I'm coming up to my 12,000 mile valve check on a 2013 Bonnie. According to the manual it's also due a fork oil change and the head bearings should be greased. I don't want to do it myself and have narrowed down my choices to: Stewarts Motorcycles - seems old school which I like and independent labour prices Jack Lilleys - seemed to give the same price regardless of whether any needed shimming or not Triumph Woburn - no experience of them Flitwick Motorcycles - quoted a good price and said they would be surprised if anything needed doing. I bought a new speed triple off them and was generally impressed except for 1 bad experience, but anyone can make a mistake. I live in Buckinghamshire, but don't mind travelling a bit to take it somewhere good. Any advice gratefully received. Thanks
Bulldogs at Wokingham are pretty good. Bought my Speed and Bonnie from them. I haven't used them for a major service though. But my mate takes his 2001 Sprint all the way there in preference to going to his local dealer in Cheltenham and also in preference to Jack Lilleys if that helps.....
My old mate Stewart is and always will be my first choice. Hope he does not retire soon... You're right about him being proper Old School - he fixes things properly and with care as it's reputation that counts as an independent. Just be ready to spend an hour trying to get away from his anecdotes and cracking sense of humour. Hugh has another two years warranty so I'll stick with Triumph for now but as soon as it's up I'll be back to Sunbury. As Stewart is just over the road from the train station I usually pop the bike in one weekend and go back the following to get it back.
I used to get my bikes serviced at Flitwick and never had a poor experience. Charles, the workshop tech, is highly regarded. But they haven't had the triumph franchise for many years so no longer have the up-to-date software to do a complete check. I can only speak highly of Woburn. It's where I now get my bikes serviced. That said, it's where I work Pop in to Woburn Tony and you can borrow a bike over night because the 12k service, if done correctly, is a two day job. To set up the valves correctly the engine needs to be allowed to cool down over night and not everyone will do that.
Thanks for the replies. Looks like Stewart and Woburn are the main contenders. I like supporting individuals, but on the other hand a loan bike would be useful. Do Woburn charge a fixed price or adjust the charge if no adjustment is necessary. Cheers
12k service is £525. Coolant should be renewed every three years (extra cost) and brake fluid every two years (extra cost). Fork oil is renewed at 24k service.
I would go for Bulldog. Chris Power is there and if there something he doesn't know about Triumphs then it doesn't exsist. And he's Human and treats you like a biker not a money maker. Ride Free Joe.
Hi all, Just to say I went with Stewarts in the end, no particular reason other than I liked the sound of him. Anyway, he did the 12,000 mile valve check and fork oil change, plus checked the head bearings. All done at a very reasonable cost, interesting bloke to talk to, good service.
