TET

[Nick Calne]

Mat-tiger1 and I are riding a bit of the Trans Europe Trail this weekend. For those not familiar, it is a largely off road trail about Europe. We are just doing a bit of the Southern England area.

We'll no doubt post some pictures up. Or perhaps just appear on 'Helicopter Heroes' when one of us gets airlifted from the mud.

Anyone ridden it before? We are going from Wiltshire to Kent.

[London_Phil]

Looks amazing. Have a great time.
I'll be in Kent Sunday between Maidstone and Hythe, but in the Van with the misses, as we are visiting her friend in Hythe on Monday.
My Lad works for South East Coast Ambulance, so He'll let me know where the Helicopter gets sent...lol...
Be interested to know the skill level required for the Trail.

[Nick Calne]

I'm sure we will if I can shake the migraines of the last two days beforehand. Otherwise it is going to be hard going.

We are finishing off at Lamberhurst and I'm going to try and keep some details of the trip as we go. Where is good, where is tricky etc. I am making a roadbook!

[mat-tiger1]

I'm sure we will if I can shake the migraines of the last two days beforehand. Otherwise it is going to be hard going.

We are finishing off at Lamberhurst and I'm going to try and keep some details of the trip as we go. Where is good, where is tricky etc. I am making a roadbook!

And helping each other pick their bikes up, dig them out, lift them up. Etc.  (Pictures will be taken beforehand!) 

[mat-tiger1]

A few pics from our recent TET & South Downs trip.











Couldn't find a bucket and spade so had to use his helmet!


A hearty breakfast!



Low flying brambles!


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[Nick Calne]

It was quite a day out.

[ghulst]

I saw the pictures on Facebook. It looks like a good day out. And a great reason to keep your visor closed. :D So, what was the best bike? The Tiger or the AT?

[Nick Calne]

They are so similar it is incredible. Triumph obviously have had a good look at the AT in making the 900...so we are splitting hairs here.

Here is what I think, Ivor may have another point of view of course....

Engine: tiger better on road, AT better off is my guess. Both great. The newer crf1100l is allegedly a big step forward on either.
Suspension: tiger is better by some distance, firmer and sharper feeling although this may be frame geometry etc.
Ergonomics: AT is better in terms of overall shape but has a harsh saddle. Far more neutral and natural.
Brakes: Both perfectly good, the tiger's ones are brembo.
Finish: closer than you'd think, but the honda is ahead generally. There are some very nice touches on the tiger but the honda-ness of the africa twin is there in the materials some how.
Electronics: The 900 is streets ahead of the AT in terms of almost everything. Ivor has had some electrical silliness with switches and tyre pressure monitors however.
Looks: I still think the AT is a little more attractive, Ivor's custom paint evens the matter and looks great.
Riding: Both on and off road the tiger is probably a little more fun, the AT a little more relaxed and dependable.

Much as you would imagine I guess.

What we did notice was there was a distinct benefit to a slim profile when passing through narrow tracks and ruts.  Both are slim bikes but ivor's otherwise great soft pannier system made things harder sometimes. Would not have wanted to do this trip on a wide gs or with hard cases. I had a bag bungee'd to the saddle and passed through overhanging bushes etc with greater ease.

We had a lot of 'fun' with the ultra slippery mud on this trip and can report that mitas e7/e10 on the africa twin easily out performed the karoo 3's on the tiger.

[mat-tiger1]

I concur, although I love the Tiger (& it's a huge improvement over the outgoing model) there's something to be said for the "predictability" of the AT.
As Nick says, the AT is generally good at pretty much everything & can take on anything you throw at it. Honda has refined this bike for the adventure market and with the newest release have stepped up their game once again.
Triumph have learnt a lot over the years about what a customer wants from their bike and just like the AT the Tiger performs well in all areas as you'd expect.
I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of low down torque from the 900 which got me out of a few sticky patches on the trail & remembering to switch to "off road mode" at the beginning of a trail altered the power delivery and traction control to cope with anything we came across.
For the tighter trails the Givi side panniers albeit very handy to grab stuff out of, did cause some issues with clearance. But having said that, when the Tiger did take a tumble (which it did more than a couple of times) the side bags cushioned the impact at the rear matching the Touratech tank bars and Barkbusters up front saving the Tiger from any damage.
Lessons learnt from the weekend for me at least were around tyre choice, I went with the Metzler Karoo 3 (as recommended by the Triumph adventure school) which are generally brilliant apart from getting a grip in the mud. Having a relatively shallow block pattern they clog up quite quickly on the trail and got a little too slippery up front for my liking. (Hence the frequent offs!) Nick was running with the Mitas/Mefo combo that I've enjoyed myself on previous bikes and will be switching back to.
And having said previously, keeping the width down on the bike for the tight trails needs to be examined and a slimmer profile sought. (Or keeping off the tight trails one or the other!)
But in answer to your question, the bikes are equally matched and both perform brilliantly. But I for one will be sticking with the Tiger!


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[Nick Calne]

That's probably the key thing Ghulst. The 900 is a massive improvement over the 800 and you'll feel it straight away off road.

When I chose between the crf1000l and the tiger 800 it was easily the better bike. Now it would be a tough decision between the crf1100l and the tiger 900 rally pro.

[ghulst]

See, that is what I was afraid of. Both look to be very capable bikes. I really like the looks of the Africa Twin and as a Tiger owner (and operating a forum that has something to do with them), it does feel like a natural choice. However, I really should get a ride on the Rally Pro to compare to the 800. At the moment, mine did not feel much different from the GT pro and that does not make me enthusiastic about spending an extra 12K on a bike. I found the AT saddle hars and found myself to be much more 'on the back of the bike' where I found the seating on the Tiger to be a bit more 'one with the bike'. I honestly love the gadgetry on the Tiger. It gives you stuff as standard that you cannot get as an option on the AT or go shell 28K out for on a GS. The price difference is interesting though with the CRF1100  being a lot more expensive here than a Tiger 900 Rally Pro. When you add crash bars, panniers and some extra's that are standard on the Tiger, I end up at a good 25K in Euro's and that is very close to a GS.

But the best thing here, is that everyone seems to be on the bike they think is the most capable. :D

[Nick Calne]

How are you paying so much for bikes? Is there a tax or something? Has the Euro plummeted recently and no one told me?

[ghulst]

Hahahaha, nope, we pay a huge stack of taxes on any kind of transportation. EV's are at a lower rate, but the rest is just "bloody expensive" to put it mildly. We pay a 'special use tax' of roughly 20%. Which is a nice contribution. I always look at UK prices slightly jealous, however the ease of importing something has gone since this year for some reason... I just remembered that I just said Africa Twin where I did mean the Africa Twin Adventure Sport 1100 that ends up costing 25K.

I have just configured the Tiger Rally Pro and that would end up slightly shy of 20K with the offroad package installed. Side panniers etc. Not the top case as I prefer my Givi. Not because of its looks, but because it comfortably holds two helmets and that Triumph top box is just too small to do that.

[Nick Calne]

I can't imagine what that reason might me.  And best not mention it here.

Well that tax thing is rather give with one hand, take it back with the other....

There is no winning.

[HockleyBoy]

Looks like you had a great day out (apart from the brambles)