Dead Tiger

[HockleyBoy]

Sitting by the side of the A13 waiting for RAC recovery, Tiger died in fast lane with clouds of steam from the exhaust. Managed to coast to the side of the road safely.
Looks like its going to be expensive.  :(

[oxnsox]

:shock:

[BigDan]

:( Best of luck mate!

[Bixxer Bob]

Sounds like a head gasket failure :?

[HockleyBoy]

Sounds like a head gasket failure :?

That is what I am hoping, expensive enough but not an absolute disaster. It could however be a lot worse, just have to wait and see. Bike is now with Tri Moto who will look at it when they get a chance, probably next week so its back to aching arms commuting on the GSXR!

[HockleyBoy]

Not looking good, early signs are cam chain has possibly jumped a tooth and all exhaust valves are knackered looks bad!

Anyone got a spare engine for an 05 kiciking around?

[Bixxer Bob]

How many miles mate?  Only I'm about to go looking for a cam chain sort of noise from my 05.  She's got about 24k on her I think....

[metalguru]

Plenty of engines on ebay with varying prices, could be a chance to make a 1050 fit.

[HockleyBoy]

How many miles mate?  Only I'm about to go looking for a cam chain sort of noise from my 05.  She's got about 24k on her I think....

About 66k, trouble is she has made so many different noises over the years you dont know what to check. Only sign I had of this coming was a couple of minor overheats whilst commuting in the London traffic which I put down to rad cap/airlock and was going to sort out when I next had the tank off. She was running the best shes ever run just before dying!

Have been looking, but there are not many engines around that look good at the moment and I am not sure shes worth spending much money on, may have to bite the bullet and look for another Tiger or even something boring but reliable.

[Bixxer Bob]

If you want this to be an excuse to move on, fair enough. But otherwise, keep it in perspective.  New exhaust valves  and a gasket kit is the cheap option.  The rest is just time. If you need wheels in the meantime you could pick up an old Sprint off Ebay for less than a grand, use it, sell it on and get your money back when you're finished. Have a think on it before you splash the cash.

[HockleyBoy]

If you want this to be an excuse to move on, fair enough. But otherwise, keep it in perspective.  New exhaust valves  and a gasket kit is the cheap option.  The rest is just time. If you need wheels in the meantime you could pick up an old Sprint off Ebay for less than a grand, use it, sell it on and get your money back when you're finished. Have a think on it before you splash the cash.

I haven't made up my mind about anything yet, guys at Tri Moto are digging a bit deeper into the engine to see if anything else is damaged, not sure whether valves have hit pistons etc.
At this stage I am just looking at my options and if I can get her back up and running for under 1k I will but I don't really want to spend more than that. If it is just valves and gasket I will get her repaired, if a reasonably priced low mileage engine comes up I will also consider it. I love my Tiger but she is fairly high mileage and has been used daily through all seasons so she is not worth a lot for resale and as there are 06's out there with less than 10K on the clock for around 3- 3.5k my money my be better spent there.
I need a bike for my commute and whilst I am not bikeless but I do not want to ride my limited edition GSXR into the winter so I have to decide what to do fairly soon, I may look at sprints as a short term solution.

[HockleyBoy]

So I weighed up the options and decided I didn't want to move on just yet as I love the Tiger. I am buying a new (to me) one tomorrow, an 05 in Caspian blue with just 14k on the clock.

Bike has been fully serviced and looks immaculate plus has full luggage, decent tyres, TOR pipe and tune, fender extenders etc so should keep me going for a while.

An bringing my dead Tiger home from the mechanics and will attempt to repair it myself in the new year when I have some time.

Looking forward to a 200 mile ride home with the new bike tomorrow

[John Stenhouse]

Good choice

[oxnsox]

 

[HockleyBoy]

So it was train down to Somerset on Friday and picked up the new bike, meant I got a nice 200+ mile ride home to try her out (A roads, motorway and some nice B roads around Salisbury plain).

She is the 06 model even though on an 05 plate and first impressions are very good, looks good, rides very nicely and the gearbox feels much more precise than my previous 05 (but that could just be the mileage difference).

Paid 3,250 for it which seems reasonable for the condition and mileage. Farkles on the bike  when purchased, rear hugger, front fender extender, adjustable levers, oild cooler/ radiator guards. Just need to swop over  my LED bulbs (dash and taillight), tall screen, GS handguards and Givi topbox and I am away.

Nice to be back on a Tiger after a few weeks riding a sportsbike. Will post some pics when I get a minute.

Overall very happy so far.