A new one on me.......

[greg]

Anyway I did an earlier post on the MRA Vario screen, after a ridiculously long test ride (Went for a pint with a friend who lives 300 miles away), and there were a few incidents on the journey that really quite surprised me. Namely, the amount of attention the Tiger got. Nearly every time I stopped for a cuppa, the bike got ogled, one fellow even got on his knees to look under the motor! I have to admit I thought the bike looked rather splendid with panniers and top box, but I have never had the Tiger ogled quite so much, well, at all actually.

Am I alone in this or has it happened to others? Is it just the orange ones?

[Aussie Tiger]

No, its not just the orange ones.  I have a Caspian Blue Tiger and man does it get looks. (I know its not the rider they're looking at as he's as ugly as SIN!) Anyway, I think it's the type of bike.  Down here, you see plenty of GS's and of course the road trails like XR's and KLR's but I have only ever seen one other tiger, an 05 in Silver on the Gold Coast. And yes, it was turning heads too. People, both riders and non riders, just seem to be intrigued as to what sort of bike it is - that being a perfect blend of sports, touring and adventure. Especially since the biggest sellers in Australia are Sports ("Boy Racer") Bikes.



That brings me to another point.  Yes, the Tiger may not have the top speed of a ZX-12R or a Hyabusa but I know a little forest road that would rip those sports tyres of theirs to shreds and would have them reaching for the plastic repair kit after only 100 metres. Meanwhile, the Tiger would be in it's element, it's that kinda bike!

[iansoady]

No, its not just the orange ones. !

Black ones as well. I've had my Tiger for only 2 months and have had more comments (positive) than I can remember having for the Commando in 20 years. But you don't get the 75 year olds saying "I used to have one of those......."



And black is such a - well, traditional colour isn't it?

[djr]

I find most Triumphs get this. I had the same with my TT600, get it lots with the Tiger (Orange of course) and have seen it happen with most of the rest of the range.

[ChrisN]

I agree. Interest in Triumphs extends beyond immediate bikers to the general public. Contrary to Ians comment, I find lots of older guys see the Triumph badge and begin to reminisce about their long lost youth, complete with sepia tinited oil leaks!

[tigerhund]

...Mine gets lots of attention, especially from the guys over 50 who owned them in the past.  I bought mine from the Triumph dealer in Denver and rode it home to Central FL (about 1800 miles). On that one trip, I was approached by people at more than half of my stops, at all hours.



   I was stopped at a gas station in Atlanta, GA, at 11:30 PM on a Thursday night, and an older gentleman came bursting out of the station in quite an animated manner and shouted accross the lot to me, "Is Triumph back in business?".  I just smiled and said yes.

[Patrick the Scot]

...Mine gets lots of attention, especially from the guys over 50 who owned them in the past.  I bought mine from the Triumph dealer in Denver and rode it home to Central FL (about 1800 miles). On that one trip, I was approached by people at more than half of my stops, at all hours.



   I was stopped at a gas station in Atlanta, GA, at 11:30 PM on a Thursday night, and an older gentleman came bursting out of the station in quite an animated manner and shouted accross the lot to me, "Is Triumph back in business?".  I just smiled and said yes.

I'm with you there Tigerhund, and I will quote myself as follows:

   

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 8:39 pm    Post subject:



...Not to mention the solid connection to the wild days of resteryear's racing and rock concerts. Here in the States if you have any new Triumph and you pull in to fuel up at the pumps you can lay money on it that 50% of the time some rich f*cker in his 60's will pry his fat ass out of his Lexus and say "I used to have a Triumph when I was a kid, and boy was it fast. We used to drag race and raise hell all night long... blah, blah, blah." When is the last time somebody said that about their Beemer back in the beatnik and hippy days?

[i303]

I just picked up my new '05 last Saturday.  I received the same response from folks at my first gas up.  Besides the stares I get from people looking at that sexy beast.  It feels good to stand out from the crowd of cruisers and crotch rocket.  



It was most notable as I rode past a wanna-be bike gang parked at Hawg Corral in Tombstone, AZ.  They tried to look tough in their custom HD "biker" costumes, rebel flag head band and all.  They gave me a look like "Wow, that bike looks cool" instead of the "Another jap bike that looks like a Harley" look.  Makes one feel.....like I know something they don't.



I know the "bikers" would have had a hard time keeping up with me today, and I'm still breaking it in.  If there were a group of crotch rockets, I'm sure they would have kept up with me.  That is, until I decided to check out my favorite shooting spot between Sierra Vista and Tombstone.........4 miles of rough ranch trail to include crossing two sandy washes, one with water still in it.



Like I said, it is nice to stand out from the crowd.......way ahead of them.