Tiger vs GS

[blacktiger]

It's one of those topics that creates alot of debate. .. And I love it!  


Im not talking about the new tigers. They are entirely street bikes(sorry, you can take them off road, but really, they aren't dual sports). Im talking about the girlies.

What would cause someone to pick one over the other?

I wish the new 1050 tiger had the option of having a offroad version and a street version. You know like ktm does with their supermoto line up. They offer the dirt rims in 21 inch front and 18 rear, and the 17's for supermoto duty.

I really wish that triumph continued to build on the dual sport platform. Now there is nothing to compete with the really succesful GS.

And it's not like the GS is a great bike. The tiger 995i can easy beat the living crap out of it. But what the tiger needed was a nice shaft drive. Just some more bells and whitles for guys who want to ride around the world on them.

So far the only people who have ridden around the world on a tiger were Jan and Berte with their steamer, and that was a very problematic journey...

What are you thoughts on the gs vs tiger debate?

Are you dissapointed in the direction that triumph has gone with the tiger?

Why do you think they did it?

[abruzzi]

Why do you think they did it?

Sales.

That said, the new tiger has grown on me, but it needs a lot more work to be dirtworthy that the girlies.  Also, but to the newness of the bike, there isn't the aftermarket.

Really, the most missed thing at the moment is better tires.  A 19" front would be better, but some skilled riders out there have pushed the Uly pretty far.

Of course there are those that scoff at the 19/17 and say you cant do real offroading without 21/18s.

Girlies compared to the GS?  I went with the Girly for two reasons:

Price: I got my 2003 Girly in great shape for $5k.  What boxer GS would that have gotten?

Triumph: There is niether a Triumph or BMW dealer near me.  The nearest of either is 225 miles away, but that Triumph dealer is PJs in Albuquerque--about the best dealer of any brand I've encountered.  I already had a 1050 Speed Triple, so I have experience with the dealer, brand, and engine.  I know what I'm getting into.  I with triumph was more progressive with this bike in lowering weight and cener of gravity.  That's where KTM and the ULY both shine.  Of course the new tiger has lost 50 lbs, don't know about the CoG.

Geof

[blacktiger]

I am looking into getting a Girly tiger or a gs.

Guys on advrider with gs's from 1996 with 50k asking 6000-7000$ dollars. Tigers from that era are 2000-3000. It's a no brainer.

It seems there is a shortage of second hand tigers no the market. But they are great bikes for the money.

I guess im biased.

But the GS is great because of the aftermaket.

People praise the reliability, but yet I have found them to be really unreliable... and expensive to fix.

[abruzzi]

It seems there is a shortage of second hand tigers no the market. But they are great bikes for the money.

They come and go.  About 2 months before I was ready to buy, there were many on ebay, and elsewhere, then when I was ready, they all dried up.  I almost bought a Cagiva Gran Canyon that went on sale here, then there was a green one (not BRG) in Albuquerque and the BMW dealer, so I drove up to look at it, and that day, I discovered a 03 silver up there for less with less miles, so I snagged it.  After that, 2 months later, there were a bunch on ebay again.  So if you're patient, they show up.  Steamers less so, but they're there.

Also, there are not many for sale on advrider.  It's a cool site, but it started as a gs site (don't believe me?  go to http://www.bmwgs.com/ ), so it has deeply rooted bias, and not many tiger get sold there.

Geof

Oh, yeah---craigs list is your friend.

[Chris Canning]

As somone who owns both a Triumph and a BM,i'm a little in the middle,in stock trim i'll take a GS over a Tiger every time,the Girly Tiger never was a dual bike,don't beleave me!! ask Triumph they'll tell you themselves.

To get mine how i wanted it,it took two lots of suspension and three sets of wheels,my problem being the kit on my Tiger is no good on anything later than an 04,and while the 1050 ticked all the box's when my wife and i got to see a pre-production version she just couldn't get on the back and she's 5ft.10,so that was the end of that,my Tiger has plenty of life in it,but i'd be lieing if i did think a GS Supermoto,or a Megamoto with a big tank would make an interesting option.

If i was going off road i'd buy a Ktoom simple as that,thats what they design e'm for,when it comes to travelling distance(500 miles or more) on the road i'll put my Tiger against anything

[tigerrider]

I'll take a Steamer over a later model 1100-1200 GS for off roading with nary a thought.

The highway stuff though...the Steamer of mine just isn't that awesome on the slab. I get a buzz at highway cruising speed.

[Tama's Tigre]

I just bought my 06 Tiger (1900 happy miles ago), and this is my first Triumph... therefore I'm new to the brand.  I'm very open minded to brands (I've owned a dozen different brands through the years, from American to European, to Japanese).  I love almost anything on two wheels, but I've got to be honest, when I test rode the GS, it didn't do a damn thing for me.  After all the advrider hype, I was really disappointed.  

When I rode the 07 Tiger, I got the impression that it was a great street bike.  When I rode the 06 Tiger (the last 06 the dealer had), I realized that I was buying the greatest dual purpose motorcycle (with a leaning toward asphalt),  ever to be produced again.... it's the last of it's kind.   :shock:

[Chris Canning]

What i find funny as i have a Tiger in SM trim the thought of Triumph doing something similar, with all the poo poo'ers on here and rat,i was one of the few in favour,i just think Triumph have made a mistake,no doubt fine if you only ride one up,or your partner is a midget,or you do not ride very far,and they'll carry on getting away with the model,but if BM do something with a decent seat, they'll be in trouble.

Forget shaft drive,my Beemer has 30 thou on it and plenty of wear,i just put a chain and sprockets on my Tiger and as good as new.

[Bruincounselor]

What i find funny as i have a Tiger in SM trim the thought of Triumph doing something similar, with all the poo poo'ers on here and rat,i was one of the few in favour,i just think Triumph have made a mistake,no doubt fine if you only ride one up,or your partner is a midget,or you do not ride very far,and they'll carry on getting away with the model,but if BM do something with a decent seat, they'll be in trouble.

Forget shaft drive,my Beemer has 30 thou on it and plenty of wear,i just put a chain and sprockets on my Tiger and as good as new.

I agree with Chris - The mods on my Girly make it similar to the 1050 (without the horsepower). I do wish Triumph had the foresight for a larger tank; but they are in jolly old, where gas is available everywhere.

Bruincounselor

[blacktiger]

It seems there is a shortage of second hand tigers no the market. But they are great bikes for the money.

They come and go.  About 2 months before I was ready to buy, there were many on ebay, and elsewhere, then when I was ready, they all dried up.  I almost bought a Cagiva Gran Canyon that went on sale here, then there was a green one (not BRG) in Albuquerque and the BMW dealer, so I drove up to look at it, and that day, I discovered a 03 silver up there for less with less miles, so I snagged it.  After that, 2 months later, there were a bunch on ebay again.  So if you're patient, they show up.  Steamers less so, but they're there.

Also, there are not many for sale on advrider.  It's a cool site, but it started as a gs site (don't believe me?  go to http://www.bmwgs.com/ ), so it has deeply rooted bias, and not many tiger get sold there.

Geof

Oh, yeah---craigs list is your friend.

Yeah, I know about the bmwgs.com thing and advrider.com .. But they are in love with their gs's.

Manufacturers like bmw don't sell the steak, they sell the sizzle.

They sell the image of adventure. You have to admire their marketing machine, triumph should take some notes and do something similar.

Shit, pay me, and ill take a tiger around the world :)

[WIDGIN]

I'll follow (or lead) any GS with similar tires anywheres on my Girly.
Yes, I was initially mad at Triumph for "pussyfying?" the 1050.  However, since I'm not ready to add another bike at the time, not a huge deal personally.  I'm sure that from a total sales point of view, the 1050 will sell better as designed compared to an Adventure bike model.  This is because I suspect 70% of GS's never see dirt.  I just wish Triumph had used a different name for the 1050.  Maybe Cheetah or Panther or Leopard or Cheshire or Calico? :lol:

My real concern now is if Triumph will actually produce a decent 675 Adventure bike as mentioned.  Then I may be truly tempted and ready to add a stablemate.  :P

[Chris Canning]

When in my local Bm dealer recently buying oil filters,the guy in the service dept was telling me the first thing all their GS customers do, is buy road tyres for their bikes!!!.

[greg]

I've ridden the 1150 but not the 1200. My Girly has been a loooong way off road and with knobblies there isn't really anything in it with BM's. BM's are inferior in every other area, especially reliability. The 1200's are a nightmare. You could give me one bit it would be straight up for sale.

[blacktiger]

When in my local Bm dealer recently buying oil filters,the guy in the service dept was telling me the first thing all their GS customers do, is buy road tyres for their bikes!!!.

Yeah, they have them fitted at the same time they're having all the warranty work done. Like leaking crankshaft oil seals needing a new clutch, replacing all the corroded bits and putting in the 15th software update etc. etc. Utter rubbish these modern MBWs. Best bike they ever made was the 1981 R80GS. Down hill ever since.

[ned37]

don't hold back, tell us what you really feel there, blacktiger :lol: