Triumph Tiger Thread

[Cary]

I know if i had the pingers there would be a 955 sitting next to the XR in the mancave.
What a Fantastic machine

True, lucky me

[MD]

Ok... if the GS can have its own thread, so can the Tiger.

Not that I own one yet but I am seriously tempted after taking a few adv bikes out for a scoot. What do current Tiger owners have to offer in the way of advice?
The model i am looking at is the 800XC but am wondering whether the 1050 would be a better choice? Mostly for road use, commuting, touring and the ability to poke my nose down the odd gravel road or dirt track that takes my fancy.Any info and just general chattter about these lovely machines welcome

The 1050 is a fantastic road bike but your choice depends on what you expect on those odd times you hit the gravel. Take the 1050 on to gravel too often and it's a sure bet you will hit the gravel.

I have done a few long-ish gravel roads with my Tiger 1050 shod with sports tires. It has always been a nervous time and you are concentrating too hard on keeping it upright to enjoy the experience.
You have to take it real slow, but it can be done. No doubt dual purpose tires would have helped me.
Rough gravel or dirt- FORGET IT.

It all depends on what you expect and how often is often?

As a sporty tourer & commuter the 1050 is awesome. The Tiger 800 & the F800GS motor seemed weak to me.

The Explorer 1200 looks like the answer to your decision.

[Griffin]

The Explorer 1200 looks like the answer to your decision.

Hmmm... but if the 1050 is an issue on gravel and dirt due to its weight and cc rating, what would make the 1200 any better - surely it wud be the same weight, if not heavier than the 1050... and the cc rating is greater. Therefore going by advice Im hearing, it should be worser?

Or am I missing something?

[warewolf]

The 1050 is a fantastic road bike but your choice depends on what you expect on those odd times you hit the gravel. Take the 1050 on to gravel too often and it's a sure bet you will hit the gravel.

Hmmm not too sure about that, given "what you expect". I did plenty of gravel miles on my Triumph Trophy, often two-up with camping gear, even when I had a Tiger 900 in the shed. We did a lot of touring on the Trophy and I never let a gravel road get in the way of a good time! If you expect the Tiger to handle like an MXer, there'll be tears. If you expect it to handle gravel better than a sportstourer, a la TDM, then you'll have a ball.

No doubt taller narrower tyres with chunkier tread help, but it is only incremental gains.

I must say I really enjoyed my Tiger. Fantastic real-world street bike. Very flat torque curve means effortless power. Long suspension and wide bars made it a delight to ride on the road, especially on shitty bumpy corners, and let's face it, NZ has heaps of those!

[dino3310]

True, lucky me

aw yeah....





bastard

[oldrider]

Our Tiger is a fantastic all road touring bike and for pillion comfort my wife reckons it's the best bike we have owned.

Our second son is a (farm) station manager and as such always lives at the end of or on a gravel road so we regularly travel on gravel roads.

We used to regularly travel across the Dansey Pass, Hakataramea Pass, Black Forest road, to name a few well known local roads on the way out or returning home day or night!

The Tiger handles gravel and most sub formed roads very well but I would not rate it as your average "off road" bike unless perhaps you are a very good rider looking for a challenge!

Like I said above, we have found the (06 model) Tiger 955i to be an excellent all road tourer that has a good fuel range too, due to the 24 litre tank.

Because of the big tank and high centre of gravity, longer legs are an advantage but not essential, I am not a very tall person and I (we) have only had a few miner mishaps that the "Thunderbike" engine bars had to earn their keep on!

Unfortunately Nick Smith, ACC and old age have combined to bring our motorcycling years to a premature closure and that is why the Tiger is going to be sold, a decision we thought we were going to make on our own rather than having those pricks bring it forward a bit sooner!

To be totally fair though some health problems have raised their head lately to suggest it was going to happen anyway but it is nice to have someone else to blame in the mean time ... if you know what I mean!

[MD]

Hmmm... but if the 1050 is an issue on gravel and dirt due to its weight and cc rating, what would make the 1200 any better - surely it wud be the same weight, if not heavier than the 1050... and the cc rating is greater. Therefore going by advice Im hearing, it should be worser?

Or am I missing something?

The Explorer is very similar to the 800 Tiger XC in both looks and design purpose i.e. it comes with larger diameter 19" front and narrower wheels for more off road bias. Triumph never pretended that the Tiger 1050 with 17" wheels was for dirt use. But seriously, if it's only the odd excursion on to gravel then you don't need a dirt biased bike. I did some gravel roads on my 675 Daytona and that flew along no problems.

