Wow! I'm glad I have a Tiger!!

[jays58]

I have always had a thing for the BMW GS and would have bought one instead of the Tiger last year, if I could have afforded it.  
The Tiger has been a delight to ride, service, and own in general.  The problems are few and fairly simple to deal with, service is very easy, the ride is fantastic, the cool factor is very high, and this site is THE BEST!

I'm with you on all counts Macgart.  (I'm curious how many other Tiger owners were GS hunting).  I spotted an 1100 in my price range at the local dealer just before taking a week's vacation.  Of course it was gone when I came back to town.  Cruising Craig's List for another one, I came across an '02 Girly, (7 or 8 years newer, 1/2 the miles on it and about $2,000 cheaper).  I still appreciate the GS and BMWs in general and will own them in the future, but the Tiger is a great bike that can do anything the GS can, (and many things better).  I'm amazed at how effective the Girly is off pavement and it's an excellent long distance mount.  Other than lacking ABS brakes, I'd put its' performance up against any GS, and I never get tired of that unique triple power!  A great bike at a great price!

[HappyMan]

You know, the fact of the matter:

1.  All bikes have problems.

2.  Owners of certain bikes congregate in certain forums and the horror stories come out.

3.  This site is not immune.

4. I could go on and on and have at some length about the shoddy workmanship of my Tiger, and this, that and the other thing.

5.  I'm not alone here.

Having said that, I'd take a Tiger over one of those overpriced big GS's any day of the week. :D   Much more bike for the money, IMO.  

6.  Preaching to the chior. :lol:

I was just going to post exactly the same thing.  I'll add that coming from a BMW to my Tiger I have some perspective on this.  What I noticed most about BMW owners was that they tended to complain a lot more so you hear about a lot more of the problems (yes, that whining wasn't just from the final drive) and so between their complaining and the sheer number of BMW's sold I think the problems seem a little skewed.  I absolutely loved my BMW and it's Boxer engine.  Never went for a ride without saying to myself "I love this bike".  But I'll tell you this, that Beemer couldn't hold a candle to my Tiger when it comes to the love I have for it.  Hands down the Triumph is by far my favorite bike and I've been riding now for 36 or 37 years.  Every time I ride my Trumpet I scream "WoooooooooHooooo!" in my head.  When I die just put that Triple in the casket with me.  I don't ever want to live without it.  No, it doesn't have the fit and finish my BMW had but my Tigger is so covered with mud all the time it doesn't matter.  As for maintenance on my BMW; it was simple.

[Bixxer Bob]

I had a 650GS and liked it, but not as much as the Tiger.  What the GS did have over Tiger was lightness but that was all, the GS paint was rubbish and service costs extortionate.  It was an easy-to-ride bike though.  The big GS is a cool bike but not £4k cooler than a Tiger.  I smile to myself when entering GS territory at my local BMW dealer (I still have a friend who works there) my riding gear could be described as "lived in" compared with their pristine BMW clobber but I kind of enjoy looking like a real-world renegade.  I know I'm going to get "the look" from the GS crowd, but I also know my Tiger is cheaper, faster and more reliable than anything that they have, but most of all - IT'S MADE IN ENGLAND!!!!

[redbirds]

I test rode the Bimmer and a Tiger Roadie the same day. Bought the Tiger and it was an easy choice. Tiger motor felt much stronger overall. The Tiger turned in better at low speeds and had a better riding position than the BMW. Add in the huge difference in price, the funky turn signal controls and there's no comparison.

[macgart]

Yep, JetdoX and Happy Man made some very relevant posts.  It is quite true that all bikes have problems and bike specific forums have tons of negative posts by nature.  A lot of us, myself included, go to the forums for help with those problems.  Quite right that the sheer number of BMWs out there will lead to large numbers of posts, both positive and negative.

I've never been much for running with the herd, so the Tiger fits me fine.  It's kinda nice to be the oddball (on many levels) in the group.  Besides, beemer may have panache, but when it comes to the Tiger I have to quote Dirty Harry, "You sure show a sense of style... Sweet is it?".

[cascadetiger]

I read all the scary stuff about things that go wrong on these forums.  The forums are like a screen that catches everything.  My Steamer has been trouble free for 6,000 miles.  I needed a lower cost off-road bike and it has worked fine.  I have looked at BMW's many times, but I just dont get "it".  Little appeal for me.  Besides, nothing looks like a Steamer on the road, unique for sure.

[zombie]

I sold a gs1150adv to a young lad from san diego 4 yrs ago with 10k on it,
he's got 80k on it now and just had the final drive rebuilt not that it was broke just a preventative maintenance thing..
He has had no issues with the thing at all.
BMW owners tend to bitch more and I put it down to having spent a lot of money up-front so they want flawless performance.
You only ever hear of the bad bikes not the ones that run fine with no problems . .
I initially bought the beemer cos it was cheap and I was going to do Alaska on it , instead took my tiger and 50k later still grinning

Horses for courses.
Would have really loved to see the girly chassis with the 1050 motor tho

[Geoff D]

Happy man you took the words right out of my mouth...... The Tiger is easily the best. I've been riding bikes for 37 years now & I think all round the Tiger has been the best... other big trailies (or adventure bikes as they're now called)I've owned are....
Transalp, R100GS/PD, Africa Twin & Varadero...the only one that came close was the Varadero, but man it was so boring & soulless & those linked brakes... hmmm

Had smaller Traillie type bikes & the Tenere was the best of those.

I road tested the 1150 GS & hated it.

The Tiger isn't perfect but its the nearest, I've found.

Love mine to bits I will NEVER part with it.

[Advwannabe]

Agreed Geoff, Tigger is far from perfect but the overall package works for me.

Now can I have the 675 motor with 100 horses, telelever front end, shaft drive and wet weight around 200kg please?

I have a technical question on this too, talking about BMW final drives. BMW has a paralever, Kawasaki has a tetralever, Moto Guzzi has a torque arm arrangment, all to counteract the rise and fall effect of the shaft.

Yamaha just positions the drive pinion in the correct place (FJR1300) has none of that paraphanalia and works beautifully with no discernable rise and fall. What was so hard about that?

[macgart]

Ya gotta wonder why beemer apparently has more drive issues than other major manufacturers.  Maybe we just don't hear about the other issues or maybe it's related to the off road use of the GS.  I dunno.

I have had several Japanese bikes with shaft drive with no problems.  But then I also did not do a lot of serious off roading.  I did take my Honda Aero 1100 up a rutted mining road in South Dakota.  Let me tell you, that bike was not built for jumping water bars and diagonal water ruts!  It did it, but boy was it uncomfortable.   :twisted: