Today I have reduced the distance between myself and the Marsupilami by about 800 kilometres...
...and today by another 650 kilometres, including two ferry rides, making the remaining distance to the Marsupilami about four-hundred metres. I arrived too late (1800 hours) to see the bike at the dealership, but I have recovered all my motorbike kit from the hotel in Gislaved where I had put them into storage for the last two weeks.
The dealership in Anderstorp opens at 0800 hours. I am there at that time, and the mechanics tell me that they have finally found about six
or seven error codes in the ECU, all indicating towards a problem with the engine immobiliser. They have also replaced the ring antenna of the
ignition system, but as expected without any success in fixing the problem. The bike still won't start, and they are now waiting for further
instructions from Triumph Sweden about what to do with those error codes.
When I tell them that I am here to pick up the bike, they are clearly quite happy to get rid of my Marsupilami. In no time have they
organized a forklift truck and start lifting my bike upwards:
With the steering lock still engaged, this is the only sensible method to get the bike onto my truck. Within minutes the bike is fully secured and ready for the thousand mile journey back to Switzerland:
Next time anyone asks why I drive a truck instead of one of these tiny bubble cars most Europeans use I shall point them to the above images. By 0930 I am under way and after an uneventful drive on fine Swedish, Danish and rather obnoxiously bad German motorways plus the usual two ferry rides I end the day at a small hotel near Amelinghausen.
There was quite some rain last night here in Northern Germany, but luckily my truck was parked under a roof outside the hotel:
I set off this morning at 0800 and after another 870 kilometres the bike, the truck, my kit and myself have all made it safely back to Switzerland.
This morning all that remains to be done is to drive those two miles to my Triumph dealer and unload the Marsupilami from my truck:
Triumph has already contacted the dealership and has advised them to repeat the readout of the ECU error codes, then erase those error codes and to verify that the errors re-appear afterwards. Once this is done this should clarify which components will have to be replaced.
Here is a picture of my bike from this afternoon:
Five weeks after the breakdown the problem remains unresolved and the manufacturer is in daily contact with the mechanics at the dealership. It is obvious that the boffins in Hinckley are as much at a loss as to what caused the total failure of the electronics as the mechanics in Sweden and Switzerland are.
After waiting for nearly six weeks, today I got my repaired Tiger 1200 back from the dealership. Apparently the number of parts replaced came to exactly zero - all that was done was to reload the firmware into the various computers (one ECU engine management unit, one device to control the suspension system, one for the immobiliser and one for the ABS system).
When I stop the engine after seven kilometres and try to switch the ignition back on I am greeted by this error on the display:
Instead of humming for two or three seconds to build up the usual three bars of pressure, the fuel pump just hisses for a split second. The starter also won't turn the engine more than maybe a tenth of a rev, then conks out. I am stranded again...
Six weeks of waiting for a repair that lasts seven kilometres is not really up to the usual Swiss Standards. I try again and again to start the engine, but initially without success. However, after about 30 minutes and with the engine having cooled down the bike suddenly decides to start as if nothing has happened.
I'm not in the mood for further experiments, so I simply ride home and call it a day.
At the dealership they read out the error codes from the various computers this morning - the list of errors is nearly endless. Dear reader, I know when its time to kiss a bike good-bye. This is such a case; what I thought was a Marsupilami has turned out to be a Lemon instead. This bike would need a complete new wiring harness including the ignitions switch assembly as well as all four computers to be replaced to really cure these electronic gremlins. By the time Triumph will agree to this the 2018 biking season will be over.
I have a word with the salesman; he has a white Tiger XRt in the showroom and makes me a very good offer for the Lemon. We agree that they will take all painted parts from the Lemon and put it onto the new Tiger, essentialy turning the white Tiger into a red one. They will do the same with the wheels, as the new Tiger comes with Metzeler Tourance Next tyres which are worn square after only 2000 kilometres and are absolutely useless. My "old" wheels have Michelin Pilot Road 4 tyres on them, a much better choice for long distance touring. This wheel change will also transfer the TPMS sensors (which that new Tiger does not have as standard) to the new bike - and they promise to have that new bike ready and on the road for me by next weekend.
Outside the dealership I see my Lemon parked - now completely in white livery. Hopefully for the new owner Triumph will follow my advice on what needs to be changed to turn this Lemon into a reliable Marsupilami again... But my new Marsupilami Mark II is ready for the road:
An 1100 kilometres ride over this weekend finds absolutely no flaws with the new bike. You may have noticed that I have replaced the original Triumph panniers for GIVI panniers (the OEM Triumph panniers are also made by GIVI).
The reason for this is simple; the non-OEM Givi panniers are mounted three centimetres lower than the OEM Triumph panniers, the left Givi pannier is another two centimetres closer to the bike (making the entire setup two centimetres narrower).
Alas, after nearly four month I can finally close this journey log - one of the longest spring vacations ever with the least number of kilometres driven...
Below is the usual map with my GPS tracklog.