well, I tried...

[abruzzi]

So my Steamer is out of commission for a while, but I needed a reliable bike for long distance touring with some small amounts of dirt roads.  I tried to buy a Tiger 800 from the nearby Albuquerque Triumph dealer.  They had 2 XCs for $9k each off of their rental fleet.  I went up, looked at the bikes, and made an offer.  $9000 OTD was pretty much my celling.  So when the dealer communicated the offer to the rental company, rather than accept or counter offer, the rental company told them to pull them from the sale lot, and put them back in the rental fleet because the busy season for rental was beginning.  If I had been a week earlier...

So after much searching, I considered 955's but not 1050s, but didn't find anything I wanted.  Came close on a BMW 800GS, but fell through.  In the end I ended up with this:



Ok, so its not a Tiger, but technically I still own my steamer, even if she doesn't run.

Geof

[John Stenhouse]

Nice one Geof, have a bit of fun with that and then move it on when you find something you like.

[abruzzi]

Yeah, I'm a bit sad that 800XC fell through.  Maybe in a few years used ones will come down enough that I can get one without giving up a "big" bike as well.

Geof

[Sin_Tiger]

Hard luck with the XC, you'd, sorry you will enjoy the agility when you eventually get one. Have to get out of hibernation a bit earlier next season 

[blacktiger]

For a moment there I thought you said that you wanted something reliable.

[birddogone]

Ah Hell Geof,   I jumped in the same boat with my BMW buddies when I bought my Tiger.   Rode em for decades, now look'n to sell my KRS, love my Triumph.   

[abruzzi]

There were a few things going on in my head when I bought it.  The first was that I want the Tiger 800XC, but it was new enough that $9000 examples were as rare as hens teeth.  Second was I didn't want a 1050.  Third was I wanted fuel injection.  Last was that whole desire to get something I've never had or experienced before.  I have a Steamer (plus it's not injected).  I had a Girly.  I had a 950 Adventure, and was a little worried about maintenance levels on the KTM.  I think V-Stroms are ugly.  At that point there aren't that many options left for larger displacement street focused adventure bike.  Yamaha S10?  Not old enough to be affordable.  Guzzi Stelvio?  None in my neck of the woods.  Honda NC700X, Kawasaki Versys, Buell Ulysses?  Wanted a little more dirt capability of the 19" front tire.  BMW 800?  I came close on a couple, but it didn't happen. 

Then I came close to snagging a cherry, low milage 06 Girly from Hermys in Pennsylvania, but it sold while I was hemming and hawing.  This came up as a low mileage (24k miles), completely decked out bike close enough to do a 2 day fly and ride.  And at some deep down level, I've always wanted to give a BMW a go.  Plus I had a limited time frame since I'm leaving in a couple weeks for a multi day ride, I needed a bike soon and with enough time to get comfortable with it.

I still have the steamer, and when time and cash free back up, I'm watching ebay for a low milage pull from a trophy or similar so I can do the engine swap and gain a few ponies.

Geof

[Bixxer Bob]

I had an 1150GS as a loan bike while my Blackbird was serviced a few years back.  By the time I got it home I was thinking "Bloody tractor, what do folks see in them"?  Day two I used it for work (160 mile round trip).  The next day, I was just joining the motorway when I thought "I wish I'd plugged my MP3 player in".  Not something I ever thought on the 'Bird.  When I took it back on day four I was starting to get it.  Fast enough but not scary, rock solid handling with that low C of G, and very forgiving (try changing your planned corner line on a 'Bird while on the brakes and tipping in and you'll see what I mean).  Most of all, and like the Tiger it has that undefinable thing; character!

The Tiger shares a lot of the 1150GS qualities although the C of G not so much 

[Dutch]

The Tiger shares a lot of the 1150GS qualities although the C of G not so much 

You might say they are worlds apart 
Though seen pics of Tiger trying very hard to bring that C of G much closer to earth 

[Bixxer Bob]

Like the pic half way down Bjago's post:

http://www.tigertriple.com/forum/index.php/topic,12524.0.html

[abruzzi]

Yeah, definitely not a fast bike, but its torque grunt can be nice.  It's heavy, but so is my Steamer.  Offroad, the lower COG is nice, but it doesn't make that big a difference when, wet the bike is approaching 600lbs.  I still have my KTM 640 for the real offroad.  Like the Girly, the BMW was ugly when I first saw it, but over the years, the looks have grown on me.  It is comfy--in the ride home from picking it up I did 500 miles in one day without getting uncomfortable, and could have easily done more.  It is nice having a bike that still has a thriving aftermarket (though the Tiger 800 has a killer aftermarket as well.)

Geof

[aeronca]

congrats

[Sin_Tiger]

The XC is like a Steamer with the the rough edges smoothed, thankfully not smoothed so much as to have lost all character. It's a lot more nimble and can give even a1200 GSA a good run for the money.