Garage recommendation SW London or Reading
Discussion
Hello everyone!
I'm having a few issues with my Triumph Sprint and it's surpassed my skills as an amateur mechanic. Has anyone got any recommendations for a garage around SW London (Clapham/Wandsworth) or alternatively Reading. I'd prefer an indy as the bike is basically a turd and I don't want to spend any more money than necessary and my local triumph dealer is quoting £90 an hour for labor and I assume they will want to swap anything and everything with shiny new expensive triumph parts!
Alternatively feel free to tell me that this is a fair price for labour. I've never had any real work done to bikes so have no idea!
I'm having a few issues with my Triumph Sprint and it's surpassed my skills as an amateur mechanic. Has anyone got any recommendations for a garage around SW London (Clapham/Wandsworth) or alternatively Reading. I'd prefer an indy as the bike is basically a turd and I don't want to spend any more money than necessary and my local triumph dealer is quoting £90 an hour for labor and I assume they will want to swap anything and everything with shiny new expensive triumph parts!
Alternatively feel free to tell me that this is a fair price for labour. I've never had any real work done to bikes so have no idea!
Appleby said:
Hello everyone!
I'm having a few issues with my Triumph Sprint and it's surpassed my skills as an amateur mechanic. Has anyone got any recommendations for a garage around SW London (Clapham/Wandsworth) or alternatively Reading. I'd prefer an indy as the bike is basically a turd and I don't want to spend any more money than necessary and my local triumph dealer is quoting £90 an hour for labor and I assume they will want to swap anything and everything with shiny new expensive triumph parts!
Alternatively feel free to tell me that this is a fair price for labour. I've never had any real work done to bikes so have no idea!
If you can travel to Kennington you should try FWR. Been using them for servicing and tyres for years, you certainly don't pay top whack for their labour. They also are honest and will tell you if something needs doing. They got a new guy last year who is ex triumph they told me.. he serviced my Speed Triple there last year. Although a major service I skipped the valve check this time round as it was time rather than mileage based. I'll probably look at an independent Triumph Specialist for that job, Tri-moto in greenwich near the northbound blackwall tunnel have good recommendations.I'm having a few issues with my Triumph Sprint and it's surpassed my skills as an amateur mechanic. Has anyone got any recommendations for a garage around SW London (Clapham/Wandsworth) or alternatively Reading. I'd prefer an indy as the bike is basically a turd and I don't want to spend any more money than necessary and my local triumph dealer is quoting £90 an hour for labor and I assume they will want to swap anything and everything with shiny new expensive triumph parts!
Alternatively feel free to tell me that this is a fair price for labour. I've never had any real work done to bikes so have no idea!
I'm almost reluctant to recommend him in case I need his services soon but if you are prepared to travel to Hampton Hill I recommend Cezary at Razec Tech. He's very thorough, tells you exactly what he's doing, what it will cost and sticks to the timescale and budget you want. He's helped me out a bunch of times and is happy to work and talk you through what he's doing if you fancy learning something. His rates are less than half what your're quoting. He does all the work so no worries about it being passed over to a trainee etc.
sjtscott said:
If you can travel to Kennington you should try FWR. Been using them for servicing and tyres for years, you certainly don't pay top whack for their labour. They also are honest and will tell you if something needs doing. They got a new guy last year who is ex triumph they told me.. he serviced my Speed Triple there last year. Although a major service I skipped the valve check this time round as it was time rather than mileage based. I'll probably look at an independent Triumph Specialist for that job, Tri-moto in greenwich near the northbound blackwall tunnel have good recommendations.
FWR, all day long, speak to Bob .......
Awesome, looks like resounding endorsement for FWR and Kennington is certainly local enough! I'll give them a ring in the morning, looking at their prices on their website I may have a few more enquires about another bike.
With regards to what's wrong with it, it won't start. I bought it privately autumn last year. I rode it for about a month, loved it, comfortable and lots of torque. I stuck a new set of decent tyres on it as I planned to commute through winter. About a week after I hit a bump in the road and the bike died entirely. I had to get the RAC to recover it. I started to troubleshoot the issue and when I get the fairings off I had a bit of a shock. I definitely bought a dog of a bike.
It looked good on the outside (with the exception of one of the belly fairings being an obvious replacement, price was adjusted to suit). Inside its clear it's had a smash at some point. Lots of the plastics were 25% araldite and zip tie. Lots of wiring had been split, connectors buggered and bodged back together. One of these bodges had come undone so I made proper repairs on everything and put it back together and it fired back into life.
Unfortunately a couple of weeks later the battery started to go flat very quickly as the reg/rectifier gave up the ghost. A common fault on these bikes. I replaced it with a decent series MOSFET unit and a brand new battery and I was back in business again.
Except I wasn't. Now the bike was having issues starting. It would turn over ok but would very rarely catch and start. When running it ran absolutely fine, even with a hot engine it refused to start. At this point I did a full service, new oil, filters and plugs. With no improvement. I checked the fuel pump and there was plenty of fuel pressure there and the correct amount delivered during priming. After consulting the triumph forums I upgraded to starter wiring from battery so solenoid to starter motor and the battery ground. It now turns over faster but no start. I've checked for sparks and they are there. I've loaded a new tune using tuneECU and it made no difference and there are no dual codes present. I checked all the valve clearances and they are in spec. I've evened followed the workshop manual and checked the resistance of all of the various sensors. The Sprag clutch (another common failure) is fine and is engaging and turning the crank.
At this point, short of calling a priest for an exorcism I'm out of ideas. I don't want to get rid of the bike because of the money spent on it, and I don't care if it looks rough as I live in London so it's probably going to get nicked next week anyway.
TLDR: It won't start, I've tried all the troubleshooting I can find. It has sparks, fuel and is turning over. I'm stumped.
