Harley Quality

[britman]

I hope the title of this thread doesn't get me shunned by the entire congregation. Just know I am Triumph loyal and can't ever seen me riding Harley Davidson again. In my opinion HD does have one area where they are leaps and bounds ahead of the triangle T, that is in their clothing. Since I work in a warehouse with no air conditioning, I am in a tee shirt and shorts ever day during the summer months. ( I would wear even less with the weather we have been having lately, but then there would be the problem of keeping the women out of the work area.) Due to this fact I have a dresser full of tee shirts. A number of these are the Triumph brand which pale in comparison to the much older and well worn Harley tees left over from my "pirate" days. The old HD shirts may have a faded logo from the ten years or so of washings, but they still hold their shape and fit. I find the Triumph brands are almost impossible to find the right size. An XL might fit in one shirt and be entirely too small in another, and the quality of the fabric is just not the same. I have several old HD brand button up long sleeve and sweat shirts that are ancient and still going strong. Well I have vented, now I am off to work wearing a Richmond Harley Davidson tee shirt on a Rocket III. If you pass me I hope you still wave.........

 

[benelli_4572]

You can thank VF imageware (formally Hollebeck) for making quality shirts! I agree! Since my wife works for Harley, I get a lot of FREE H-D shirts. I will admit I wear them all the time. After all they are free. I wish my Triumph shirts wore as good as the harley shirts I have, but I guess thats not the european way!

 

[JRCollings]

Well I can tell you, having lived in England for the first 37 years of my life, before moving to the US, it has nothing to do with 'the European way' and everything to do with quality.

I moved to the US over ten years ago and still have lots of clothes I brought with me... but I have bought cheap stuff since being here that has long since gone...

So I think we need to look in the areas of 'profit margin' and 'product quality' - IMO Triumph branded gear (especially stuff like T shirts) is blatantly over priced and of very dubious manufacture - and the initial poster's opinion / experience would appear to mirror mine.

C'mon Triumph, step up and supply clothes that are of excellent quality and value for money - you are, after all, getting all the below the line marketing from people wearing them.

 

[Molinoman]

I agree with the previous posts. I like the Triumph brand but they do fall short on sizes. And the pricing is, as mentioned, more expensive than it should be.

That being said...I would never, never, never ever buy a Triumph jacket, for instance, unless I could try it on first at the dealership. Their idea of Large, X-Large, etc... is very different from US sized individuals and ordering online, I believe, is very hit or miss as far as proper sizing goes.

One thing you may want to do is order, if you are fortunate enough to be near one, from a Triumph dealer. He/she may give a slight discount (not guaranteed) but at least if it didn't fit you stand a good chance they may send it back for you and get a bigger/smaller size as needed or if it looks like a popular seller in the dealership they may keep it for in dealership stock and order the correct size for you.

Good luck,

Dennis

 

[RocketDaryl]

I don't buy the Triumph brand stuff often. I have a summer riding jacket with the armour plated elbows, shoulders, etc... that I got on clearance for $99.00. It's good quality. I have a shirt that I got free from Triumph America corporate headquaters in Atlanta for providing them with pictures of my old Speedmaster to use for some parts catalog they were putting together (Yes, my old Speedy is the one in the book). It's a good quality shirt. I looked at their "Highway" boots, however, and they sucked big time. I wear a size 9 shoe with a very narrow heal. I tried on a size 9 in that boot and it swallowed my foot. It was also hard as a rock. I tried on a size 8 and it didn't feel any smaller than the 9. Go figure. Those are my only experiences with Triumph brand stuff. I usually buy the stuff that the dealer has made up specifically for their shop. I find most of that stuff to be good quality; as good as the Harley dealer stuff.

Speaking of Harley, I like Harleys and am just as liable to buy a Harley as a Triumph so I have no hang-ups wearing their gear. That said, I don't buy Harley branded stuff as I feel is also WAY over priced. I will buy dealer shirts as those are typically semi-reasonably priced. I will say this, however. I like to wear fingerless leather gloves in the summer when it gets too **** hot for my regular gear. I used to buy them for like $5.00 a pair at motorcycle rallies. They wouldn't last more than a couple of summers before they would have a hole worn through them. Also, if they got wet, they'd be stiff as a board. I broke down and bought the Harley branded pair at the Harley shop. They cost a ridiculous $30.00, but I've had them for years now and the only difference between them now and when they were new is the tops of them are faded. I guess the $30.00 isn't looking so ridiculous now.

 

[bigdoug]

I can vouch for this guy, his Triumph tees are very good quality and he has big sizes up to 4xl.

The Shirt Hits The Fan items - Get great deals on T-SHIRTS, POLO SHIRTS items on eBay.co.uk Shops!

Dont know if it will be much use to you guys over the pond tho.

 

[rayjay]

In England all the Harley dealers sell Tee shirts with there names on..could never understand why they expected me to pay top dollar for a Tee shirt and advertise their
company..when the customer service is piss poor.

 

[benelli_4572]

I am not saying "eropean way" as a disrespect. I once purchased a triumph tee, and it was weird in cut and size. I was not pleased, and upon questioning the store I was told that triumph runs small due to the fact european people are not as fat as us americans! I just think it is funny, Sorry if anybody is offended by that. I guess thats just the "wisconsin way"!

 

[Sidecar Flip]

Here's my 2 cents. Triumph clothing sucks both in fit and durability. HD's stuff fits and is fairly durable, the older stuff is better because it is American made. The new HD stuff, like the Triumph stuff is made in some sweatshop in China, it's just that the HD's sweatshop is in a district where the cooleys take more pride in their work. The Triumph Sweatshop is in the low rent/low quality district.

On the other hand, Triumph Leather goods are top shelf, better that HD ever hopes to be or can be. Even the Triumph branded mad in China, leather riding gloves are very good. I was a little fearful that sticking my hand in one, I might find some contraband,,,,,

Finally, visit a Harley shop soon and browse the clothing. Pay special attention to the labels. You won't find ONE item of HD branded clothing that's made in this country.

It's all middle eastern or ROC. if you don't believe me, go look for yourself. It's an eye opener.

Of course the bikes are a conglomeration of foreign sourced parts, assembled in this country because, that's the American way.

 

[oldsprint03]

Triumpg Clothing

I believe Britman is secretly telling us he wants to go back to Harley.

Having said that, I am a Triumph clothing addicted person. I have (between my wife and I now) 9 Triumph Jackets, mesh riding pants, three sets of Triumph Gloves, 2 sets of Triumph boots, 29 shirts (some as old as 2004 and still in great shape) Heck, I even own two Triumph watches and a belt. Oh... and there is a four time-zone Triumph clock just above me as i write this.

We also have Triumph PC carrier, three Triumph backpacks. Now that I add it all up, heck I could have bought maybe a Bonnie (used). Oh and we have Triumph full rain suits, and there is a new Triumph Mesh jacket awaiting pickup at the store.

I like Triumph gear!!

oldsprint03