Triumph Motorcycles: Official clarification from company on power figures

“The devil is in the details.” The phrase applies to every product or service we use in our day to day life. For example, how many of you knew that a leading pizza delivery chain, with a popular tagline reading “30 minutes or free”, has a liability of just Rs 300 for every order you make. You will still have to pay the amount over and above Rs 300 for every order placed. Surprised? Well, read the fine print the next time you order your pizza, or buy your next motorcycle.

Triumph Motorcycles, upon their entry to the Indian market in November last year, had populated their Indian website with European spec products. A small disclaimer suggesting that the data was European model specific was duly provided on the product pages of the site. Even the official product booklet had mentioned European specifications with an asterisk mark and a small disclaimer. But catastrophe struck the company when an ARAI document surfaced on the internet which stated that the Triumph Street Triple 675 motorcycle, right from the very first batch, was tuned to put out 58.35 kW or 78.24 bhp of power as opposed to 104.7 bhp as mentioned on the website and product booklet. Now, some difference in output in understandable. However, we are talking about over 25 percent less power than the motorcycle’s European counterpart. Some feathers were bound to be ruffled!

According to an update from Triumph India though, among their entire motorcycle range sold in India, it is just the Street Triple which suffers from this curtailment of power and none of the other Triumph motorcycles sold in India are affected. In an official release, Triumph Motorcycle India said, “Triumph Motorcycles India Private Limited would like to clarify that the earlier information on Triumph India website displayed the EU specifications, which was mentioned under the terms and conditions section of our website. The testing processes in India and UK are different, which leads to variations in the calculation of power output in PS. The specifications are now updated on the website and are as per the certification under the ARAI regulations.”

Now, Triumph Motorycle India may think of this statement as a valid explanation for not revealing the real power figures right at the outset, but unfortunately it just doesn’t add up. In the end, the customer has the right to know EXACTLY what he’s buying before he puts his hard earned money into a product. The India-spec Street-Triple has probably been detuned to meet the emission norms, or possibly to cope with the lower fuel quality, but the underlying issue is that of transparency. The customers would have better appreciated had the company, in some way mentioned the true output figures for India. All that the disclaimer said was that the figures shown were those of a Euro Spec motorcycle. It never said that the Street-Triple in India will produce less power, significantly less at that. And that didn’t leave a prospective customer with any way to find out. Which, in our humble opinion was misleading to say the least.

Thankfully, Triumph India have updated their website with the exact output figures, which means you now know exactly what you get for your money. Another positive aspect is that the hardware on offer on the Indian models is the same as the Euro spec variants and to Triumph India’s credit the company hasn’t skimped on that aspect. Even in the slightly detuned state, the Street-Triple is capable enough to let you have a fantastic riding experience, especially in the inhibited environs our public roads offer.  If, however, you think that your experience has somewhat been marred by the now apparent reduction in power figures, you can get in touch with the company, which promises to deal with the customers’ concerns on an individual basis.

Here is the official press statement from Triumph Motorcycle India

Triumph Motorcycles India Private Limited would like to clarify that the earlier information on Triumph India website displayed the EU specifications, which was mentioned under the terms and conditions section of our website. The testing processes in India and UK are different, which leads to variations in the calculation of power output in PS. The specifications are now updated on the website and are as per the certification under the ARAI regulations.

Since our foray into the Indian market, all our CKD motorcycles in India have been registered as per the ARAI regulations and certifications and same is stated on our current website. Please note that specifications of all our motorcycles sold in India are of similar specifications which are sold elsewhere globally, with few minor variations to comply with Indian regulations.

We have also received some queries with regards to the Street Triple 675, Triumph Motorcycles. We would like to state that the motorcycles sold in India have always been the 85PS (79 PS as per ARAI Test Certificate) variant. We understand that some confusion has been caused to our esteemed customers in relation to the aforesaid. We request our customers to kindly allow us some time to review and revert on the same.

As a brand, Triumph Motorcycles India Private Limited values its customers and their satisfaction is of the utmost importance to us. We request our customers to directly contact the dealerships in their respective cities for any further assistance. The contact detail for each individual dealership is available on our website. Customers can also reach us at customer.care@triumphmotorcycles.in. We will review each query independently and try our best to resolve in accordance with the brand guidelines and procedures.

All media queries should be directed to Mr. Siddhartha Varma at siddhartha@eulogyindia.in.

Marketing strategy does involve showing a product in good light but over-hyped power figures and the ruckus created by it might prove to be a huge negative, especially for a new brand in the country. Do you agree with us? Share your thoughts and opinions with us through comments below.