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I used to own a Triumph Bonneville T-100 (865cc), and I loved that bike. It took me everywhere-from Colorado Springs to Denver and through the Rocky Mountain towns. It was a joy to ride, but I’ll never buy a Triumph again. The issue wasn’t the bike itself-Triumph makes fantastic machines. The problem was the customer support. Parts were ridiculously expensive, almost like buying gold-plated replacements, and the mechanics I dealt with had a condescending attitude. Instead of helping, they made things worse, essentially ruining my bike and leaving me stuck paying for their mistakes. If Triumph’s management and mechanics had treated me better, I might have stayed loyal to the brand. But my experience with their service left me so frustrated that I ended up selling the bike for almost nothing about 10 years ago. Now, I’m in the market for a good adventure motorcycle. This time, I’m doing as much research as possible to find a reliable bike with affordable parts and a solid support network. I’m planning to use it as a home for a couple of years-chasing 70°F weather, heading north for the summer and south for the winter. I’ve done something like this before. Thirty years ago, I lived in a tent for about five years in Sedona, Arizona, so the idea of traveling light isn’t new to me. An adventure bike would give me the freedom to explore, even up to 13,000-15,000 feet, and live life on my own terms. At this point, I’ve given up on society, And the expectations of normal, and the brainwashing that comes with it. I’m keeping an open mind but staying true to my own vision for life. My next steps are figuring out what to put in storage, what to let go of, and, most importantly, which bike to choose. One thing’s for sure: it won’t be a Triumph.

Nice honest review. Took a while before you got to the point, but ok. You don't get much wiser from only hurray stories. A bit more footage of the designers flaws would have been welcome.

Euro bike quirks. Personally i would go with a Japanese bike. Yamaha t7 world raid, Africa twin...

When do we get to hear about the new bike? What did you choose?

Certainly an issue when that much water gets in the box, and you have to drill a bunch of drain-holes to fix it. On one other note, I have fixed and replaced motorcycle wiring harnesses, and while a bit fiddly it is not that hard to do. It seems like bikes are declared totaled far to often. Not sure why that is. Sorry triumph failed you.

Thanks. Looking at bikes currently. Triumph on list. Nope.

Never had a moments trouble with my 2021 Tigger 900 RP. Not sure your experiences are Triumph-only problems

The Chinese motorcycles are better.

I live in California , IT NEVER rains here anymore, so i think ill be o.k. if i ever buy a Tiger.

Wayne, thank you for this video. You bring up some good points about the pitfalls of bringing a super-sophisticated machine into wild, inhospitable areas. That's an adventure! But, honestly, it's rolling the dice if you're not a mechanic. If there was an easy solution to adventure riding, you'd have already bought another bike before making this video. I have a 2017 Triumph Tiger Explorer 1200 and love it, but, for me, it's main purpose is road touring. I like the upright riding position, power, and capacity. It has proven to be a very reliable bike. For dual sport, I ride a dead-simple modified Suzuki DR650. With the Suzuki, I can basically fix anything myself. Great engagement and views on your video. I subscribed.

tenere700 is a smaller but bulletproof bike. Now I have Africa Twin 2022 57k km without major problems last month I rode trought worst disaster in Spanish history(flood in Valencia-Andalucia) and no problem. I had only oil consumption! A pint of oil in 1000miles ..sorted to adding thicker oil and not 10W30 like honda adding. One bearing gone , and touch screen replaced under warranty but nothing to stop you ride. Ride safe Gringo!!

I think most agree that a few daily visual checks and maintenance would have prevented most of his problems. Seems like a guy who is used to having things done for him. Bet he doesn’t even lube his own chain.

Indian does not do a better job than Triumph, I had similar issues on my cruiser, at the end I am fixing the design issues

Reliability & durability in motorcycle means Japanese bikes.

I recently purchased an 800 XC, 2014 model and rode it from Durban to Cape Town, South Africa, across the vast plains of the central Karoo in punishing heat. This was after I sold a 1200 Tiger recently, also because it is just too heavy for someone my age. In any case, the 800 was a total champ, did not miss a beat, just kept going. In Cape Town I got caught in heavy rain and had to wait it out for an hour while the bike stood in the rain, and it fired up first time, and did not miss a beat on the two-day trip back to Durban. My prior bike was a Super Tenere, but the smoothness of the triple has won me over. Neither one of my triumphs has ever let me down, apart from the odd flat tire. Not saying it is the best bike, not saying it is the worst. It is what I choose at this time for my riding style, environment and comfort levels.

