New Steamer owner/first trip

[pharmer]

Hi there,

I purchased a 1998 Tiger a month or so ago.  It has about 38,000 miles on it, and is equipped with a Hagon shock, a Dynojet jet kit, and a Corbin saddle.  We have warmed up to each quickly, and coming from sport bikes I have to say that I'm thrilled by the comfort of the Tiger.  I recently completed my first longish trip (~600 miles) on the Tiger.  Here are my thoughts.  I've got a few questions for you all too, in bold below.

Everyone says it, but I'll on to the pile - the fork is completely undersprung.  It is just too soft.  I love the way it eats up bumps, but I hate the dive under braking.  I've seen Racetech emulators mentioned on the ADVrider forums as a potential solution.  I'm also aware that Hagon makes some progressive springs for the fork.  Can any of you comment on the performance of these two options?

I love the engine.  I love the agricultural noises it makes, I love how smooth it is down low, and I love the torque.  The midrange power is phenomenal.  Passing cars on two-lane roads is completely effortless, even in top gear, even over rolling hills.  I've read that the Dynojet kit makes a difference here, so maybe that's part of it.  Either way, this thing is a complete rocket across the middle of the tach.  Like liter bike fast.  I love it.

Love the off road potential.  There are Metzeler Tourances on the bike and  it handled gravel roads and even minimum-maintenance dirt "roads" like a champ.  It's a big bike, but I'm a big guy and we seem to work together well off the pavement.  I wouldn't want to take into the woods, but I think I can get a good dirt fix here and there.  

The bike did go down once.  I stopped to take a photo of an old abandoned tractor and the gravel turned out to be softer than I thought.  The side stand sank down and the bike went onto it's side.  The dewey grass and the size of the bike made it VERY hard to get back up again.  When I was rolling again I noticed that the handlebar was a bit off kilter in relation to the wheel.  I stopped, held the bar straight ahead, and gave the tire a few strong kicks.  Nothing was loose or broken, and that seemed to make things right again so I rode on.  No other problems like that the rest of the ride.  Do you guys think I should have it checked out?  Is there something down there that I could have broken or damaged and not know about?  I've never had an experience like that, so your insight is much appreciated.

All in all, I'm really impressed with my Tiger.  It's an exceedingly comfortable mile eater that cruises beautifully between 70-80 and gets pretty decent mileage.  It's plenty sporty for me, too.  I love the power and I love how far I can lean the bike over in the curves.  It's just an all around great bike.

I'm looking forward to becoming part of this community.  Thank in advance for any advice you guys have related to my questions.

[JetdocX]

The fork is woefully undersprung.  I had Traxxion Dynamics do the emulators and put a stronger spring in.  Also did a Penske rear shock built to my size and ridng style.  I've ridden this bike on eveything from crappy loose rock to the track and I really like the suspension.  It's one of the best bang for the buck items you can do.

[Sin_Tiger]

My 96 (86k miles if the odo is to be believed) is in for major surgery just now.

The forks were opened up and the tubes & bushes in excellent condition although the seals were hard and unsurprisingly starting to show signs of cracking but the oil was black. A good clean out and new oil made a vast improvement just to the static feel (not able to road test yet) but there is still a bit more travel with a hard push than I'd like, so I am about to order a set of Hagon Progressive springs.

I fitted these in my Varadero and they transformed it so I have high hopes, I'll post up when it's back on the road with the new springs.

[pharmer]

Thanks for the tips.

The previous owner had the bike since new and he took really good care of it.  The forks were resealed this year by a dealer and they put the stock weight oil in.  He told me "some guys think it's too soft, but I liked it the way it was."  I obviously disagree with him!

Right now I'm leaning towards the Hagon progressive springs.  Once I got the Hagon on the back dialed in for preload I was pretty impressed.  They seem to make good stuff.

I have never heard of anyone putting a Tigger on the track, but I like the idea.  I love how far you can lean it over, and I love the way it powers out of tight corners.  I bet it would be a blast.

I'm glad I have the luxury of thinking about this stuff rather than basic maintenance.  The p.o. also had the sprag clutch issue fixed by the dealer.  I have a copy of the bill...that was not a good day for him.

Any ideas on the wheel issue?  I checked the axle nuts this evening and they're fine.  The bearings aren't making any noise and there's no vibration or anything.

[Sin_Tiger]

I did the same when I dropped my Roadie.

Without seeing yours I would suggest it's just the fork tubes twisted in the yokes due to the hit on the bars before the yokes went onto the stops. You were probably on the money with a good kick but checking the alignment front to rear is worthwhile as well as checking the torque on the tube pinch bolts.

You should also swing it onto the the steering stops and then measure between a point on the bars to a point on the tank, if there is a difference then it's either the forks are still twisted or your bars are bent. The only way to check the bars is to take them off and lay them on a flat surface to check.

Invest in an Oxford Magnimate or weld a bigger plate on the foot of the side stand when you get a chance.

+1 for Hagon. They were good and managed to deliver to me in Singapore at a very reasonable charge, even though the website is not too flash.

[JetdocX]

Since you asked for opinions...

progressive springs are snake oil.  You wind up compressing the light part by sitting on it and wind up running on the stornger portion most of the time.  

[nightrunner]

Congrats on the new bike.  I wonder if the PO was a member here??

You have remember the early Tigs are adventure bikes and competed directly with BMW GS's.  Each model change grew more toward road use.  So the suspension will have more travel and will be softer.  The emulators will allow you to adjust.   But maybe the new springs would be better for your application.  Note that RaceTech advises not to use emulators with progressive springs.

Yes they are a top-heavy bike as you have found out.  That's partly because it sits higher than the bullet bikes.

Check on Advrider for the Tiger threads.  Several folks have posted pics from track days.

I'm pretty sure that Dynojet never made a kit for the 95-98 Tigers.  Factory Pro makes a kit.  Most if us save the money and rejet them ourselves.  There are jetting threads here.

By the way those kick stands have been known to give way and fold up at the bend.  If you weld a bigger pad on, then add a gusset to the bend while you're at it.

Be careful about overtightening the band clamp on the eccentric hub when you adjust the chain.  Factory torque spec is way too much.  A "snug" bolt is plenty for a band clamp that large.  A few folks have reported breaking the band.  The you have to replace the swingarm or have it welded.

Find the threads on DAR.  Its the most common problem with these and relatively easy to fix.  With 38K on the clock its probably been fixed once already.  But it can repeat.

The sprag clutch parts acn still fail.  The thing to remember on the Tiger is not to try and start them with a weak battery.    Keep it charged and manitained.  If the batt is weak when you push the button, sstop immediately and get a new batt or recharge the old one.  Sprag failures are due to the crank rotating a few degrees backward with the starter enguaged.

There's more wisdom.  Just paruse through the threads.

Cheers