2013 Triumph Street Triple R: owner update three

It’s the little things that often make or break your opinion.

Having owned a couple of Daytonas and a previous-generation Street Triple R, the new Stripler was a natural progression, one I’m now reviewing with a small degree of regret.

Don’t get me wrong: the bike is a brilliant ride, and I stand by everything I’ve said to date. But, like I said, it’s the little things that tick you off...

Now I don’t like to use the word anal, but let’s just say I have a little OCD when it comes to the upkeep of my machinery. So after 6000km, it’s thoroughly infuriating to find a couple of quality issues beginning to rear their ugly head.

It seems the engineers may have been a little generous in measuring the braided brake hose for the front discs. Under heavy compression the excess hose burrows into the front guard, wearing away at the paint. It’s been polished out twice now, but I’m concerned that the paint is only so thick, and that soon I’ll be left with bare plastic, or worse, a hole in either the guard or the line itself.

The seat also seems to have similar issues. It’s doing its darndest to chew a hole in the left-hand side of the sub-frame, just behind the fuel tank.
Triumph says it is “aware of the issues” and has offered to replace the parts. But can’t guarantee the issue won’t reoccur... Great!

Then there’s the gearshift position indicator which reads incorrectly once the bike is up to operating temperature. The read-out may show one gear under or over the actual position, or just stay in first. It seems that it isn’t keen on displaying the neutral light when selected at standstill.

There’s also been a recall for the indicator stems, where the brass bushing can cause the plastic stem to crack if over tightened. Fortunately the LED indicators we’d fitted before last we spoke were not subject to the recall notice.

The bike has also begun to idle rough, feeling as though the idle speed has been set too low after the reprogramming of the ECU that accompanied the installation of a factory-approved Arrow cat-back exhaust.

Shortly after this was done the ‘check engine’ light appeared, and has been doing so intermittently ever since. Triumph hasn’t got back to me regarding my request for service. The bike is now stalling at idle, meaning I have to hold the throttle open when stationary.

Then there are the headlights which are turning opaque across the top. It looks as though Dame Edna’s glasses have sweat rash; hardly what you’d call ‘inspiring’ at just six months of age.

They’re small issues in the scheme of things, but enough to tick this little black duck right off. Triumph Australia says it is looking into the issues, but it makes me wonder: just how many bikes out there are suffering the same niggles?