Why on earth use/ buy a Triumph in the 1st place........

Batteries failing could happen to any bike,but fuel gushing in through the top of the fuel tank is not acceptable and not a bad maintenance issue.Triumph are a rubbish product compared to the likes of Yamaha and Honda,and Triumphs cost a similar amount to buy.Triumph should of give this man a new bike and sent that pile of rubbish back to the factory.

This man needs a honda africa..

This wouldnt have happened if he had a honda.

If you bought a klr you'd of been good too go. A simple bike for a complicate world... 😅

Get yourself a Harley, doubt it will leave the state you live in.Thousands of miles on an adventure bike, bound to have a few issues.

Approaching that bear when it was on the ground was insanely risky. Had he come to when you were nearby, it almost certainly would have attached. Well handled otherwise. Ride safe.

Hey I learned 30 years ago to typically not buy a first generation complex product. They usually sort out the issues due to warranty failures and incorporate the fixes into subsequent generation continuous improvement. My 2019 XCA is case in point, hundreds of small changes from the 2012 version before they moved on to the 900. Thanks for sharing all this in a typical Canadian way, as I am .... humble, honest and not full of drama..LOL

😢Me too. Buy a Honda, or Suzuki. I ride a Honda, no probs at all. Stuff performance figures, it's all about build quality. Hard way to learn one of life's lessons. I live Melbourne Australia. It's hot here, I mean it's bloody hot, Summertime, know what I mean ? Honda ! Just does the job.

Try a Honda Transalp 750. The 2025 model has a nicer looking headlight but that doesn't bother me on the 1st edition. Super reliable, capable dual sport bike.

Hmmnn...have problems with riding buddy Triumph 765rs, switches and panel short circuit due to rain....😓and it cost myr12k plus!! = 2.5k pound🤦‍♂️

Huh , So I’m not alone 2015 Triumph 1050 spent more time shit going wrong that was worth it.

I had a 2015 Tiger XCA. I loved the bike but it just wasn’t suitable for adventure riding. I ended up losing the engine because of dirt ingestion. I’ll never buy another Triumph of any sort - but as far as adventure bikes go, Triumph should be crossed off everyone’s shopping list. I doubt the design team has ever seen a dirt road. That deal cost me a lot of money! I’m not doing it again!

I own 2016 yamaha super tenere and just bought new yamaha tenere 700 . thay are simple no you never gonna have any problems. bulet prove mashine.

Get the Africa Twin 1100

Triumph have some excellent bikes but I wouldn’t buy any of them. Same can be said for most European brands but again, I wouldn’t buy them for the one simple reason, reliability. Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki. Try a Suzuki V Strom 1050. It might fit the bill for you.

hey brother, Im sorry to hear all the bad things you went trough with that bike. I am a mechanic, I buit custom motorcycles and resotre old bikes (my passion), but I also work on premium motorcycles all the time including japanese, the only one I dont work at all are Harley Davisons, hate them. I have been doing this in mexico for the last 12 years, worked on hundreds of premium motorcycles, many Triumphs, also ducatis, and bmw, aprilia etc, and I can tell you that from the eurpean motorcycles I am convinced, again, based on experience, that the must reliable european motorcycle hands down is Triumph. I have 13 motorcycles and all of them are vintage bikes, even my daily ride, my track motorcycle is also old, its a 996S Ducati. The more time pases by, again, as a mechanic, as a motorcycle shop, I can tell you that the newer the motorcycle is the more unreliable they are because of their electronic technology. I have fixed motorcycles, new, newish that the dealers have no idea what the problem is. I ride a 2001 BMW R1150gs, that bike has only a cdi to control the timing and no ABS, which personally I dont like. This kind of motorcycle any good mechanic can work on them, tons of parts and not that expensive. I have clients that have decided to take one of this old motorcycles for their longer trips instead of their new ones. My advice is get one of this ones, take it with a good mechanic, leave it perfect and use that on your long rides. The market of new motorcycles has a lot of choices, but in my opinion they are not reliable at all, from Ducati to KTM (sucks, many many huge issues that ktm dosnt adress at all), same thing with the new BMWs, and maybe the japanese are a way better choice, more when it comes to being reliable,maybe the Honda Africa twin?. Good luck with your new choice brother .

buy a ktm 790 adventure !

