if land rover, alfa romeo and triumph were really 'that bad and unreliable' they would have closed doors years ago. unfortunately when something sticks, it sticks.
this new triumph looks damn nice and it is a huge compliment to bmw at the end of the day. lets see what the japs will come up with.
i wouldn't buy this bike for the same reason i wouldn't buy the bmw 800. simple, i want a thumper, not too much power etc ... horses for courses.
if i had to choose though between the triumph 800 and the bmw 800 i think i'd go for the triumph. it looks better imo (the bmw also looks great btw), and that 3 cyl engine has such a brilliant reputation. it clearly looks like triumph have done there homework, i got exactly the same impression with the yamaha xtz. once again, this whole unreliability crap is uncalled for, it's an unfortunate label that's stuck. bmw have had plenty niggles but no one calls them unreliable. they've been stuck with the 'smug and aloof' label. oh well.