Triumph Thailand Bikes, Prices & Finance

**Davidfl** · 26th September 2008, 01:30 AM

**Azoulay** · 30th November 2008, 02:49 AM

Hi David, Hi Friends,

Could you please update me with the Triumph Bikes which are produced in Thailand, and what exactly is really produced there ?

Are these bikes dispatched then for the European market or is n't specially done for an other zone ?

Thanks in advance for your contribution.

**Pikey** · 30th November 2008, 08:20 AM

Hi Azoulay,

A bit of a grey area that. Seems Triumph are trying to protect the "Made in England" status when in reality, it should probably be something like "final assembly carried out in England" but of course that is not quite as marketable

Suggest that you Google for a few Triumph forums and get the skinny from there. In my opinion, after a year of ownership and about 9000km on a Bonneville, I really don't give a sh*t about where it was made/assembled but just enjoy it for the fine motorcycle that it undoubtably is.

Cheers,

Pikey.

**Azoulay** · 30th November 2008, 02:26 PM

Hi Pikey,

Thanks for your reply and I would certainly share the ridding pleasure you have with your Bonneville, of course no matter wherever it's made.

But you know I am quite curious about it as some friends (Triumph dealers) in Paris do not believe a second that this symbol of England could be produce elsewhere...

**Pikey** · 30th November 2008, 03:30 PM

Hi Azoulay,

A quick Google of the phrase "Triumph made in Thailand" brings up loads of hits and the first one can be read here:

http://www.triumphrat.net/twins-talk/81 ... -made.html

That should get your Triumph dealer mates choking on their Pernod!

Cheers,

Pikey.

**JohhnyE** · 1st December 2008, 06:54 AM

At the present time many of the components for all models are made in Thailand.
The Twins I believe are fully assembled in Thailand and shipped off to wherever.
Triumph Thailand are (were) in expansion mode with the intention of then producing all models in Thailand.
The dilemma then arises as to how then they can claim to be "Made In England" and that would have to be dropped from any marketing activity.
Hinkley would then just become a parts and distribution centre for Europe.
It's inevitable that all production will eventually be in Thailand.

**KenYam** · 27th January 2009, 03:37 PM

After speaking with Tum ( BB of BKK ) only the 3 cylinder model bikes are assembled in UK - all twins, the Tiger and the Rocket are assembled in Thailand, at present.
Triumph make some really nice bikes but the pricing is crazy especially when Kawa are selling their ER-6N ( made in Thailand ) 72 HP for 226,500 baht on the road. This is slightly cheaper than the selling price in UK, USA & Aust. Most people know Triumph bikes are cheaper in other countries so my question is " When will Triumph pricing become realistic here in LOS ? "

I DON'T UNDERSTAND. Ken F

**Captain_Slash** · 27th January 2009, 09:01 PM

So its true then, they are assembling lots of them here, if thats the case they should be able to sell them a lot cheaper like Kawasaki do. Perhaps if people hold off buying until the price drops it might happen but then again as T I T the price would go up because they have fewer customers buying them

**Pikey** · 28th January 2009, 08:42 AM

Originally Posted by Captain_Slash

So its true then, they are assembling lots of them here, if thats the case they should be able to sell them a lot cheaper like Kawasaki do. Perhaps if people hold off buying until the price drops it might happen but then again as T I T the price would go up because they have fewer customers buying them

Pure speculation on my part Capt, but I doubt you'll see a price drop. I recall reading or hearing somewhere that when Triumph initially proposed to build factories here, they stuffed up with the BOI and did not get permission to sell in Thailand at a reduced rate to reflect that the bikes were not imported. Therefore, on paper at least, despite the fact that the bikes are made here, they have to be "exported" then "re-imported" and this attracts the tax that hikes the price up. Like I say, no concrete fact on that one though.

Still love my Bonnie even though the half-the-price ER6n will piss all over it. Put your **** on some class......

Cheers,

Pikey.

**JohhnyE** · 28th January 2009, 08:50 AM

Pikey is 100% correct in his explanation.
The market here is so small why would they bother with all the bureaucracy required to sell maybe 50 bikes per year?
I also run a BOI company and for what it's worth vs the revenue received selling locally isn't worth the effort.
Despite what Ken said Triumphs are generally more expensive than all the Japanese brands wherever they are sold in the world.
And another reason why the Japanese bikes are even less expensive here than Triumphs as compared with Australia is that we should all remember that last year a free trade agreement was establised between Thailand and Japan which makes their imported bikes cheaper. The reduction in Duty and Tax continues annually for several years.

**KenYam** · 29th January 2009, 09:55 PM

Thanks Pikey and JohhnyE for your input and I suppose a BOI is a method of obtaining a tax rebate for selling internally ?
A correction JohhnyE I was making the comparisom of bike prices assembled locally ( your BOI explains this ) not prices of jap bikes verus Triumphs bikes overseas. I would luv to put my **** on some class and would pay 50% more for the experience but I will not pay 230% more compared to the ER-6N 72 HP.