I had several triumph (3 speed triple) and a 800 xc tiger. I love the 3 cylinder engine, BUT for me it is way to heavy compare to other bike of the same category, ie Tenere, Tuareg or ktm 790 adventure. The choice is hard, because KTM 790 and 890 early bird have cam problems, the tenere is a little short in power for me, tuareg seems nice, but I don't know about reliability. It seems that the suzuki 800 DE seems to work really well (but I hate the colors !!! which is a big plus of triumph ...). I had a KTM 790 adventure, for two years and for me it is the best allrounder of its class, it is light it feels very light due to the low tank, and the engin work fine (for the latest version). I will definitely buy another one. and finally you have a huge choice of aftermarket accessoiries !

Get to the topic, 5 minutes of waffle. I lost interest.

Very nice review of the issues, thank you sir! Points well taken. I see why youre upset at Triumph, but every brand has design flaws, and the potential serious expenses are the innate downside of global touring.

Super happy with my ‘23 Tiger 900 Rally Pro. Thanks for The heads-up! I will zip-tire the wire and drill holes in the battery compartment

All of the newer bike are going to be susceptible to electronic issues to some degree. 2 out of 3 of your Triumphs were essentially flawless. The same odds probably apply to Japanese bikes. Crossing my fingers in regards to my 2023 Norden. So far so good.😂

I'm from Australia and I owned a 2018 XCA from new. I had similar experiences with the connectivity unit, and the off road was just straight out annoying. Something I couldn't understand why Triumph wouldn't/couldn't change. I damaged the front wheel rim in a slow impact fall which required replacing. 8 months to have a new rim sent from the UK, other parts are usually months before arrival here in Aus. Other motorcycle brands can generally have them here in weeks. I'd heard of other issues similar to the ones on this site, and although not experiencing any major problems, due to the generally poor support from the Triumph dealership network in my State, I off loaded what was a good bike and went to another brand.

Of course your Disaster video was a hit, we love the drama and perseverance, especially on 2 wheels!

I had a Triumph Bonneville SE and it was an ok bike but I went back to Japanese bikes after a few years. You can beat Japanese bikes for you rock solid reliability 😊

I had a 2023 Tiger 850, I feel your pain. The front end would bounce up and down at a high frequency at speeds over 50 kmh. After much arguing, emails to the dealer and Triumph head office, the dealer changed the front discs, front tire, even the wheel...still bouncing, never resolved it. The throttle was uneven...I'd hold it steady, and the rpm would vary up and down. The rear brake squeaked most of the time. The DIN outlet would work intermittently, then stopped working altogether. Occasionally, when downshifting from second to third, the engine would stall. Engine vibrations at highway speed were so bad, my hands went numb...and no cruise control available to mitigate it, even as an option, despite it being standard on the 900. I finally traded it in, at a loss, for a Yamaha Tracer 9...no offroad capability, but 100% problem free so far. Good luck on your next purchase!

I struggle to believe the fuel cap story. A leak that allows so much water to get in will have allowed fuel vapor to get out. You must have smelled it. If a seal was missing or misplaced right from the beginning, there was fuel odor right from the beginning, too.

You have some stupid music in the background! I had to stop the video couple of times to make sure where it is coming from! Turn off that crap! It's annoying!

I had a Triumph 800 Tiger a few years back. It was bought second hand. It was a tank, loved that bike.

Anyone ever try a Moto Guzzi V85 TT, for adventure ridding?

What a whiner. Nothing mechanical is going to be fault free forever. This guys just deluded. Go buy a GS, do the same trip and see how many faults that bike incurs. Why do you think BMW put their dealerships into the sat Nav 😂

There wasn't much "flaw" described here. Perhaps someone thought he could ride endless miles in ridiculous conditions and never have a drain plug up or a plug be pulled apart. 😂

“I’ve ridden this bike through torrential downpour” cue video of bike sitting in the rain and not riding cause it’s raining. 😂 Riding a motorcycle across multiple countries doesn’t make you an adventure rider. I’m surprised there wasn’t a support helicopter in in one of the videos dropping off a mechanic and parts.

That’s really to bad. My Triumph is just awesome! No problems. Your next bike should be the Tiger Sport 800