Triumph UK and Triumph South Africa have parted ways, and the British motorcycles will no longer be imported by Kawasaki Motorcycles SA (KMSA).
Triumph UK is in the process of appointing a new SA importer within the next six months or so, during which time KMSA will continue to support the brand with spares, accessories and warranties.
Arnold Olivier, Brand Director of Triumph South Africa, says the split occurred over Triumph UK’s new retail concept that calls for single, larger dealerships in cities rather than the present model of using a number of smaller dealers. The alternative of upgrading the existing smaller stores would have required a very high financial investment, and the new distributor will clearly need to have deep pockets to meet Triumph UK’s new customer-interface model.
KMSA has been SA’s Triumph distributor for 22 years and is the world’s third largest independent Triumph importer. The 115-year old brand has a strong following in this country with around 4 500 Triumphs on our roads. The Triumph Thruxton R is also South Africa’s reigning Pirelli Bike of the Year as voted for by a panel of motorcycle journalists.
Triumph Motorcycles Ltd is the largest British motorcycle manufacturer, established in 1984 by John Bloor after the original company Triumph Engineering went into receivership. The new company continued Triumph's record of motorcycle production since 1902.
If you’re looking for a biking bargain, now would be a good time to buy a Triumph as KMSA is selling off existing stock at drastically reduced prices.
Here is the new pricelist, with the old prices on the right:
MODEL
New Price
Old Price
BONNEVILLER64 000R97 500BONNEVILLE NEWCHURCHR69 000R104 500BONNEVILLE T100 & T100 BLACKR79 000R134 500BONNEVILLE T120R109 000R147 500BONNEVILLE BOBBERR164 500R164 500DAYTONA 675R125 000R154 500SPEED TRIPLE SR130 000R165 500SPEED TRIPLE RR119 000R149 500SPEED TRIPLE '94R109 000R139 500STREET CUPR79 000R134 500STREET SCRAMBLERR109 000R139 500STREET TRIPLE 675R90 000R119 500STREET TWINR69 000R124 500THRUXTON 1200R109 000R149 500THRUXTON 1200 RR129 000R174 500THRUXTON EFIR69 000R109 500THUNDERBIRD COMMANDERR109 000R194 500TIGER 1200 EXPLORER XCAR159 000R224 500TIGER 1200 EXPLORER XCXR139 000R199 500TIGER 1200 EXPLORER XRTR149 000R214 500TIGER 800 XCXR119 000R159 500TIGER 800 XCX LOWR119 000R159 500TIGER 800 XRX LOWR99 000R144 500
IOL Motoring