30 Most Used Tags
Recent Articles
Triumph Tiger 1050 Testride
It was a few weeks ago, but still ...
A few weeks ago, I had the chance of test riding a Triumph Tiger 1050. Wow. What a damn nice bike. The triple engine is an absolute dream. Incredibly powerful, but very controllable, virtually no vibration (at least compared to my F800GS), very nice seat, very nice suspension and handling. I was very positively surprised how much fun this bike is.
One of the very positive surprises was the seat. I'm used to the BMW torture device on the F800GS and I'm not very happy with that one. The Triumph seat is pretty usable out of the box and it might even be good for really long rides. What is a bit weird is the seat going up, up, up for the passenger. The passenger sits really high, the difference is quite big compared to other bikes.
Also, I've read a lot about the new 1050 triple engine, I knew the older Triumphs, but the new one is really again a lot nicer! Incredibly smooth, power in about every part of the rev range, wow! That engine is easily the best I've ever felt on a motorcycle.
Some of the things that would need to be addressed though:
- The stock luggage is not very good. It's soft, so I think if you pack tight, it will not be water tight any more. Also the locks can be easily opened with a small screwdriver. That might be handy when you lose your key, but I personally prefer locks being locks and not just a bad joke.
- Aftermarket luggage - there is not so much available. Metal Mule racks and exhaust might be a starting point, but quite expensive. Givi has a system which, combined with a small profile exhaust can probably be converted with some welding to "balanced" and not too wide system. I remember having that on my Transalp in the 90s - there I had a small bag on the exhaust side and a larger one on the other side. This ended up being quite wide though.
- Windshield: with the stock shield it's better than the F800GS with stock, much, much noisier than my Aeroflow on the F8, though. But at at least there are solutions out there, e.g. the Palmer bracket that make the screen adjustable, something I really like to see for the BMW, but the only product there is the Madstad and that looks soooooo ugly.
If I were in the market for a motorcycle, this would be it!
Comments
here in the area, there are about four Triumph dealers within 60 miles, so I'm not so concerned about that. I totally loved the triple engine and also the sitting position which I like a bit better than my F800GS.
I was looking at the Tiger for two reasons: First, I love the optics, second, I have some issues with my F800GS: I can't ride more than 30 minutes at speeds above 55 mph (80km/h) without getting a major headache that will last for hours. Another one is that the handle bars are so wide, that on long trips I get stiff shoulders. That second one is not a major problem, the first one is. It takes all the fun away from riding.
I tried about 5 different windshields / lips and nothing so far could solve the headache problem. I was thinking of getting a really small one to get at least rid of the buffeting, but that wouldn't solve long distance comfort at all. That's what I wanted to try on the Tiger and there I had only noise problems, no buffeting / headache issues.
My wife had a Wee Strom and it was no problem solving the wind issues there with the stock shield mounted to a Madstad bracket. With the big Givi on the same bracket it was quieter than a stock R1200RT for me. I love the layout / ergonomics on all those bikes, be it F800GS, the Tiger, the Strom, the Multistrada, but in the end, the Tiger was best fitting for myself.
We'll have to see, whether I can solve the wind issues. If yes, I'll keep the BMW, if not, something has to happen.
I also love the Triple engine. Torque of a twin, but power of a 4. I sat on a Tiger but it is unusual with the seat dipping so low for the rider, and high for the passenger. I also like the street triple but the problem is there are not many luggage solutions.
The problem we have up here is lack of dealer choices and spotty dealer network so I stuck with the tried and true.
what's the matter with your F800GS , are you actively looking for a new bike ? I don't normally accept test rides unless I am actively looking. I sat on an F800GS recently and found it very high (for me)
bob
<a href="www.wetcoastscootin.blogspot.com">Wet Coast Scootin</a>