With regards to what's wrong with it, it won't start. I bought it privately autumn last year. I rode it for about a month, loved it, comfortable and lots of torque. I stuck a new set of decent tyres on it as I planned to commute through winter. About a week after I hit a bump in the road and the bike died entirely. I had to get the RAC to recover it. I started to troubleshoot the issue and when I get the fairings off I had a bit of a shock. I definitely bought a dog of a bike.
It looked good on the outside (with the exception of one of the belly fairings being an obvious replacement, price was adjusted to suit). Inside its clear it's had a smash at some point. Lots of the plastics were 25% araldite and zip tie. Lots of wiring had been split, connectors buggered and bodged back together. One of these bodges had come undone so I made proper repairs on everything and put it back together and it fired back into life.
Unfortunately a couple of weeks later the battery started to go flat very quickly as the reg/rectifier gave up the ghost. A common fault on these bikes. I replaced it with a decent series MOSFET unit and a brand new battery and I was back in business again.
Except I wasn't. Now the bike was having issues starting. It would turn over ok but would very rarely catch and start. When running it ran absolutely fine, even with a hot engine it refused to start. At this point I did a full service, new oil, filters and plugs. With no improvement. I checked the fuel pump and there was plenty of fuel pressure there and the correct amount delivered during priming. After consulting the triumph forums I upgraded to starter wiring from battery so solenoid to starter motor and the battery ground. It now turns over faster but no start. I've checked for sparks and they are there. I've loaded a new tune using tuneECU and it made no difference and there are no dual codes present. I checked all the valve clearances and they are in spec. I've evened followed the workshop manual and checked the resistance of all of the various sensors. The Sprag clutch (another common failure) is fine and is engaging and turning the crank.
At this point, short of calling a priest for an exorcism I'm out of ideas. I don't want to get rid of the bike because of the money spent on it, and I don't care if it looks rough as I live in London so it's probably going to get nicked next week anyway.
TLDR: It won't start, I've tried all the troubleshooting I can find. It has sparks, fuel and is turning over. I'm stumped.
Yup, fresh fuel and swapping between two battery batteries that live on a CTEK battery conditioner when not in the bike.
As I say, I'm ready to hand it over to a professional!
Also I've just reread my last post and apologise for it not making much sense. It reads like a tweet from a stable genius
teach me for trying to post while standing on a packed train. P.s. I hate trains, I need my bike back!
As I say, I'm ready to hand it over to a professional!
Also I've just reread my last post and apologise for it not making much sense. It reads like a tweet from a stable genius
teach me for trying to post while standing on a packed train. P.s. I hate trains, I need my bike back! sjtscott said:
If you can travel to Kennington you should try FWR. Been using them for servicing and tyres for years, you certainly don't pay top whack for their labour. They also are honest and will tell you if something needs doing. They got a new guy last year who is ex triumph they told me.. he serviced my Speed Triple there last year. Although a major service I skipped the valve check this time round as it was time rather than mileage based. I'll probably look at an independent Triumph Specialist for that job, Tri-moto in greenwich near the northbound blackwall tunnel have good recommendations.
That will be Matt from what used to be Oval Motorcycle Centre shame they had to shut down as far as I know they just couldn't get enough people through the door to cover the massive increase in rates/rent that the council wanted from them.He's a top bloke and certainly knows what he is doing, he showed me through checking valve clearances and all the other work I did there and made it simple
Iang84 said:
That will be Matt from what used to be Oval Motorcycle Centre shame they had to shut down as far as I know they just couldn't get enough people through the door to cover the massive increase in rates/rent that the council wanted from them.
He's a top bloke and certainly knows what he is doing, he showed me through checking valve clearances and all the other work I did there and made it simple
Sure, I simply forgot his name. Really nice chap talked me through what he'd done on my Speed Triple, bike ran like a dream after that service, seemed to be because the previous owner spent more money on tarting it up with the R&G parts catalog than riding/servicing it, had not seen a triumph dealer since the 600mile service and the 6k service was I think not done despite myself being told it was by the Kwak dealer I bought it off. He's a top bloke and certainly knows what he is doing, he showed me through checking valve clearances and all the other work I did there and made it simple
Appleby said:
Well thanks for all the suggestions!
It's going into FWR on Saturday
Good stuff let us know how you get on. Been dealing with Chris and/or Bob at FWR for pretty much the whole time I've been in London after the original owner Dave passed away and his wife sold the business.It's going into FWR on Saturday
I've been using Galloway's Motorcycles in Reading since 2014 for servicing on my ZX6R and SH125. Would recommend them whole heartedly.
https://www.gallowaymotorcycles.co.uk/
https://www.gallowaymotorcycles.co.uk/
Zarco said:
I've been using Galloway's Motorcycles in Reading since 2014 for servicing on my ZX6R and SH125. Would recommend them whole heartedly.
https://www.gallowaymotorcycles.co.uk/
Thanks, I’m in Reading and been looking for a good indy, will give them a whirl. https://www.gallowaymotorcycles.co.uk/
Had a call from them earlier today. All sorted! Chris has been great to deal with. Very friendly and helpful. Turns out the Sprag clutch had failed so I'm guessing it was slipping and not turning over the engine anywhere near fast enough for a start. The good news is they came in about a third of the cost of what I'd seen quoted at triumph for the same work 
So thank you everyone for the recommendations, I can't wait to get back on the bike! Even if the weather is crap! A relief to have it sorted. I'll certainly be going back soon for some new tyres on my old BMW! A very happy customer indeed!
So thank you everyone for the recommendations, I can't wait to get back on the bike! Even if the weather is crap! A relief to have it sorted. I'll certainly be going back soon for some new tyres on my old BMW! A very happy customer indeed!
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