Cheers Ken F

**JohhnyE** · 30th January 2009, 07:12 AM

Ken yes they are too expensive in Thailand but so are BMW,HD,Ducati.
If you want one you gotta pay the market price.
And the last thing I would do is compare a ER6-N with my Street Triple even if it's 230% more expensive. Not sure what Triumph model you used for that price comparison - was it the Street Triple?
FWIW the ER6-N is a learner bike not a man's bike!
BOI - stand for Board of Investment - it allows foreign (and Thai) owned companies significant tax breaks to establish companies in Thailand primarily to employ Thais and Export manufactured producrs. It is not only for export however and not only for products but if you are geared for export, selling locally is a pain in the ****!

**KenYam** · 30th January 2009, 12:42 PM

JohhnyE I would luv a Bonnie and always will its just a crying shame that they are made here and still bloody expensive like HD, BMW & Dukes which are not made here. I was at German Joe's yesterday and he had a XS650 yammy twin in a Suzuki frame and running gear, this would also make a great town bike. Your right the ER-6N is a learner bike but so is the Suzi SV650 and look how much fun they are all over the world and a what I read the ER-6N is a little better. I want a town bike to replace the Phamton and my FZ1 is not user friendly around town.
I would luv to know your definition of a man's bike haha !
When are we going to see you and your new bike out on a GTR run ?

**JohhnyE** · 30th January 2009, 01:52 PM

Although made here in effect they are deemed to be fully imported and hence subject to all the taxes and duty etc.
There is a full explanation of all this on another part of the forum which I read today which concurs with exactly what I've been saying.
In summary it repeats what I said - there is no point any company incurring the costs required to sell 50 bikes per year. In fact I don't want to sell my stuff domestically either.
As to what is a mans bike your FZ1 definitely qualifies.
As to when you will see me on a ride - if they were organised well enough in advance and didn't always without exception fall on a day that I work then you'll see me.
When I was a lad rides were always on Sundays for those of us who worked but never are they on Sundays in CNX.

KZ · 11th February 2009, 09:29 AM

Talking about a "learner's bike" - would you give your son or girlfriend a 70hp bike to learn on?! I'd say a learner's bike should have 250cc max, and that's excluding the Ninja! Learners need a light, easy to handle bike that forgives a wrong input and doesn't take off like a rocket when you pop the clutch. A Honda Phantom, Kawasaki Boss, a Tiger 200 Boxer, a KLX 250 or a Platinum 175cc Enduro is a learner's bike. In case of the Platinum you also learn not to buy any cheap chinese made junk.
But a 650cc bike with 70 horses and a top speed of 200km/h I would not recommend to anybody who wants to learn how to ride a motorcycle.
All this talk about "a man's bike" pushes youngsters to buy a CBR or a Ninja with close to 100 hp and then they kill themselves before they even get their plates and give motorcycles a bad rap as being dangerous.

KZ · 11th February 2009, 09:33 AM

"I would luv to know your definition of a man's bike haha ! "

Ken, don't take it personally, I don't want to get on your case, but before we define a "man's bike", maybe we should define "man"?

**tahaan** · 11th February 2009, 01:59 PM

I picked up a new price list from Britbike at the Udon meet and noticed the Street Triple is now an eye watering 615,000 for the SE and a further 25k for the new R.

Sadly, I wont be riding around on one of them in Thailand for awhile.

Anyone know the reasoning behind the price hike? Is it to compensate for falling sales or maybe changes in the exchange rate

**TonyBKK** · 12th February 2009, 08:38 AM

Originally Posted by JohhnyE

FWIW the ER6-N is a learner bike not a man's bike!

You obviously have no idea what you're talking about.

**TonyBKK** · 12th February 2009, 08:54 AM

Originally Posted by JohhnyE

In summary it repeats what I said - there is no point any company incurring the costs required to sell 50 bikes per year. In fact I don't want to sell my stuff domestically either.

Hmmm, I guess that's why the Kawasaki ER-6n is booked solid for the next 30 days countrywide? There are only 50 ER-6n's available per month for sale in Thailand and the waiting list is now over 2 months long!
Ninja 250R, D-tracker and KLX all still selling strong.
Seems to me that Kawasaki read the Thai market a lot more accurately than Triumph and now Kwacker is reaping the rewards. At a time when global sales of motorcycles are flat or declining Kawasaki is setting new sales records in Thailand every month. Bravo Kawasaki!

KZ · 2nd March 2009, 02:35 PM

"At a time when global sales of motorcycles are flat or declining Kawasaki is setting new sales records in Thailand every month." - There was an interesting article in the BKK Post a few days ago. Seems like January sales of all motorcycles were down 23%, Honda hurting the most since it has the biggest market share. Yamaha and Suzuki also posted red numbers, but Kawasaki had a sales increase of a whopping 50%! But that's easy to acheive with a surprisingly small share of the market. I knew Kawasaki doesn't sell many bikes and is generally not like well here, but that their market share is maybe 2% is astounding. They are just a notch up from JRD, Tiger and Platinum! Guess that is about to change a bit this year...