at 3000 Miles I know I am finding the rear brake a little flat and underwhelming.
Panniers, when they get a little full (I pack better at the beginning of the trip) I notice the seams get a little wider at points and these things were not stuffed by any interpretation.  Fortunately I did not hit any rain that would have tested the water-tight seal but found the tolerances, perhaps a little loose
Not a gremlin, more like a preference.  Seat.  I do have the comfort seat and still stand by it but I need to find something to get some air-flow under there.  Only for longer rides.  I was considering the beaded seats but wondered if its use would leave the seat looking like a waffle iron.  As a personal taste not a fan of the look of sheepskin on this style bike.  Saw the Airhawk 2 on a few bikes… I know this topic must have definitely been fully fleshed out, was there a solid consensus. 
Even though the balance of this review seems to focus on issues, I can say after 3000 miles I have not one singular regret about my purchase, I would do it again and hope to do it again when I eventually move into something newer.  I bring up these so-called Gremlins to see if others have experienced and if there is something I should do or being doing different.

[Zebraranger]

I've never had any electronic issues or oil pressure issues on my 2013, its close to 10,000 miles. I don't hose it down when washing and I try to not ride in the rain if I can avoid it. Electronics and water don't mix and this bike has lots of electronics, some not shielded or protected very well. I do agree with many of the other observations, panniers gap, flat brake, seat on long rides and such. I've yet to find that perfect bike, but the TTSE is the closest I've come so far.

[1150newguy]

2014 with 37000 miles. I have had the cruise/speedo/tach incident twice, but not for the last 20,000 or so and it had nothing to do with moisture. I don't know the cause, but the bike runs fine and as I said no issues for quite some time now. The occasional pause when pushing the starter button is no issue. I worked as a test mechanic for a truck factory and the new trucks do this also. I don't know why the slight pause unless the ECU "sees" something and initiates this pause for whatever reason. I have not had any oil pressure warnings. I agree the rear brake seems a bit underwhelming, but now that I am used to it I like it. It is great for "trail braking" when hitting the twisties really hard. The front brake is great. Make sure you get the first valve adjustment on time as all of my valves were tight at 19,000. Two of them were very tight. The TTSE has a few idiosyncrasy's that some have experienced and some have not, but in 40 years of riding many bikes this one will be in my possession for a long time. Wife and I are very happy with it. Oh yeah, the Airhawk R works great for both of us. Many 600+ mile days on our TTSE.

[Lannis]

Originally Posted by NavyDad

2014 with 37000 miles. I have had the cruise/speedo/tach incident twice, but not for the last 20,000 or so and it had nothing to do with moisture. I don't know the cause, but the bike runs fine and as I said no issues for quite some time now. The occasional pause when pushing the starter button is no issue. I worked as a test mechanic for a truck factory and the new trucks do this also. I don't know why the slight pause unless the ECU "sees" something and initiates this pause for whatever reason. I have not had any oil pressure warnings. I agree the rear brake seems a bit underwhelming, but now that I am used to it I like it. It is great for "trail braking" when hitting the twisties really hard. The front brake is great. Make sure you get the first valve adjustment on time as all of my valves were tight at 19,000. Two of them were very tight. The TTSE has a few idiosyncrasy's that some have experienced and some have not, but in 40 years of riding many bikes this one will be in my possession for a long time. Wife and I are very happy with it. Oh yeah, the Airhawk R works great for both of us. Many 600+ mile days on our TTSE.

Just got back from a 2500 mile ride two-up on my 2014 SE and everything went perfectly, no glitches.

I do hope that "water" is not an issue with these bikes.    This bike was bought as a two-up transcontinental touring bike.   There's no such thing as "I Try Not To Ride It In The Rain"; that's for bar-hopping.   Some days, you have to ride it in a howling monsoon, park it in the pouring rain all night, start it up in the morning, ride it in the rain all day long, and park it in the rain again.   Everything had BETTER work.

Any "touring" motorcycle that won't run in these conditions is, I'm sorry to say, a worthless technical failure.   I have a BSA A10 (1961) that is one of my "classic" tourers, and it has been ridden in the UK in non-stop rain for a week and never let me down.   The Triumph had best do the same!

Lannis

[PoconoTTSE]

BSA's are fun bikes, but obviously do not have the electronic bits of new bikes and with that being said; I have had a fair number of folks, including a employee at my dealership with approximately 20k on the clock tell me he has ridden in all kinds of weather as well as in his (bike's) unfortunate current situation, it sat outside for the last year and no problems.  I just wonder (worry) if the official (owner manual) statements are to proactively set up a basis denial of warranty claim - that would irk me and moisture issues would be a fatal design flaw in any 'Touring' bike.

[thumper]

Your only concern that I can address is the slight pause on start-up.    Both my Trophy and Explorer do it---it's a non-issue for me, just one of the quirks of an electronically-controlled bike.

[Studley]

+1 on thumper's comment re startup delay. I just depress the starter button until the bike starts.

Studley

[Zebraranger]

Just got back from a 2500 mile ride two-up on my 2014 SE and everything went perfectly, no glitches.

That's great, that's exactly how we all want it to be.

There's no such thing as "I Try Not To Ride It In The Rain"; that's for bar-hopping.

Really? I live in Florida where it rains almost every day during the spring and summer. Fortunately these summer showers only last 20 to 30 minutes and then they're gone. I elect to wait for it to blow over before I ride. Just this past weekend we had a tropical storm and received over 10 inches of rain, I elected not to ride this weekend. For many people their bikes are a 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th mode of transportation. This allows you to elect when you ride. Obviously if your doing a multi state ride or long distance ride, you might get caught in it. I've been riding for 40 years and have elected to not ride in the rain for the last five or so. Only been caught in it once since that time, about three years ago during a 12 hour one way ride back home from Tellico Plains, TN on my Goldwing GL1800. But, I had a choice, and I chose to continue my ride home in the rain. Our Trophy's have weather alert, so does my phone, I use them.

Any "touring" motorcycle that won't run in these conditions is, I'm sorry to say, a worthless technical failure.

Triumph is not the only manufacturer that's susceptible to occasional rain/wet problems. I've had several brands over the years, with the last five of my last six bikes being Triumphs. The current two that I have (Trophy & Thunderbird) hasn't experienced any wet/rain issues because I don't expose them to it. But, the other three did. For example My Triumph Sprint ST fairing/windscreen, on occasion when ridden in the rain, headlights would go out because the relays would get wet. Other owners experienced the same thing, along with engine light coming on, and bike quitting because of wet coils. Seems the sealant at the top of the coil would dry out and crack after a year or two from the heat and water would get in.
My Bonneville experienced the same thing with wet relays.
If you go to the other Triumph forum (Triumph Rat) which is much larger because its also a global site and covers all the Triumph models, and type in the words "rain problem" in their search engine, you will find page after page of Triumph owners that have experienced issues with riding in the rain.
Any machine that's either machine made or made by the hands of man will have its weak points, that's the engineer in me speaking. I still think its one of the best bikes on the road.