Tiger 800XC Vs BMW F800GS

[DR650gary]

A well set up DR650 would be one of my picks for touring Oz no matter what the budget available.

There is a thread on ADVrider at present where a guy is setting up a DR for some adv touring, this guy has a shed full of Ferrari's, a Desmosidici or 2, 1200GSA with all the fruit, cash is not an issue, but after struggling with the weight, crashability & reliability of the big adv bikes he' has settled on the mighty Dog Rooter as weapon of choice.

Cheers
Clint

+1 on that.

I have a TDM which would also do a lot of across OZ riding, as would my mates Tiger 1050, but the cost of the broken plastics alone would exceed the value of the trip and the damage to hamstrings and hernias from the constant pickups would also spoil the trip a tad.

In saying that, there is a guy in OZ, Masterbrewer, who runs an older model TDM850 that he has set up for hard Aussie riding and some of his videos are up there with Nordie.

Everything is doable after a fashion, but why complicate things needlessly

[GMcC]

Gota love the 1 eyes !


Ive got 2 in the shed - DR350 and DRZ400 - both ok in their own pig heavy way ( thats the way they were created ! )
Also have an XT660 - still not perfect but underrated !
I prefer the less front heavy 350 as a trail ride hack even tho it lacks a few horses - cant ride it full on anyway
Still if he could afford it - take the Tiger XC - I love it ( thats the way it was created ! )
My opinion - along with a few others

[Monstaman]

A well set up DR650 would be one of my picks for touring Oz no matter what the budget available.

There is a thread on ADVrider at present where a guy is setting up a DR for some adv touring, this guy has a shed full of Ferrari's, a Desmosidici or 2, 1200GSA with all the fruit, cash is not an issue, but after struggling with the weight, crashability & reliability of the big adv bikes he' has settled on the mighty Dog Rooter as weapon of choice.

Cheers
Clint

I agree with Clint whole heartedly with this, having been owned by 37 bikes over the years including very top end spendie Italian and Austrian bikes we are riding DR 650's for our RTW trip.

Too many BMtrubleU's giving stupid issues and destroying trips, we want lighter weight, reliability, a NON series 1 and simplicity, none of which you will find on F800 or XC800.

We can afford to take the spendier bikes but it would make no sense whatsoever.

tegeem, congrats on your choice, you won't regret it and you have shitloads of dosh left for some nice wee upgrades which will see you right.

[NordieBoy]

Pig heavy compared to a race bike maybe. But not compared to most adventure bikes.

[GMcC]

Heavy is what you feel - all bikes are heavy
Its how and where they feel heavy - thats the " feel " of a bike
Thats what makes the bike - good / bad or middle of the road
Personal choice of course
Once you ride a pig - you dont forget it !
Enjoy your ride - I do

[Monstaman]

Pig heavy compared to a race bike maybe. But not compared to most 1098's.

You will have to excuse him Nordie, he's owned by a Ducati

[The Duck 01]

I don't post very often but reading this thread i reckon i can have a say.
In 07 i rode around Aussie on a 955i Tiger in some pretty far out places on my own. The bike proformed well and was up to the job. Abit heavy in some of the places.
Also done a fair bit on a very blinged up DR 650. It was better in most of the country that we rode but not as comfortable as the Tiger, obviously and lacked a bit of power some times.
Enter the GS800, another blinged up bike from the previous owner of the DR, I have a habit of buying bikes from this bloke over here.
Been out on a couple of short rides on the GS 800, one 900k's ride over a couple of days. I have to say that this bike and maybe the 800 Tiger would be be close to being the bike to trip around Aussie. Smooth power, well balanced and comfortable with good fuel distance.
The reason i went for the GS 800 was price and having set up another 800 for a mate over here for The APC Rally. It was the bike of my choice after doing some long distance training rides with him and swapping bikes. I had the DR at this time.
It all comes down to rider ability and what you to do on a ride and how far the dollars go, not only on the bike but on your trip/ tour.
I've had a small ride on the Tiger, not to bad but the build quality is abit ho hum, and to make it into a tourer looks like $$$$ on top of the buy price. Same as any bike i guess. Even a DR will suck a few dollars to bring it in line.
One could spend a lot of money on bits and pieces but it will only cut back money for the ride. Which is the important thing that is often missed on having the prefect bike. Which there is not.
What ever we ride and where ever we go it is about The Adventure, Ride on

[wtf?]

I'm in Melbourne and have ridden road, trail and bush here in VIC, TAS, SA and NSW. Lookin to add to that list.

I'm selling my XT660R because I just cant bond with it. Great at what it does, utterly reliable but its just not me. Pick up my new Tiger 800XC in the morning.

If anyone wants an XT660R fully ADV setup (already in Melbourne), let me know.

[thepom]

Just taken the 800 tiger for a ride,just the road going one and was more than impressed with it,as comfy as my africa twin ,more torque and power and better than the bmw by quite a bit,sadly I need to sell my blackbird first so its going to have to wait.