Just collected my first Tiger, a 2005 in Lucifer Orange. On the way home I thought I had made a mistake as the front felt very vague, but I think this was down to new tyres, and the feeling improved after a few miles. My other bike is a Ducati ST4S and I will be interested to find out how good the cornering of the tiger is by comparison.
One thing I noticed - I keep looking for a higher gear, and then find I am in sixth.
Any advice on choice of tankbags and mounting solutions for a Garmin Street Pilot 111 would be appreciated.
At the risk of boring you, you might be interested in why I chose the Tiger over other options the I tried (BMW 1150 & 1200GS, Multistrada)
Multistrada - handled well, but don't like the appearance, depreciation, servicing costs, or price by the time you have added essential extras.
1150GS - love the looks of the Adventure, but too tall & too heavy with big tank.
1200GS - immediately felt at home on it and was able to throw it into corners without concern. Liked the lack of dive on the front and the brakes. Not so keen on the looks compared to the 1150 GS, and definately did not like the price or the waiting list. Also, didn't find that the bike offered much excitement.
Tiger - tried an 03 model. Comfortable, but not as confidence inspiring as the 1200 GS, but I took a chance tha the 05 model will prove better. Love the engine and the sound, even with standard can. The looks have suddenly grown on me. Immediately available, and good value compared to the BMW, although I expect depreciation will be worse. Still have a slight concern about its ability on high speed twisties, but hopefully unfounded.
Got to run it in now before a trip to France in August.
Mike
I too feel that the bike needs an over drive 6th gear. One solution is to fit a 19 tooth front sprocket. Makes 1st longer too.
I use a Touratech "Trail bike" tankbag.
If you PM me your e-mail address, I'll send you some pictures of my SP3 mounting solution.
In a few years time you'll get BMW owners coming up to you and bragging how much more their R1200GS is worth than your Tiger. To shut them up just remind them that you had a VERY expensive holiday/new kitchen/bought a trail bike AND had money to spare by buying a Tiger instead of the BMW!!!
You'll discover that the tiger is every bit as good as most other bikes when it comes to high speed twisties.