The only thing to make the Girly better...

[BigDan]

A shaft drive.

Anyone agree?

[PeteH]

Why add about 20kg? Some under seat storage would be nice :)

[BigDan]

Yeah, I was a little surprised to find sod all underseat space :P

I thought about the weight of a shaft drive, but I'm just getting sick of my chain.

Thing is, if you ride a single seat sport bike your chain tension will always be set up the same. If you buy a versatile bike like the tiger that can be on or off road, one up, two up, luggage, no luggage... e.t.c. Could take a heavy passenger, a light passenger...

Its quick and easy to adjust preload on the rear shocker, but can take longer to adjust the chain. Sometimes I'll be dropping my girlfriend, then riding home or riding to work straight after (this might not seem a problem, but I'm a big guy (23 stone, 6ft) and the mrs is a big girl too (5ft8, size 18-20). So it does make a difference.



I love my Tiger, just wish it had the shaft drive to complete it :P

[NZDeano]

Hey Dan, the new 1200 has a shaft drive & some extra grunt. It would suit a bigger guy like yourself down to the ground.

[BigDan]

Indeed it would. I'd love it, but depends on the job situation next year. I think I'm a bit too young to be buying a new 12k bike!

I've got a stop-gap job now, so I don't have to sell my Girly, but still, not good enough to afford the 1200 tiger :(

[Chris Canning]

It's interesting how a thread like this can go off on a tangent,or more to the point get a tad muddled.

Would I like shaft drive on my Tiger?? would I F***  :twisted: ,I've got two bikes with shaft drive,soaks up too much power,and when they've got mileage on e'm cost hundreds £ to get e'm fixed and a nightmare if you want to change the gearing,the 19t on the tiger must be the best 12 quids worth anywhere in biking,it's taken me 10 years to find a guy who can change the gearing on my 1100s!!!.

Re the chain ajustment!! totally different synario,it's got nothing to do with a chain or shaft,it's the fact that Triumph in 98 still really hadn't got a clue what they were doing and just bolted the shock to the swingarm a cheap option.

I see Dan mention's sports bikes  :?  could be any modern bike because they all have a rising rate linkage system on e'm that gives you constant chain tension as do the latest Triumphs as Triumph have moved on and learned!!!.

Hence why I've had so much trouble getting my Tiger shock sorted,the qoute being along the the lines of 'Triumph having their heads up their ass's',KTM with their offroad bikes have steadfastly stuck to the no linkage system until the Americans(their biggest market) put their foot down and said 'Change it or else' so they have.

[metalguru]

Strangely even the big German had trouble with their shaft drive design as in the service schedule the universal joints had to be inspected, but the whole drive depended on a snap ring that if worn or not replaced or even not refitted correctly could render the system useless, costing a fortune to repair, have done loads of these now, the early Goldwings had their fair problems too, used to keep the shafts in stock. Although some will disagree, the 1200 is clearly aimed at the Sport adventure rider where a dusty track is the norm and sealed roads would be its place.
The Girly and its drive system are far more adaptable, although a large outlay at first, an after market shock may be the best way forward built to your specifications and all up weight. The chain adjustment on girlies has always been a problem to get right due to the amount of travel and geometry of the set up.

[BigDan]

Yeah, i think you're right that a new firmer shock could help a lot. Its a lot of money though! I'm slowly but surely dropping the belly at the moment, so maybe that will start to help.

[metalguru]

Quite agree the shocks are dear, if you have a breakers near you try measuring up a few Jap shocks from the heavier bikes, not really a cure but may be a cheaper alternative. It worked on an old Thunderbird i had once, think it was a VF Honda unit that went on and worked very well.
It's a normal mod to fit a ZX9R shock to the Adventurer. Although the set up is different you get the idea.

[Chris Canning]

Yeah, i think you're right that a new firmer shock could help a lot. Its a lot of money though! I'm slowly but surely dropping the belly at the moment, so maybe that will start to help.

Dan

You've lost me 'Dropping the belly' :?

Re a shock,it's the tester!!,god knows how many folk I've come across on all sorts of boards 'Just bought XYZ it's keeper I'll have for years' if thats the case a shock will just transform it,but do they mean it,so they have to look at themselves in the mirror and ask are they telling the truth,because if they are a shock is fantastic investment,and as Timbox on here showed easy to sell afterwards.

There's heaps on here about fuel mapping and wind screens none absolutely NONE will have the effect as a good shock will,with a Wilbers made to you and your other halfs weight the difference between 1 up and 2 up is still there(like mine is) but easyly managable,and to be honest you'll have the same problem what ever bike you buy,no offence meant but you ain't the norm.

I'm 12st,my wife is less than 10st,and my tiger was unridable at any kind of pace with a stock shock so god knows how you 2 get on.

And to give you some idea it's not just Triumph,when I bought my K1200r Sport with 1600 miles on the clock,I/we refused to ride it in the end,we were both so used to quality suspension,and replaced both front and back,although I run 4 bikes which seems extreme,there's a 10 year gap between the first 2 and the second two,chopping and changing bikes is a rich mans past time,hence why I don't don't do it  :oops:

[BigDan]

I find the rear shock on mine to be fine when riding on my own (even with luggage), but I dont know if my suspension is stock or not as I bought it second hand and its very clear that the previous owner really took care of it.

Re: dropping the belly, I'm losing weight at the minute! lol.

For now I'm gonna raise the preload to max and see how that is.

[metalguru]

Got me to thinking
what's needed here is a shock unit that is switchable for conditions.
In the car world there are suspension units that can alter their effectiveness electrically, ie magnets etc, wonder if there is any way to adapt this technology to motorcycles,from readily available car stock???
Perhaps someone who knows about cars will step in here.

[Chris Canning]

Got me to thinking
what's needed here is a shock unit that is switchable for conditions.
In the car world there are suspension units that can alter their effectiveness electrically, ie magnets etc, wonder if there is any way to adapt this technology to motorcycles,from readily available car stock???
Perhaps someone who knows about cars will step in here.

On bikes you have two options,either the BMW ESA or Ducati's alternative on their Multistrada,the problem with both is that as soon as the shock wears which is what 10/15000 miles there's no option for upping the anti,hence why loads of BM guys with K's ride one up and the setting is rider/passenger and luggage,getting them worked on isn't easy and a shock for a K rear only comes in at around £1800 !!

I've been offered a Pike's Peak in september but it's the electrical gizmos that's the stumbling block.

[Chris Canning]

For now I'm gonna raise the preload to max and see how that is.

How the hell do you ride it??,after 2 885i's the day I bought my 955 I set it at 5 before I even left the shop.

[Chad]

have to agree that a decent shock will deal with any of the issue's mentioned , but its always best to invest in a good quality unit .

wilbers  , ohlins personally i wouldnt touch a hagon ive had bad experiences with them in the past

 as a big fan of shaft drives i dont feel the tiger needs it they are soooo smooth , though i do get brassed off with all the cleaning :lol:  

ive a friend who use these on all his bikes and absolutely swears by them

http://www.mawsolutions.com/html/fourna ... rbers.html (http://www.mawsolutions.com/html/fournales_shock_absorbers.html)

though i cant seem to find the tiger in their listing :?