OUCH!

[BigDave]

Well I found out yesterday just how the Tiger likes rock. It doesn't.  My "bash plate" is smashed to oblivion, my exhaust header has dents in it and my oil lines are dented.  If I would have had the Thunderbike sump guard, I would have probably saved the oil lines, but even that accessory wouldn't have save the stock bash plate and exhaust.  



I was on some ATV trails yesterday above Central City Colorado.  At first it was not to bad, then the rocks got bigger and bigger.  I didn't even think it was that rough.  I tured back when I knew I was in over my head, but I guess the Tiger was in over its head already.



I really did not know I came in contact with anything of note until I got home and took a look at everything.  

This whole episode is VERY troubling.  The bash plate is a joke.  I pounded that thing out with a mini ball peen hammer in just a minute.  The thing is VERY thin.



I guess I should have known better.  I mean I did know those lines are just sitting down there.  I guess I just assumed I had more clearance than I actually do.



So.  What has others done about protecting the underside?  Has anyone had the same issue with the bash plate being so weak?  Should I stop thinking I can take this thing into rougher off road areas?  I hope thats not the answer because if it is, I am bummed out.

[Doug95]

That sucks, BigDave.   :shock:  I would personally consider having a machine shop fabricate a new one out of 16 ga. steel.  They could do it easily enough if you took the old one in to use as a template.   Don't get bummed........think of the old days when a "dirt" bike was a streetbike with knobbies, wide handlebars, and shorter gearing.  The Tiger was directed at street riders, and if we'd all admit it, was basically intended as a "poseur" ADV bike.....but in reality, a bike will obviously go wherever you point it, as long as you have the ability to hold it up.  And the Tiger is better suited to reasonable off-road use than, say, a GS.  (Think chain drive and simple front suspension).  Get a shop to bend and weld you up one hell of a plate, then go bash the  :twisted: out of it.....



Doug

[RedMenace]

you can put a heavy bash plate on it, but what are you going to bolt it to?

If you are serious about doing the rough I guess you need to make some high pipes to get them up out of the way and then build a bash plate and mounts maybe attached to crash bars?

Whatever you bolt it to, it needs room to deform and some sort of sacrificial section in the mounts so it doesn't punch thru your crank case when it takes a good hit.

I have thick aluminum diamond plate bolted to the subframe we built  for the sidecar, 1" steel pipe or thereabouts, bolted to the motor mounts. Even so, I had to cut out one of the cross braces with a sawsall after the Black dog. The pipe had bent up to where I couldn't get my oil drain plug out! I take the aluminum plate off a couple times a  year and pound it flat again.

[Pawk]

Interesting this comes up now.

I just got home from a 800 mile weekend with nearly 200 total being off-pavement, with 50 being a unimproved Jeep trail.  I know for a fact that  the underside did not hit anything on the ground.  However, on numerous occasions a golf ball size(or bigger) rock would get kicked up. (think clank, not a ting type sound)  The entire time I was envisioning the stupid oil drain plug hanging down, or the filter itself getting damaged, not to mention all the stuff you had happen.  I haven't checked the bike out yet because I couldn't wait to get off the thing, but now I can be nervous....



How is any of this relevant to your simple question?

I realized just because Triumph puts on some timid 'dual-purpose' tires doesn't mean this thing is ready out of the box.  This thing needs armor!!!  You bring up a good point, that cheezy 'bash' plate in pathetic.  It seems that Thunderbike or Touratech should offer a beefy replacement.  Perhaps if enough people show interest they may take up the project.



Also, Triumph classifies the Tiger as a touring bike and the only reference I see to an offroad nature are the timid Tourances.  Doug put it well, the Tiger seems like a street bike, although you can point it at whatever you want...

[BigDave]

Pawk,

I think my damage was from kicked up rocks as well.  You better go look at your bike...



I am heading out to that garage now (since Alias is over) and start brainstorming on what to do.  The underside is easy as Thunderbike has a nice solution, but the exhaust is the challange.

[BigDave]

Here is a shot of the type of rocks that were getting kicked up.  It got rougher than this a little further down this side.



More pics in RIDE REPORTS http://www.triumph-tiger.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=88

[RedMenace]

you have the thunderbike bars on don't you? Why not fab two "L" shaped pieces of pipe to go down the front of the motor and extend underneath? Weld cross braces between them and bring mounting tabs around the sides of the engine to clamp onto your crash bars. Make a bash plate of heavy aluminum to fix to this pipe subframe. Make sure the weakest parts of the subframe are your mounting brackets, so in the event of a major hit they will deform absorbing some of the impact rather than sending the stress to the mounting points on the bike. Shitcan the OEM bash plate.

[Doug95]

Guess I never looked very hard at the underside of a new Tiger.  What are the plates bolted to now?  The headers?  I  guess I was wrongly assuming there was already some type of subframe in place.  Wouldn't the bash plate attached to crashbars put "prying" type pressure on the TB crashbar bolts?  Those are steel bolts into aluminum heads (at least on the steamers.......).  Yeah, I know they sustain crash  damage all the time, but the pressure would be shearing from the side in that case, and hopefully the crashbars aren't used near as often as a bash plate......



I guess it should work with no problem as long as the issue is rocks  being bounced from the tires, rather than the whole bike high-centering on rocks.



Doug

[BigDave]

Depending on how much the OEM bash plate is, I may get 2 new ones and double up on em. (as a temporary "solution") Also, get the Thunderbike sump guard.  Then, pull my head out & quit taking this thing into places I shouldn't.



I did send an email to Thunderbike to see if they have anything on the drawing board.  No matter what, I think their guard is a good place to start as it has a heavy frame that might be used for addition protection to the header area.

[RedMenace]

What does the sump guard attach to? It will take the big hits. You could almost hang a rubber mud guard off a truck to keep the rocks kicked up from punching out the front of the engine( I have a friend who did just that on his Honda 250- works a treat).

[BigDave]

Without going out & comparing this pic to my bike, its hard to say what the rear supports are attached to.  It looks like directly to the frame, but not sure.  The fronts connect to the TB bars.

http://www.thunderbike.co.nz/sales/Sump ... 0views.jpg

[BigDave]

Just got word back fron New Zealand.  Their development guy is looking into modifying the current sump guard to extend to the front of the header and replace the OEM bash plate.  I'll keep you up-to-date as things progress.  Also, the hiway pegs they have been working on are ready to ship. (i get the first pair...na na na  =P~ )  These things bolt to the TB crash bars down low.

[Distracted Dibit]

Also, the hiway pegs they have been working on are ready to ship. (i get the first pair...na na na  =P~ )

 :lol: Nah nah nah... I got my Thunderbike hwy pegs last week. :lol:



I also got the Sump Guard. The rear of the sump guard mounts up (or "offers up" if you're in New Zealand) to the bolts that go through the footpeg mounts and secure the centerstand ("mainstand" in NZ). All hardware is supplied with the Thunderbike sump guard kit. Workmanship is spot-on IMO.



Pictures are from Thunderbike's Sump Guard Installation Instructions



ala here





and here





all finished

[Distracted Dibit]

Just got word back fron New Zealand. Their development guy is looking into modifying the current sump guard to extend to the front of the header and replace the OEM bash plate.

I would be interested in an extended sumpguard from Thunderbike if they choose to make it.

[BigDave]

Also, the hiway pegs they have been working on are ready to ship. (i get the first pair...na na na  =P~ )

 :lol: Nah nah nah... I got my Thunderbike hwy pegs last week. :lol:

Oh yeah? prove it.  Post some pics!  :shock: :oops: