My Triumph Service Experience
Triumph does not have a dealer in Goa, which is why I had to buy my Tiger 800 XRx from Shaman Triumph in Mumbai. I wasn’t too worried about servicing the motorcycle. I could ride it to Mumbai once or twice a year for that. I was more worried about the small things that could go wrong with the motorcycle every now and then. I can handle the small maintenance stuff. But if something went wrong with the electricals or electronics then I was looking at hauling the motorcycle 600 kms to Mumbai or waiting for Shaman to send someone down to fix the problem.
I’ve ridden the Tiger 9000+ kms since I bought it five months ago and so far absolutely nothing has gone wrong with it. I just did the second service yesterday and I didn’t even need to ride the motorcycle to Mumbai for this service or the previous one. When buying the vehicle the folks at Shaman told me that they could send a technician down to Goa to service my motorcycle if I was ready to bear the cost. If there were more motorcycles to be worked upon in Goa then the cost would be split up between the owners. Excellent!
The first service for the Tiger 800 needed to be done at 800 kms. Which meant by the time I rode the Tiger from Mumbai to Goa, the first service was going to be almost due. I know that oil and oil filter change is the most important thing in the first service and needed to be done at the prescribed mileage. Other stuff like balancing the throttles, although important, were not critical to the well being of the engine. So I asked Shaman they would sell me the 3.6 litres of oil, the oil filter and the drain plug washer (which needs to be replaced every time the oil is drained out) and let me do the oil change myself after I rode my motorcycle to Goa. And they agreed!
A few days after I rode the motorcycle home from Mumbai I got a call from Shaman letting me know that they were sending a technician to Goa to work on a Bonneville and he could complete the rest of the first service of my Tiger at my home in Goa. Awesome!
Five months later I was making plans to ride my Tiger to Mumbai to do the second service. But I got a call from Shaman saying that they would be sending someone to Goa to service a Rocket III. I inspected my brake pads and figured that the rear set had worn out and needed to be changed. The front still had quite a bit of life in them. The air filter would also need to be cleaned or replaced. But we would come to know only after the tank was removed and we could inspect the air filter. Unfortunately inspecting the air filter of a Tiger isn’t as simple as removing the seat and loosening few bolts as in the case of the Duke. I discussed all this with Shaman over the phone and yesterday they sent a technician with the necessary spares.
The technician didn’t change the front brake pads. However, he watched over and guided me as I removed the pads, cleaned them and put them back in place. When they eventually wear out I will replace the new set that the technician brought along with him from Mumbai.
This level of service and flexibility by Shaman Triumph is commendable. It just adds to the joy of owning an excellent machine that puts a smile on my face every time I throw a leg over it.
