NHTSA Complaint #10423308 — 2011 TRIUMPH SPRINT GT

AT LOW SPEEDS THE ENGINE DIES WITHOUT WARNING. THIS CONDITION FIRST HAPPENED AS I WAS SHIFTING DOWN FROM 2ND TO 1ST GEAR. WHEN THE ENGINE DIES, THE REAR WHEEL LOCKS. THIS HAS CONTINUED TO HAPPEN SINCE I'VE OWNED THIS MACHINE. IT HAS ALSO DIED WHEN TRYING TO ACCELERATE FROM LOW SPEEDS. WHEN YOU'RE ATTEMPTING A TIGHT, LOW SPEED TURN ON A MOTORCYCLE YOU COUNT ON ACCELERATION TO COMPLETE THE TURN. WHEN INSTEAD THE REAR WHEEL LOCKS, YOU TEND TO FALL. THE ENGINE HAS DIED ON THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS WHEN ACCELERATING FROM LOW SPEED-APPROXIMATELY 1500 TO 1700 RPM. THE ENGINE HAS ALSO DIED AFTER SHIFTING TO NEUTRAL, AGAIN AT LOW RPM. FINALLY, MOST RIDERS WHEN SHIFTING DOWN TO A LOWER GEAR "BLIP" THE THROTTLE. THIS MAKES THE SHIFT SMOOTH. ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS, WHEN ATTEMPTING TO DOWNSHIFT, THE ENGINE HAS FAILED TO RESPOND TO INCREASED THROTTLE POSITION. THIS RESULTS IN A "ROUGH" SHIFT AND CAN CAUSE THE REAR WHEEL TO HOP AS THE ENGINE RPM INCREASES TO THE DEMANDS OF THE LOWER GEAR. BOTH THE DYING UNDER ACCELERATION AND THE FAILURE TO INCREASE RPM WITH THROTTLE POSITION FOR DOWNSHIFTS ARE VERY DANGEROUS. THE DYING WHEN SLOWING UP CAN ALSO LEAVE YOU SITTING STILL AND A TARGET FOR FOLLOW-ON TRAFFIC. OUR DEALER HAS ATTEMPTED TO RECTIFY THIS SITUATION WITHOUT SUCCESS. I AM AWARE OF AT LEAST TWO DOZEN RIDERS WHO HAVE OR ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEM. I DO NOT BELIEVE THIS IS CONDITION IS CAUSED BY ANY FORM OF RIDER ERROR. I'VE BEEN RIDING FOR 52 YEARS WITH OVER 400,000 ACCIDENT FREE MILES.