Upcoming Tiger owner looking for some advice

[Shry]

Hello All!
My first post here, and the reason for that is that I will soon be looking for a Tiger.
I have loved the look of the Tiger for many years now and always said that once I was able to pay for my own bike I would get a Tiger. That time has nearly come seeing as I will soon be getting a steady pay. Currently I am driving a '99 Transalp (the anniversary model) but that one has nearly 100k km on it, ready for an upgrade I think!

Funds wise I will probably be looking at a Girly model '03 - '06 (later colours are nicer, though I love the spoked wheels) with 20-30k km on it. My father has been riding and maintaining his bikes for over 40 years and will be assisting me with the purchase, though I would love to hear some advide from you guys.

I have read some of the posts made on this site and it seems that there aren't too many major flaws with the tiger, but there is always the little stuff.
What should I look out for with this type of bike around 20-30k km? Will I most likely need to chance the chain soon? What about maintenance, will it need to go in soon and if so what will it cost me? I will ofcoarse do most of the maintenance myself with help from my father, but never having owned a fuel injected bike before we wont be able to it all ourselves.
How about corrosion? I have seen some bikes on the net claiming to have done 11k miles but the underside of the motor was heavily corroded, paint on the motor started to bubble and some of the bolts in the brake discs looked quite brown... does the tiger corrode fast or is that most likely a scam or bad maintenance?
Is there anything else which might be hidden inside and could possible come to bite me in the ass?

Seeing as the bike will be my main source of transport (we dont own a car, bikes all the way! got a bike with sidecar for the winter and transporting stuff)I cant afford to have a bike which breaks down on me all the time or costs me loads to maintain. Hope you guys will be able to give me some advice on what to keep my eyes and ears open for.

Thanks in advance,

Shry

p.s. I love the photo's here and on advrider. Nearly half way looking at all the beautiful Tigers on advrider. Will post a photo of my own as soon as I have one and some more once I get it to my own liking.

[Mustang]

Welcome to the site , lots of knowledgeable people here , you got questions we got answers  , or else we lie and to make it seem true .  just kidding    

Where are you located ?

Fill in your Profile .....it helps the members determine if they can be of help as we are from all over the world .

We have  very active UK as well as USA membership , Austrailia , New Zealand Singapore .etc etc   !

So answers to your Q's can be more directed to you if they know what side of the pond your on

[Shry]

I'm from Holland.
Looking for a bike in germany and the UK also (bikes are cheaper there).

[greg]

Well, I bought mine new in 2004. It's now 2010, no breakdowns, no dramas, and in the intervening period I haven't felt the need to change it for any reason at all.
This is good going for me, before the Tiger I was always changing bikes and bike styles (in about 6  years before the Tiger it was Bandit 1200, Thunderbird Sport, 1980 something VF1000, Thunderace, another Thunderace then the Tiger and a Thunderbird with sidecar, now sold).
There isn't another bike out there that just does it all with the same panache as the Tiger.

I do confess however an irrational need to buy a Royal Enfield, just for local pottering, and using the Tiger for everything else. There is a bullet out there with my name on it  :roll: .

[Sin_Tiger]

There is a bullet out there with my name on it  :roll: .

 

[Bixxer Bob]

.... There is a bullet out there with my name on it  :roll: .

 :shock: As an about-to-retire military-type I've always hoped to the contrary... :D