Triumph preliminary evaluation PE21017
Extended Stopping Distance. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the abs warning light on 14 model years (2016–2019). Opened Jul 9, 2021, closed Jan 15, 2025 after 3.5 years without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this Preliminary Evaluation (PE21017) on July 9, 2021 for model year (MY) 2016-2019 Triumph Thruxton and Speed Triple model motorcycles based on allegations of loss of front braking performance. Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQ) indicated riders were experiencing a soft front brake lever that could result in an unexpected extended stopping distance. On July 28, 2021, ODI sent an Information Request letter to Triumph to learn more about the subject components and alleged defect. On September 24, 2021, Triumph submitted its response, which ODI analyzed. ODI learned that the majority of the VOQ incidents occurred two or more years after the motorcycle was manufactured. The manufacturer recommends changing the brake fluid every two years, regardless of mileage. As the manufacturer’s warranty lasts for two years from the date of sale, many dealers covered the complicated brake fluid replacement procedure under warranty. However, most of the motorcycles involved in these incidents were overdue to have their brake system serviced. Triumph conducted testing of the brake system to better quantify what riders were experiencing. Triumph found pulling the lever a second time immediately after an initial pull did result in less lever travel for the same force exerted on the lever. This reduction was two millimeters or less. Additional testing was conducted to ascertain the caliper force generated relative to various lever forces. Triumph found that the caliper force varied +/- 2% between the first and second pull of the front brake lever and any given applied force. Triumph claimed that the lack of proper maintenance was the cause of the soft brake lever. Triumph conducted additional testing to quantify this claim. The lever travel between the first and second pull increased 150% on an improperly maintained system versus a properly maintained system. However, the caliper force only decreased 2-3% on average with this increased lever travel, further indicating that the subject motorcycles are capable of fully stopping. ODI located and evaluated a subject motorcycle. Measurements were taken and confirmed there was a small decrease in lever travel between the first and second pull. ODI then conducted a series of hard braking events, which did not produce evidence that the difference in lever travel resulted in an extended stopping distance. ODI also considered Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS) data. ODI identified six fatal events that involved a subject vehicle. The service history records were reviewed for each motorcycle, however,none of the records included any mention of braking problems and thus there is no indication that the alleged defect may have contributed to the fatal crashes. As of this time there are no VOQ or manufacturer claims reporting an injury, fatality, or crash arising from this issue. Based on the available information, including the absence of such events after nine years of service on the oldest motorcycles, ODI is closing this investigation. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that no safety-related defect exists. The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.
A Preliminary Evaluation is the first formal stage: NHTSA has decided the complaints and other information it screened are worth a closer look, and asks the manufacturer for its own data on the condition. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the resumes carrying the full reasoning are linked below.
The paperwork NHTSA filed
Source: every document on this action, at nhtsa.gov- Opening resume — ODI’s own summary of why it opened this — the subject, what prompted it, and the vehicles in scope.
- Closing resume — ODI’s own summary of why it closed this, and what it concluded.
| Document | Code | Filed | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening resume | INOA | 2021 | |
| Closing resume | INCLA | 2021 | |
| Information request to the manufacturer | INIM | 2021 | |
| Manufacturer's response — data | INRD | 2021 | 20 files 1234567891011121314151617181920 |
| Manufacturer's response — full submission | INRL | 2021 | 4 files 1234 |
| Memo to the investigation file | INME | 2021 | 2 files 12 |
| Correspondence | INLO | 2021 | 2 files 12 |
| Confidential business information notice | INCBC | 2021 | 3 files 123 |
| Filed document | INCV | 2021 | |
| Filed document | INRP | 2021 | 2 files 12 |
| Correspondence | INOT | 2021 |
These are NHTSA’s own files, served from the agency’s site — the resumes are what ODI wrote when it opened and closed the action, and the rest is the correspondence behind them, including what the manufacturer sent when the agency asked. They are linked, not copied: where a document names the people who wrote in, that redaction is the agency’s to make and its copy is the one you should read.
What owners had already reported
Source: complaints on file the day it openedWhen NHTSA opened this on Jul 9, 2021, owners had filed 33 complaints with the agency about the model years above, of which 28 named the service brakes NHTSA went on to investigate. Owner complaints are the agency’s main early signal: ODI screens them, and a Preliminary Evaluation is usually where a pattern in them ends up.
This is what the complaint file held on that date, not a claim about which reports prompted the investigation — NHTSA’s complaint records carry no investigation number, so nobody can make that link from the data alone. The opening resume linked above names the reports ODI itself cited. Complaint records on this site begin with 2016.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one closed without a recall. That means NHTSA found no defect trend it chose to act on at the time, or the manufacturer addressed the condition another way (a service campaign or a bulletin, which have their own pages). A closed file can be reopened if new reports arrive.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2016 Triumph Speed Triple; 2017 Triumph Speed Triple; 2018 Triumph Speed Triple; 2019 Triumph Speed Triple; 2016 Triumph Speed Triple R; 2017 Triumph Speed Triple R; 2019 Triumph Speed Triple RS; 2019 Triumph Speed Triple S; 2016 Triumph Thruxton; 2017 Triumph Thruxton; 2018 Triumph Thruxton; 2019 Triumph Thruxton; 2017 Triumph Thruxton 1200R; 2017 Triumph Thruxton R.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs PE21017 a recall?
No. A preliminary evaluation is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one closed without one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is PE21017 still open?
No. It closed on Jan 15, 2025 without a recall.
Which vehicles does PE21017 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 14 model years: 2016 Triumph Speed Triple, 2017 Triumph Speed Triple, 2018 Triumph Speed Triple, 2019 Triumph Speed Triple, 2016 Triumph Speed Triple R, 2017 Triumph Speed Triple R and more. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.