The latest Triumph owners magazine has a good write up on the Explorer with all the technical details. Sadly it will probably be a bit expensive since the 800s are pushing over $20k, or $22k?

[Griffin]

A brand new 800XC is around the 20k mark with ORC, but by the time you add a few goodies to it you can easily spend another 5 - 6k. The dealer I spoke with reckoned the explorer would be in the vicinity of 25k at an educated guess but wont be here til next summer. I took the 800XC out for a ride and its just bootiful. Definitely want one.

[Eddieb]

Hmmm... but if the 1050 is an issue on gravel and dirt due to its weight and cc rating, what would make the 1200 any better - surely it wud be the same weight, if not heavier than the 1050... and the cc rating is greater. Therefore going by advice Im hearing, it should be worser?

Or am I missing something?

How the weight is carried, low or high, and how the power js delivered varies hugely between bikes. Adventure bikes are often more tuned for torque. Also a larger front wheel as on most adventure bikes makes a big difference on unsealed roads.

[Griffin]

So back to this subject... is there any accessory or aftermarket part that is a "must have" for lower level adventure biking? (think beginners class of 2012)

[Eddieb]

So back to this subject... is there any accessory or aftermarket part that is a "must have" for lower level adventure biking? (think beginners class of 2012)

Crash protection, bash plate and lever guards.

[YellowDog]

The 1050 is designed to fall over with the footpeg and bar end weight taking the bang and saving the bike. I found this out on day one of ownership. Just make sure your bars are straight.

I'm not a fan of crash bars, however most do have them. You can also get sliders bungs for various parts of the bike to protect the engine and forks etc.

I ride on gravel and dirt roads everyday on my way to work. You need to get a rad/oil cooler guard, plus a front fender extender. These are cheapie items (which I do have) that will save you spending loads of replacement parts/repairs.

The 1050 has a freeware program called Tune ECU and you can download your own specific tunes and make changes yourself. It's great.

When you get a Tiger, the first thing you do is drill out your exhaust, or fit a race can. You then rip out the snorkel and stick in a free flow air filter (K&N/BMC etc.), so it then gives you S3 type power and makes the bike feel half its weight.

The bike has its own website too, with a worldwide membership community, and unlike the 'Gotcha by the bollox' Beemers, on a Tiger 1050 you can do all of your own servicing and mods yourself.

Lots change the rear spring for Ohlins and go for Racetech forks. There's a guy on the Tiger site who makes and sells a permanent rear spring adjuster knob. I've adjusted my bike to the degree that I don't need to upgrade. The newer bikes have better 2-up riding springs than the 06/07/08 Tiger 1050 models. I guess that it is down to your own personal preference.

Good luck

[MD]

The 1050 has a freeware program called Tune ECU and you can download your own specific tunes and make changes yourself. It's great.

When you get a Tiger, the first thing you do is drill out your exhaust, or fit a race can. You then rip out the snorkel and stick in a free flow air filter (K&N/BMC etc.), so it then gives you S3 type power and makes the bike feel half its weight.

The bike has its own website too, with a worldwide membership community, and unlike the 'Gotcha by the bollox' Beemers, on a Tiger 1050 you can do all of your own servicing and mods yourself.

Lots change the rear spring for Ohlins and go for Racetech forks. There's a guy on the Tiger site who makes and sells a permanent rear spring adjuster knob. I've adjusted my bike to the degree that I don't need to upgrade. The newer bikes have better 2-up riding springs than the 06/07/08 Tiger 1050 models. I guess that it is down to your own personal preference.

Good luck

Agreed on the hp fix. I fitted the Arrow race can that comes with remapping of the ECU. That simple change according to one Bike mag returns the hp level to a S3 - and from my seat of pants-ometer comparison I'd agree.

If you only do one improvement to the handling (like me) then change the rear shock lower mounting bracket (from Dukie Performance) and it transforms the bike.

[YellowDog]

The Arrow race can I got was a Micron one @ less than half the cost. That, with ripping out the snorkel plus the free flow airfilter make the bike feel like half its weight. No shortage of power at all. Because of this, the 800 felt nippy at low speeds, but too weak for the open road. I'd never consider 2-up on the 800

[MD]

YD - I hadn't heard of this 'snorkel' mod (whatever that is) or bothered changing the filter type. My Tiger has ticked over 30k last weekend so it's time for a service and I will ask about these mods.

ps- what is the Tiger forum called. Did a search when I bought mine with no luck