The Triumph Street Twin Made in Thailand
As you may already know, Triumph's Street Twin isn't made in the UK. It's built in Chonburi, Thailand. You may also already know that Triumph has more factories abroad than it's ever had in the UK – but should you be worried about the quality of the motorcycles that come from these factories?People can be very sniffy about motorcycles not made in the country a particular brand is associated with. It's the same with all large American and European brands. There's often a suspicion that manufacturing technology and workmanship is going to become sub-standard as soon as production goes abroad. In the Triumph Street Twin's case, this couldn't be further from the truth.
The quality of the finish on the Triumph Street Twin is exceptionally high – equal to, or better than many pricier Japanese or European-built machines. The paint finish is excellent, not just on the fuel tank and side panels but also on the frame and swingarm. The crinkle finish on the engine is well matched to the plastic sprocket cover and the brushed effect on the stainless exhaust and dummy carburetor covers gives the motorcycle a classy, contemporary look.
So, mind put at rest on those issues, maybe you should be worried about the quality of the internal engine parts? Only as much as you should worry about the durability of any Triumph engine, as they're all designed and developed in the firm's huge R&D department in Hinckley, UK, which is the biggest motorcycle R&D unit outside of Japan.
So the short answer is no, a Triumph manufactured in one of their three Thailand factories isn't sub-standard or cheaply built – far from it. And if it's flag-waving patriotism that's making you distrust Johnny Foreigner then just keep in mind that the original Triumph Motorcycles was founded by Siegfried Bettmann, a German immigrant to the UK...Tag: Triumph Street-Twin Thailand Factory Manufacturing Quality R&D Made in Thailand Chonburi Hinckley
