And yet another!
If nobody takes over I’ve got a hell of a long ride if I fancied a new Triumph. (Plymouth was my nearest at hour and half away, Exeter makes it two hours +) 
Bad news indeed. Doubly bad if it means you’re obliged to use Bridge - I, personally, wouldn’t trust them with a pedal cycle, though my deep-rooted, personal prejudice is born from a long past experience! They MAY have changed (hopefully for the better, of course) but I’m not sure I’d risk it without some serious and up to date research.
Bought SWMBO’s (used) StreetTrip from Bridge about 8yrs ago, a couple of helmets more recently, no problems, but never had need of their workshop. 
And the accessibility of my local BMW dealer being only 20 minutes away has much to do with my present tourer and it’s impending replacement.
Hope they survive!
I’m the same with Triumph. My Triumph dealer is 12 miles away - other than that there isn’t much else unless I travel 50+ miles, so it would be a real pain if they were to close.
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Just checked, Bridge is now my nearest Triumph dealer - 96miles away!
(Triumph are quick in updating their web site, Plymouth dealership not showing now)
So even if Triumph brought out my perfect bike it’s doubtful I would show any interest as things stand.
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It is a real shame that triumph dealers are closing all over the country. I think if the dealers near me closed and I had to travel, I would definitely sell my triumph and find an alternative dealer/manufacturer close to home.
Doesn’t affect me for our Speed and Street Triples as they’re old enough that I do all my own maintenance, but it certainly influences folks “new bike” purchasing decisions.
Starting to wonder if there’s a pattern forming, Triumph seems to be involved in a number of these failures. 
If there is a “pattern” - or even some unseen, underlying reason behind these closures, I think it will take some time for it to become clear. There also seem to be more than a few car franchise dealerships closing recently and I suspect that there’s more than one underlying reason for it all. Why Triumph in particular is difficult to say - perhaps something in the model of their franchise agreements like, maybe, minimum investment required; restriction on other brand space sharing etc.
I guess only time will tell …
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I certainly don’t think this is a specific Triumph thing, it seems that a number of multi franchise dealer groups have folded recently.
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From my point of view, modern bikes are just so good that there is no longer the BIG leaps forward that there used to be as models were upgraded. And as the price of new bikes has steadily increased to serious money, the cost to change is now too large for leisure riders. Add in the current cost of living, increased interest rates on HP and PCP’s and it is the perfect storm.
PCP’s kept dealers busy for the past few years but as the old ones run out the cost of change is massive …. Hence very few are now taking these out.
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Surely the ever increasing average age of motorcyclists must have an influence. The majority of heads you see at a bike meet are either grey or bold.
The industry should have been targeting younger riders instead of sitting back and relying on returning customers.
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Yep 100% @dawsy. That and the costs of insurance for younger people has stopped a lot of new riders ….
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I guess that was the objective of Triumph releasing the 400’s, ironically I would guess most have been bought by the older oldies. 
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True. I am struggling to think of Amy marketing scheme though that was encouraging young riders.
Maybe putting new riders through the CBT etc would be a start.
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That seems to be the trend with many existing customers down sizing due to age/cost or both. The problem there is that means the dealers are selling fewer large capacity bikes where the profits are higher per sale so if this continues and they fail to attract new riders “we’re all doooooomed”
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Definitely the case that triumph want single Triumph showrooms.
I suspect that Triumph Chester couldn’t make it work with just Triumph in their showroom, apart from its location where there was nothing around, so no option than just sitting in the showroom when waiting for a service or any work that needed doing.
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I’ve not bought a new bike since 2003. I have bought several secondhand bikes from dealers as I can’t be bothered with selling privately. But my best mate who bought a new Tiger 1200 this year had a poor experience with a Triumph main dealer. Shan’t say where … He placed the order in early Feb and he was told the new bike would be with him in March. It wasn’t. He had to keep chasing the dealer to get an update on when it was going to be ready for collection and could not get a reply or any answers to his emails. When he popped into the dealer the salesman was not very helpful, promising to get back to him with a date once he could speak to the factory… Day and months went by and he got fobbed off with things like “ it’s because you ordered the red one sir…”: Finally as May loomed into view and a few dealers started showing stock on their websites he went in to cancel the order and all of a sudden “ah we are getting it next week sir” …
He spent £18000 on a new bike and got shite service.
All this talk of dealerships reminds me of a FortNine video a couple of years ago…
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