New tiger owner with questions

[sagalout]

Hi there,

I got a link to this site from the ADV forum, which I've been lurking on for the last few days.

I've just bought a 2000 Tiger 900 and I love it.  I've come from sportsbikes (traded in a ZX9R) with the realisation that a) I will lose my license on a sportsbike and b) I've ridden through some beautiful scenery in the past and hardly noticed it.  So I've decided to get out of the speed race and start enjoying the ride.  

So far I'm loving the change of pace - the Tiger engine is superb, and whilst it doesnt have the ultimate power of the 9 (obviously) its got loads of enjoyable torque, and once you change your riding style you can still have the occasional thrash :) - it really rewards smooth riding, which is a good discipline

Anyway, as I say, the bike is superb, a real minter with only 12k on the clocks, full service history, hard luggage, and bathed in ACF50 all its life so it literally looks like new.  I just have a few questions about the bike really.

Brakes - this is the one dissapointment - I know I've come from a sportsbike, but the ZX9 brakes werent class leading and these seem pretty terrible.  I almost overshot a junction yesterday!  Theres nothing 'wrong' as such - plenty of feel, plenty of pad and no warping etc - they just dont seem to stop very well.  I think they are standard pads as the owner kept everything totally standard on this bike, so is there a better pad to use?  I had sintered pads on the ZX9, but I know these can sometimes warp poorer discs - is this an option?

Suspension - I actually quite enjoy the bouncyness, but is there a recommended setting for preload and rebound on the rear?  I'm 16st.  Also, how many owners have changes the springs and oil in the front?  Does this make it a much better road bike? Any recommendations?

Tyres - It currently has Pirelli MT80 (from memory - the bikes in the garage at the moment).  Whats the general opinion of these?  I'd love to get into trail riding but being in the UK this is going to be limited so realistically its going to be 95% road.  What tyres would be best for me?  The Pirellis have plenty of life in them but look old.  I've done about 100 miles so far and they feel ok in the dry - even got the pegs down - put I like the reasurance of having the best contact patch on the road, especially with the wet summer we're having here!

Mods - are there any killer mods worth doing? eg on the ZX9 a lot of owners fitted ignition advancers that trasformed the low down power - stuff like that :)

Thanks in advance guys - I hope this forum takes off as you just cant beat other expericned owners for finding out about your bike.

oh, heres a couple of pics of the bike:





More here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davewrightson/

[WIDGIN]

From the photo, you look a little young to be riding the big kitty.  :)

Front end:  Adding Progressive springs and slightly thicker oil would reduce the front dive.  
Rear end:  If I knew what 16 stone equaled in lbs., may be able to say something.
Tires:  For the type of riding you do, sounds like Tourances may be your best bet for long life, or Pilot Roads for best grip.
Mods:  Add a decent pipe and off-road tune.

[tigerrider]

A month or so back, BIKE did a review of big trailie tyres...

Might give some good info..
I may try and scan later this month if not everyone has read it.

[Stretch]

Brakes:  I use sintered pads all 'round.  

Regarding rotors... some Tigers have had rotors installed from the factory that weren't heat-treated properly, and are therefore prone to 'hot spots'.  They're not really warped or run-out, but have thick places, making for pulsing and vibration during braking.

If your Tigger hasn't displayed these symptoms by now, you're good to go.  I had a bad rotor on mine when I got it, and it was replaced under warranty.  

The trouble is, there is no specific batch of rotors (by part number) that are bad.  A few bad ones can be mixed in with thousands of good ones, so replacing rotors can be a crapshoot.  Keep your receipts.

And if you think Tiger brakes are stiff compared to your ZX9R, don't ride a V-Strom in traffic.  :mrgreen: