New here.....help me dispell rumors/facts

[Castertroy]

Sup guys





In the market for a good all around Bike i can take anywhere.....fire trails, dirt roads, paved corners, hiway, overnight etc.



Rode the GS and I like it, but it lacks UMPH



HATE the Vstrom, looks like a TL and a moose got busy and had a bastard child.



KTM would blast my ass after 200 miles



But I've not seen/heard alot about tigers



and what scares me is stuff like this:

I once worked with an guy who was an engineer with a major car company. He would always say this about this years model. "Man these cars are fantastic". Then I would say well I owned a 19?? and a 19??. And I had these problems. His reply was well those were the bad years. Turns out that every year that was not the current year was part of the bad years. In other words these guys built junk.



 



That is a bit how I feel about Triumph. I owned a 1996 Tiger. I loved the bike. It fit great. Handled like a dream. And it look good. I could rip up and down any road I wanted. And I did just that. But when the riding was done. My Triumph needed to be worked on. Not just once but every time. And every time I worked on it. I would look at it an wander why did they guys engineer this bike the way they did.



So here is the hate list on my bike.



 



9k mile carbs need to be rebuilt. The brass bushings for the needles were worn. Triumph falt. Well they specked the parts for that bike.



 



Every other day. needed new head lamps.



 



Bike very tuchy about changes in altidude.



 



21k starter cluch



 



Chain problems. even the chain adjustment was a pain.



 



Remove the carbs to change the air filter.



 



Problems with any bolt that was screwed into a socket that we embedded in plastic.



 



And the list things to fix just would not stop.



 



Now that the bike is gone. I started thinking that maybe I held the bike to to high of a standard. Maybe this bike just is not an every day bike.



So I start looking at the new Tigers. Simply becouse I really like the fit and the look.



Then I go to Triumph riders net. While there I look at the new Bonni discussion site.



 



Turns out that those guys have to remove the rear wheel and drop the swingarm to chainge the air filter. I said that it. These things might look great. But the engineering on them is so bad. That is just is not worth it. The funny thing is that Triumph always compairs itself to BMW. Personally I would compare them to the Royal Enfield. Look good. Built not to get you there. My advice to you is go ahead and buy the Tiger. But make sure that you set aside some of that money you save for tools. You will need them.



 



Tim

Is it THAT bigga pain in the ass to change the air filters on the 99-newer tigers?



What other maint. nightmares can I expect?

[Brock]

Listen mate...you've come to the wrong place for unbiased opinion. Your man Tim is basing his opinions in a different century (not to mention on a different planet).

Rather than me rant on about how good the MODERN Tigers are, just trawl through the threads...and if that doesn't convince you, just hire one for a day and go out GS hunting.

You've got me all agitated now...

[BP_LONDON]

I've been researching Tigers for a few months now as I'm looking to buy one and I havent come across ONE negative review on the modern machines. ALmost always a rave review.

[Deltabox]

For what it's worth:

I ride one of the older beasts, so I'm a tad biased, but:



They're great fun

They're (by and large) built to last (100k+ km can be done, easily)



Yes, there are certain niggles:

-Airfilter change (but hey, let's say you do that once a year, along with general maintenace)

-Starter clutch (tricky, as it involves separating the crank case  :? )

However, this should have been modified

- I kinda like the chain tensioning method (it's personal, I quess)



IMHO tigers are fun to drive but you have to be ready to do some (admittedly occasionally awkward) maintenance yourself: the price to pay for trying to be different from the Jap crowd.

If you don't like to do you own maintenance: look elsewhere (a nice, warm, dry cage or something  :D  ).



FYI: try maintaining a beemer  :roll:

[Mutley]

CT, like the others have said, I have ordered an 05 version which comes in April, although no date confirmed yet :roll: but I also have done shed loads of research on the Tiger, I am coming of superbikes, just had enough of that as i want to do some touring, I  was set to by a twin spark BMW ADV, but had such a bad test ride on a standard GS, it vibrated like a demented pig that it put me off, I then rode the Tiger on the Same day, within a mile I wanted it, hooned around on it for a couple of hours wnet back to the dealer and put the deposit down.



When you look at the new BM 1200 £9500 is a lot of money, I have spent £7500 for a brand spanker with full luggage, scotoiler, heated grips, Datatool alarm, Race Can, Inner bags and a few other bits, well  I thought the bike was great and the price was awesome, I just can'y wait to get it,



As for faults all bikes have a few niggles, but hey I have had a few and none of them have been any problems, as long as you maintain a bike it will look after you be it the Tiger, GS or a Mille R, ride one and it will help make your mind up.



Mutley getting an 05 in 04

[Castertroy]

I'm not a stranger to wrenching by any means



My current project:









in it's current state















This after taking my TLR from this















to this, completely on my own (well, lee's performance DID create the custom map for the F.I.) :roll:











And if you can name 1/3 of the mods that you can SEE I'll give you a dollar  :lol:







BUT STILL....I'm hesitant to say the least about buying a bike that reqires you to drop the swingarm to change the air filter.

[Mutley]

CF body work, wavey disks, rear sets, PC111 I bet, full exhaust race systems, braided hoses, looks like you upgraded the rear suspension, with an ohlins, CF front mudguard,, CR hanger, nissin 6 pots, single seat unit, dymags front and rear  shall, I go on.



Its like my mille R in standard form :twisted:



Mutley :lol:

[Castertroy]

CF body work, wavey disks, rear sets, PC111 I bet, full exhaust race systems, braided hoses, looks like you upgraded the rear suspension, with an ohlins, CF front mudguard,, CR hanger, nissin 6 pots, single seat unit, dymags front and rear  shall, I go on.



Its like my mille R in standard form :twisted:



Mutley :lol:

6 outta 13 right  



But I did all that INCLUDING the purchase of the bike for about $7500 less than your bike lists for  :P

[Mutley]

CT the mille R handles out of the create :twisted: its the best sports bike I have had, and I have had most, :P  :P



But Tiger bound I am and Mille Race Bike I am buying as I am a track day addict but my 02 is worth to much to chuck up the track, so when the MRO is finished you will find me with my wallet :D



Mutley

[Guest]

So I'll put your worries to rest.

My 2002 955i has now done 21000 miles, still runs and looks like new. Just had the dealer services at the correct times and cleaned and protected with "Motrex 645 protect and shine".

[Castertroy]

But does the swingarm in fact have to be dropped to change the air filter?

[Pawk]

Ride both for sure.

[TigerKen]

No, the swingarm does not have to be removed to change the air filter. The air box is under the tank like most anything these days. It took me about 45 minutes start to finish to install a K&N filter in my '02. The old carb version was a little more work and yes, you had to pull the carbs to get the airbox out, the same as the carburated Speed Triple, Daytona, Trophy, Sprint, and Trident. I believe the original post was refering to the new Bonnie, but you don't have to remove the swingarm there either. The bonnie filter is underneath the side cover and is easy to get to.



Chain adjustment is easy. Again, just like the carb versions of the S3, Daytona, etc. It takes 2 allen wrenches and about 5 minutes. I've had to adjust my chain twice in the 8000 miles I've put on it.



I've had my '02 Tiger for 6 months. I bought it new from the dealership I work at. I've put 8000 almost trouble free miles on it. I say almost because I dropped it in traffic back in December. That was my fault, not the bike. That's what I get for trying to predict traffic.

[Castertroy]

I've had my '02 Tiger for 6 months.

So whatta ya got now?

[TigerKen]

So whatta ya got now?

I've still got it. I bought it as a new leftover 6 months ago.