I toyed with the idea of jumping from automotive to bikes about 7 years ago when Triumph were recruiting for their R&D department. However they had a very poor reputation for quality and sales were falling as a result. I also moved into a new Bryant home where the next estate of new homes were Bloor. I decided that if his bikes were built anything like his houses then I wasn't going there!!
Part of the problem though, is that they're not prepared to pay good salaries and so they get the dregs. You only have to look at the marketing in America for the new bike - it's failing to sell well mainly because they don't understand their market. If they paid better and got top notch marketing people they'd have understood how to achieve their goals. Just look at Land Rover as an example - they have well paid S&M staff dedicated to the N American market and it shows, more than 50% of their production goes to the USA.
A good buddy of mine has had a couple of Triumphs and has been happy with them, having said that.
