First Road Trip - Photos Added

[Tom Herold]

The wife and I took the Tiger out on it's first road trip since it's purchase. On the first half, she piloted my Sprint ST to her brother's since he wanted to purchase it from me and I'm working on thinning the 6 bike herd in the garage. Day 1 was 280 miles, day 2 we took a different route and came in just over 320 miles.  5-6 hours in the saddle each way, nothing too long for the first time on the road.

The first half of the trip I was solo and carried all the gear to keep the Sprint light for the wife, and can say I enjoyed the Tiger out on the road a lot. I'd changed over to the Cee Bailey #2/+4 1/2 over stock and it thankfully solved my buffeting problem. I might try the MRA adjustable spoiler at a later time, but for now I'm okay. I also added foot pegs to the engine guards and the SW Motech bar risers, which allowed me to switch around a bit for comfort and stretching.

I'm starting to think the gel seat's going to be an issue for distance running. The return trip was two-up in full gear, fully loaded, through 20mph winds, gusting to 30 the entire route. The bike was steady and easily managed through all the speeds and environments/weather we were traveling in. No suprises and not a lot of effort required to keep things under control.

Though there was plenty of room for the both of us, neither of us could get to the point of real comfort.  For me it's the seat width. I'm rather skinny, but the stock seat width is just a bit thin even for me. The wife didn't mind the passenger pillion, even finding it comfortable enough to snooze at times. But she found the pegs just a bit too high, which cramped her knees.  She had no complaints about the wind buffeting from the new wind screen either, but the adjustable spoiler would make things even better.

For the most part, she rides her own bikes (she has 2) and two-up is a rare occasion, but this was a good experience.

My first impressions of the Tiger as a touring machine are very favorable, even when compared to my vaunted Sprint ST and Harley:
 
- The ride quality in the stock form is completely acceptable. We carved up a few roads with ease and the two-up isn't a problem with road irregularities. A few of the twisties even had the wife hooting it up a bit as we leaned the beast over and pressed it through the corners.  It's rock steady and a pleasure to flick around within the limits of it's capability. I'm running Michelin Pilot Roads at 40psi, but they're up for replacement soon.  I wish the PR2's were available in our sizes, the Conti Trail Attack's will probably be my next tire ($290 shipped from arizonamoto.com). When the fork seals come up for replacement, a set of progressive springs will go in, just to upgrade and make things even better.

- The fuel mileage isn't comparable to my Sprint 955i, it averages 55mpg with similar loading on the highway, where the Tiger is down around 40mpg (TOR tune with stock pipe).  Not a deal breaker by any means, just a noted difference that makes me happy the tank is 6.3 gallons.

- The engine makes it's power in a different RPM range compared to what I'm used to. The Sprint is a rocket from 2000rpm through to red line.  The Tiger's happier above 3500rpm pulling through to redline, but it's not a seat of the pants thrill like the ST.  The weight difference is only 20lbs, but the gearing, cam duration, fuel mapping, etc. all make for a different experience. Again, not a deal breaker, just a noted difference. If I wanted a sport bike, I would've kept the Sprint.

- The weight of the bike is deceiving.  It looks like a big and heavy machine, especially when loaded for touring. The height of the seated position really lends itself to safety and visibility, but the layout as a whole package makes for a machine capable of doing a lot of things very well, but not mastering any one of them to the point of being a class leading bike.  Maybe that's what sets the Tiger apart from the crowd: it's ability to do a lot really well. Where as other machines concentrate on touring comfort, sporty riding, off-road capability or commuting, while compromising in everything else. It's drawn a curious rider or two every time I've stopped, being a rather rare machine in my area, it's spraks a lot of interest.

All in all, I feel I made a great purchase and find this bike to be perfect for me, my style of riding and my needs. It's definately a keeper.  Now to address the seating issue, I'll be calling Corbin shortly then doing a search on lowering those passenger foot pegs!  

Ride safe!

[TigerTrax]

Big Boyz Toyz!