Vibes

[Stevie.P]

My question would be, do you have a rogue badly assembled bike or is the problem widespread amongst new T-plane 1200 owners. Have you joined a dedicated 1200 forum for feedback as well as voicing your dismay here on this 800/900 forum.

[Rodney]

So Chaps, update on my 1200GT Explorer Vibe issue. I took it in for its 1st service, and told them about the serious vibration at around 5000rpm/ 150km/h in 6th. When I went to pic it up, they said that this is the way it is. For the day they borrowed me a demo 1200 GT so I could compare, and it is what it is. My Triumph dealer are all super guys, and their service is unmatched, really, love those guys. So I left, that was Tuesday last week, on Thursday I did about 250km, running around the JHB freeways, probably about 150km of that over 150 km/h, when I got home.....that was it, I realized I would not be able to live with this bike, those vibrations can not be wished away....super sad, could they not have made the GT models as smooth triples and the Rally versions with the T plane cranks? That way they would alienate alot of their existing clientele, which is happening. So on Feiday I went and took the V4 Ducati Multistrade for a long, long test drive, I was not going to be caught twice. Ja, and it is of course, good, but still not as smooth as my old triple, and is a little up on spec, with stuff I will probably never use, but ok. So I have ordered it, they traded in my 1400km old GT at a fairly reasonable price, still taking some pain, and I collect it this Friday. But here is the interesting part, when I got back from my test drive, I pulled into the Ducati dealer, and there was another Triumph parked outside, the rider had taken the new 1200 for a test drive, and said he also couldn't handle the vibration.....it was good to know that I was not alone in this experience, and he then took the Muktistrade for a test drive. He had the same verdict as me, not as smooth as our 1200 explorers, but of course infinitely smoother than the new 1200GT. So after 15 continues years of riding Triumphs, it is the end for now. I will see how life is with the Multistrade for the next few years, and hopefully Triumph come to their senses, and at least bring out another 1200 smooth  triple engine, in some kind of sports tourer or Adventure bike, and I am in. I even considered the new 660 Tiger Sport, great bike, smooth, much more torque than you would expect from a 660cc, but after riding 1050's and 1200's for so long, hard to go back on the power side of things. So wishing you all the best and hopefully in years to come we can celebrate the return of smooth triple engines in their adventure bikes.

[pahiker]

Originally Posted by Rodney

So Chaps, update on my 1200GT Explorer Vibe issue. I took it in for its 1st service, and told them about the serious vibration at around 5000rpm/ 150km/h in 6th. When I went to pic it up, they said that this is the way it is. For the day they borrowed me a demo 1200 GT so I could compare, and it is what it is. My Triumph dealer are all super guys, and their service is unmatched, really, love those guys. So I left, that was Tuesday last week, on Thursday I did about 250km, running around the JHB freeways, probably about 150km of that over 150 km/h, when I got home.....that was it, I realized I would not be able to live with this bike, those vibrations can not be wished away....super sad, could they not have made the GT models as smooth triples and the Rally versions with the T plane cranks? That way they would alienate alot of their existing clientele, which is happening. So on Feiday I went and took the V4 Ducati Multistrade for a long, long test drive, I was not going to be caught twice. Ja, and it is of course, good, but still not as smooth as my old triple, and is a little up on spec, with stuff I will probably never use, but ok. So I have ordered it, they traded in my 1400km old GT at a fairly reasonable price, still taking some pain, and I collect it this Friday. But here is the interesting part, when I got back from my test drive, I pulled into the Ducati dealer, and there was another Triumph parked outside, the rider had taken the new 1200 for a test drive, and said he also couldn't handle the vibration.....it was good to know that I was not alone in this experience, and he then took the Muktistrade for a test drive. He had the same verdict as me, not as smooth as our 1200 explorers, but of course infinitely smoother than the new 1200GT. So after 15 continues years of riding Triumphs, it is the end for now. I will see how life is with the Multistrade for the next few years, and hopefully Triumph come to their senses, and at least bring out another 1200 smooth  triple engine, in some kind of sports tourer or Adventure bike, and I am in. I even considered the new 660 Tiger Sport, great bike, smooth, much more torque than you would expect from a 660cc, but after riding 1050's and 1200's for so long, hard to go back on the power side of things. So wishing you all the best and hopefully in years to come we can celebrate the return of smooth triple engines in their adventure bikes.

Glad you could get something better suited. My experience was the opposite, so it may vary between bikes. I traded my much loved 900 GT for a 1200 GT Pro July 1. When the 900 would get up to 65 the vibes would kick in, but not enough to keep me from a purchase. My 1200 is much smoother at highway speeds than the 900, I was prepared for something similar to the 900. If the 1200 was 55 lbs lighter in 2019 when I got my Tiger 800 I'd have gone with the 1200, but I didn't want a tall top heavy motorcycle. The 1200 feels almost as flickable as the 900 which is also a nice handling bike. Sadly, I feel Triumph missed the boat with the T-plane crank, think it's marketing hype more than anything.

[Tripple3]

Glad you got sorted with a different bike Rodney. I will be looking to other manufacturers also when I trade my Tiger 800 in having the same experience as yourself with the 900 vibrations. I have not had an extended test of a 1200 yet but like yourself have spoken to some riders of the new Tiger who are not happy with the vibration or sound of the new bike. The very fact that Triumph T Plane crank engines are now discussed as having excessive vibration on forums when once Triumph engines were once one of the main selling points is something I think they will need to address eventually. We have just come back from Portugal and Spain on our Tiger 1200 and the comfort and smoothness is what sold it when I first test rode one.  Sadly I  think an extended  test of the new 1200 is going to confirm to myself your own thoughts.