Roadster transmission problems sorted.... My a***!

Nat67 said:

I was recently talking to a friend who is head technician at one of the main Triumph dealerships . I was expressing concerns about gearboxes on the rocket in general and he mentioned that they have recently had a spate of 2011 to 2013 bikes in , mainly roadsters that had chewed 3rd and 4th gears . Some ridden hard and some not so . There seems to be no rhyme or reason to this problem , you either get a good one or you don't . There is some light to this tho @Dr G as he also said there has been issues with the output bearing also on these models so maybe your problem is not so terminal , fingers crossed ?
Also , altho not related and in response to a previous thread , he mentioned that as of early 2016 triumph have indeed upped the scheduled 10000 mile valve check to 20000 in light of none of 10000 mile bikes being out of tolerance !
As @Dr G says tho , the triumph promotional video does show wheelies and burnouts , but it doesn't show the bikes used being returned for gearbox rebuilds ! If the bike is not capable of handling that kind of abuse , it seems wrong that Triumph themselves should advocate it !
Good luck with the problem mate , I really hope it doesn't turn out to be too painful ?

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Dr G said:

Hello mate- well after a 2.5k quote from triumph and an actual bill from a trusted independent of £1700 the bike is fixed!!! My worst fears realised. The gears, selector and dogs badly worn after 13000 miles. I chose an independent (actually Ducati specialist) for obvious reasons! Triumph were very guarded and I overheard the dealer on the phone saying "yes it is a 2011" and he later said that it was a very powerful motor for a motorcycle gearbox to handle! Not at all impressed especially as the specialist said the gearbox was made of cheese!

No support from Triumph at all and I guess this is not surprising given they seem to be living in denial.

All I ask is that they pull the wheelie ad from you tube so more people are suckered into believing the maddest bike on the market is faintly fit for purpose. Ducati Diavel here I come! A bike that CAN live up to expectation!! Anyone want buy a rocket 3 - totally sorted gearbox with updated internals? Old bits available for inspection!

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TURBO200R4 said:

could it be possible that the gears r not the problem. i would say that the fork was the first to fail
once the fork has worn out there is enough play for the gear to disengage.(the so called first missed gear) after that it is all down hill.
so if i assume its the fork that failed then the problem could be oil/riding the lever/metal content or rider. i would think that the list might be a long list of potential problems. in my opinion if u always blame the gear u can never find a solution.
i would like to thank u for the pics. i have always worried because i have the 07 classic with 34,000 miles i always make sure it is in second before wot. i do not use the gears to slow down i use the brakes. i love when u down shift and listen to the engine but i would hate to wreck my trans. does that make me a better driver i think not. makes me a cheaper driver if i had lots of money i would have tore up several rockets.
if i was putting that trans together i would be more concerned about the groves the fork was riding in than those gears. jmo

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Dr G said:

Hello mate!

Yes! 1700 quid poorer and major gearbox repair using genuine Triumph gearbox bits ( made in Japan!!!!!! Where are hey seem to know how to make parts fit for purpose!!!) and the bike is probably a lot better than when it left the factory! My specialist laughed and reckons Rocket 3 boxes made of cheese!! A triumph dealer admitted loads of low mileage 2011 and 12's coming in for box rebuilds...... Triumph quoting 2.5k to fix.

extremely pissed about this and no support from Triumph who are in denial!

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Claviger said:

All the recent failures including mine that I've seen pics of, 4 in the last year, have been worn dogs, bent forks, and the same symptoms.

They all lead back to the same two possibilities: Bent shift fork when initially assembled progressively getting worse over time as it spits the bike out of gear OR missing/incorrect spacer installed leading to bent shift fork.

This problem is 100% an assembly error and Triumph is completely culpable, **** shame they're charging people to fix it.

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Neville Lush said:

So, I am more impressed now we get more of the story, not just a dyno run really is it . Revving it to 10K will spread the load as well,as I am sure you are aware. Is the Trans completely stock?Or carefully set up and undercut etc? As to motherfuc$ing tough,???? I believe the gears themselves are robust, but there is certainly some issues, whether it is quality control or assembly. There has been enough issues with stock 125Hp bikes to bear that out. I have found, on the few gearboxes I have done that the shimming/set up leaves a bit to be desired.

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WyldCFH said:

Human Error - the thing that happened when Triumph engineers designed the R3 tranny - what happened when the chief engineer at Triumph hired the guy that designed the R3 tranny. Take your pick.

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DodahMan said:

Wow. I have been reading a lot of posts here and am pretty new to this forum. I have had a roadstar for 16 years that never gave me a minutes problem. Yamaha had to do a trans recall and mine was done even though I experienced no problems. I have found a sweet 2013 R3 tour model with only 3000 miles and it is a beauty. I am tempted but very skittish. Having done my own work and maintenance over the years, the R3 does not scare me that much but I am very hesitant now about buying one. Wish I could emai some of you privately because I appreciate honest opinion.

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Nat67 said:

Any member here can be pm d and all in my experience are happy and willing to help !
Reading thru the threads will give you a good idea of who to contact and will give you sound honest advice without sugar coating .
Remember tho , that the threads you read on here are from people who have had problems , many people have not !
The R3 in all its guises is a lovely bike and dare I say it worth the risk , especially to the home mechanic like yourself who would be capable of repairing it should the worst ever occur ! There are some wonderful guys here with far more knowledge than most Triumph technicians put together !

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