They used to be horrible quality wise - 80s Hyundai of the bike world. They invested huge in quality and seems to be paying off. They are built in India and some folks have a tough time with that is maybe a part if it.
Not sure if they were worse than the British original, but by modern standards they've been crappily built for a long long time
Will be interesting if they've actually turned things around
They are basically half the price of a Triumph, and about half the quality. BUT, that's a lot better than they used to be. AND if you fix the known issues from the get go, you will have a cheap reliable bike.
My Dad owned many Triumphs, and bought an RE (in about 2015 ish). All of the known faults happened fairly soon, clutch cable breaking immediately etc. When he went to buy parts, the guy told him to order a few more aftermarket parts to replace the factory ones that were known to give way, so he did.
After about a year he replaced it with another Triumph Bonnie as the quality just wasn't good enough for him.
There are exceptions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6Dpwc1y3ZU