"he likes to portray himself as a reputable businessman down at his local golf club (he spends most days there), however he has failed previous businesses (all information available on companies house records), some staff have demonstrated dishonesty with no shame whatsoever. " Wow. Sounds like a certain Orange-Tinged Former US President...
Well glad to have read this and I've avoided a bullet in some respect as I was looking at a nice mt09 tracer they had and was ready to put deposit down and get it delivered to Glasgow,however the night before I was about to phone them and leave the deposit and arrange delivery one came up about 20 mins away,it was CAmotorcycles close by and it was about a grand dearer but newer and lower milage and Matt black so I viewed and left deposit same day luckily.
Hi glad to have made your life easier. I’m confident you made the right choice. I’m a firm believer in ‘If something is meant to be it will be’ Post some pics when it arrives.
Yes it's bog standard and it's quite short right enough, relatively quiet but sound changes when wound up with the triple whine from engine,reminds me of my old 1050 speedy.
Shit I wish I never read that how can they still be in buisness is beyond me,the fact they have been taken over is irrelevant as it seems to have made zero difference to their customer service
One of those would my review as you prob gathered. I have held back from commenting on their warranty as didn’t want to kibosh this thread with it. I might start a separate thread on that to see peoples interpretation of the warranty as stated on Triumph uk and up until recently Blades site. Thanks for reminding me and thanks for your kind words.
Timboo, such a brill post and like everybody else has said, well done indeed for seeing that through. Just wanted to say that I have had really poor service from Blade. Cheltenham I booked a test ride on a Thrux R, they had two in stock, Took the day off work and road up to Cheltenham. No Thruxtons in and nobody knew anything about it in store. A complete waste of time and money. A few years ago, I took my Daytona675 in for new headers at the Swindon branch. They did the job, I paid the bill. having ridden home (25 miles ish ) and garaged the bike I went to take a look at it later and the garage was full of smoke. They had not joined the Fairing correctly and the front section had fallen on to the engine and was almost in flames. Along with this, the fuse box had not been re mounted properly and was hanging off its mount exposed to the elements. A piss poor job. The real issues is the faff and grind over weeks I had to go through to get the labour charge refunded. I have heard many poor reports from a range of bikers and retailers about Blade. I bought a 19 Thrux from Thunder Road in Cheltenham, their retail service was great and a very knowledgeable bloke on the Triumph section (ex Blade) It's a fab bike, and puts a big smile on my face The next question is who can I trust to service it. I used 3X in Bournemouth for the Daytona, they were expensive but thorough and I felt the mechanic was genuinely interested in the bike. So sad they have gone now. So anybody recommend a garage in the south west I am happy give Thunder Road a go, but have had reports that their retail is great but the garage aint cheers all
Another Good idea for another thread to list the best service centres within each county uk wise assuming there aint one already then compile a list that can be updated from time to time. How long ago did you buy your bike from Blade?
I've been to a couple of Blade branches recently as I'm curious about the new Honda 750 twin plus I may get a CB500X for more local trips. These places are oddly all industrial units in a row, where you can walk through. Not a welcoming experience. I did so at both Swindon and Abingdon with nobody even acknowledging me. The places were deserted and I had to find someone in Swindon (I gave up in Abingdon and just left) who laughed when I asked about the little CB, then suggested I give him a £199 deposit and he'd order me one, as they had no stock*. I was in the Suzuki bit at the time and mentioned the V-Strom650 was also a possible, pointing to a brand new one they had on the floor. They guy snorted and said were badly made and he'd much rather sell me the Honda. What sort of salesman rubbishes his own floor stock like that? I had such bad vibes I left soon after. Afterwards I realised neither location seemed to have any decent displays of gear - when I bought my T100 I was offered a discount on gear and parts but these guys seemed to have neither. Such things are now rare but I always prefer the smaller family run shops that all seemed to get culled in favour of big flashy showrooms by the manufacturers over the last few years. A bit like Hughendon M40, my local dealer, being forced out for refusing to move and expand, leaving me a much longer trip to the big flashy site shared with KTM on the wrong side of Oxford. *to be fair, a much more friendly Honda dealer I chatted to recently said the only way they can get stock of the 500X was to secure a customer order with refundable deposit. These guys said if I was interested they'd stick a trade plate on it when it came in so I could at least try it up the road and back before I did the paperwork and they registered it. Four month wait at least but they were trying to help as best they could. Hopefully I can sit on one at the Show in November but if it feels right I know who'll be getting my deposit, and it won't be Blade.
I generally find proper old school independant mechanics are far better than a dealer, whose workshop teams are often staffed with fitters taught to replace instead of understand and repair. You cannot beat a time served, skilled mechanic, passionate about his craft, whose business rests on their reputation, but as I know one I'm biased. https://www.stewarts-motorcycles.co.uk/ in Sunbury on Thames. Knows his onions, smokes roll ups, wicked sense of humour, does a proper job. I'll be there on Saturday dropping my T100 in for its annual service.
I second this but is there a problem with bikes still in the manufacturer’s warranty period? Whereas you can use a non manufacturer technician to service your car, as long as manufacturer branded or approved parts are used I understand that you cannot do this with bikes. I’m referring to the UK here.
There is nothing wrong with using independent mechanics as long as oem parts are used and they are VAT registered I believe
Same thought occurred to me. Worst reviews Ive read for a single company. I realise that people are more likely to post on Trustpilot, when they have had a negative experience. Even so.
Hi Baza, you can have your Triumph (or any make of motorcycle) serviced at any independent dealer and it will not affect any warranty as long as genuine parts are used. Triumph UK confirmed this to me in an e mail some time back, what you are unable to do is for an owner to service the machine themselves, even if they are a qualified mechanic.
That agreement is only for cars that are privately owned. Doesn't cover bikes or commercial vehicles apparently. Though I'm guessing from the wink you knew that?
