Last year got sort of complicated. So I sold off my bikes, A Steamer went, A Quota went. A Strom went, and an 800ST went. Throughout the fall and winter I had myself convinced I was done with bikes for a while. I'm looking to move west and thought less to move is better.
Fast forward to today. I'm starting to pace like a caged Tiger(Pun Intended).
My wife says I can't help myself and is walking around singing "Fever".
I keep thinking about a used 1150GS, I like them and they would fill my "I'm only going to have one bike for a while criteria". That being said. They have their issues too. The Steamer never really got ridden because I was in sell mode at that point.
But I keep coming back to the Girlies, Late model ones or any for that matter seem to present quite a value. The Wee was a great bike but it had little appeal in the sexy realm.
The support offered here more than offsets the issues that may arise in the Tigers. And while not actually a wrench I'm fairly handy.
I would like a bike that's not afraid to get dirty, but don't need a moto-crosser. The Tiger seems to fit the bill.
I wouldn't mind hearing from anyone who has experience with both the older GS and the Girly if you're out there. One thing I like about this place is you guys love your bikes but aren't afraid to admit they have some quirks. I value that.
Sorry, to ramble, but I had to hear it myself to see how it sounded.
P.S. I love the lucifer orange and the '05s in BRG are about my favorite.
:shock: Some quirks?? :shock: Oh no! :D
Quote from: "Lostviking"P.S. I love the lucifer orange and the '05s in BRG are about my favorite.
I think you have answered most of your own questions. :D
Time to buy the tiger!
Sorry, I don't have any personal experience with the 1150, other than I have several friends with 1100, 1150,1200 GS. I also think they are good bikes and have always lusted for an 1150. With that said, I don't think I'd swap my Tiger for one.
I have taken my 885i into some pretty nasty places without issue. I also dirtbike so I know both ends of the spectrum. The character of the triple engine is fantastic and the bike is very comfortable for long rides. I find mine to be very easy to work on and parts have not been an issue.
I like to carve corners, do long camping tours, ride dirt roads to explore, and commute. I find that the Tiger fits the bill very nicely and was about half the price of a comparable 1150.
If I were doing it over again and I had $24k to spend on a tricked out bike, I'd look at a GS12, then I'd probably buy a used Girly and spend the other $18k traveling. YMMV :twisted:
Not saying that you're looking at a new bike. Just making e-conversation
Thanks for the responses folks. I actually had a 12GS didn't really trip my trigger. Also had a '94 GS which I should have kept. I tried the F800GS and liked it, but can't make friends with the price.
I've always had a soft spot for the Tigers.
This time around I don't want to spend big bucks, not sure where the world is headed. I figure I can grab a lightly used bike and use the extra $$$ to farkle and or travel.
Your version of riding is similar to mine. Some longer trips, weekend scratching, occasional forest road exploration.
Anyone in upstate NY have one they would be willing to let me sit on or ride would be greatly appreciated.
QuoteP.S. I love the lucifer orange and the '05s in BRG are about my favorite.
My personal favs are the black and dark green.
I spent a few days in the city last week and had a bunch of time to kill. My buddy (a BMW nut) and I hit the local BMW/Triumph shops. I had a chance to check out the new GSA12. Nice looking bike and it fits my size well. But a list price of $21k w/o panniers... :shock:
I also got to check out the F800, Tiger, and Scrambler. I think the new Roadie is dead sexy! Although, I don't think I'd really want to do much off pavement with it. I know plenty of folks have, but it's just too pretty to risk damage.
As noted above, with the economy as it is, I'll be on my '99 for a few more years.
I must go along with what others have said. My '02 Tiger went to the North Slope of Alaska and my '05 is scheduled to go back there this summer and down to Key West, FL. It's been my camper, back road scratcher, and daily commuter. It's seen 6 lane freeways and two-track backroads. It's never left me stranded and always gets about 50mpg. It's different enough that I don't feel like I'm riding a cookie cutter bike and I can't count the number of times that a cager has given me the thumbs up sign while traveling the highways and byways of America and Canada.
Is it the perfect bike? No, not yet, but it keeps getting closer with every farkle that I install! :D
The thing about Triumphs, like Harley's, they have an intangible appeal that's hard to explain. There's character in them, they have something other bikes don't and once you "get it", it's a love affair.
They're not perfect by any means, but my personal opinion is their quirks endear them to their owners. We complain about them, wrench on them, and sometime curse them, but everyday we gladly mount and ride them with a smile. They're a small segment of the two wheel world, most people don't even realize Triumph's still in business....
With all that said, I feel my 05 Tiger's the best bike I've ever ridden despite the quirks. If I were King For A Day, the biggest change would be the charging system and it's limited capacity. Unfortunately, I think it's the bikes biggest downfall, but once you figure it out and learn to live with its limitations, it's just as solid as any other bike out there. The newer Roadies don't have the problems the Girlies have.
The factory luggage holds enough to travel and can be resonably water resistant, of course there are upgrades out there for a price.
The triple engine is simple to work on, and under proper maintenance will run into very high mileage numbers easily. The maintenace intervals are at 12k miles for the valve shim clearances, which isn't bad. A lot of other bikes out there are 18k or 24k, but look into the BMW's and you're looking at some of their bikes requiring the valves adjusted every 6k, 8k, or 10k, depending on the model.
The advantage of the triple is mostly in the useable power and torque coming on in the lower RPMs and riding the smooth curve to redline, on top of that, they're pretty economical to operate. It has good town and highway manners and will perform very well in the twisties despite it's size.
The rest is personal preference; wind screens, seats, farkles, suspension settings, etc.
If I were a one-bike owner, the Tiger's the one.
Go ahead and grab one, spend any amount of time in the saddle and you'll "get it" too. :D
I pretty much have to second what Tom said....
My only gripe is that annoying clunk in the forks, it really irritates me.
I've always been a "one bike" man. I've generally got more but they are projects and with those the voyage is the destination. I've owned tourers, UJMs, cruisers and Sports. My next "only bike" is a 2006 Tiger. It sits in California at the seller's house awaiting my return to the United States so our love affair can begin. I debated making payments on a $20,000 plus bike, buying a used $13,000 motorcycle outright or keeping my current sport bike. Because I wanted ONE motorcycle that would do everything asked of it, I started looking at dual purpose machines.
BMWs, KTMs, Ducatis and Aprilias are all good bikes, I just don't think any motorcycle is worth the asking price of one of those. The Girly has got to be the biggest bang for the buck out there. Many farkles made for the GS bikes fit handily on the Girly so the proliferation of Beemers helps us out in the aftermarket. The Girly will outperform the GSs on the street and I won't be riding a "cookie cutter". I'm not a big fan of the boxer motor and having those jugs hanging out there would make me very nervous of a tip-over and they limit where my size 12 feet attached to my 38" inseam can be!
I'm a Tiger man now and I know I'm going to be very happy with my decision for many years to come. No buyers remorse here. Just my 2 cents.
The fork "clunk" is attributed the type of proportioning valve the Triumph engineers installed. There's nothing wrong with it, it just clunks... another endearing quality our Tiger's bring to the table!
I've got a 2005 Tiger and have never noticed this cluck in the suspension. Read a lot about it and still don't understand it.
Are you feeling or hearing it?
It is a loud clunk when going over sharp-edged bumps at low speed, such as pulling out of a driveway or going over a speed bump. Hear it more than feel it. Most of them do this from what I understand.
I know it is common on these bikes, is not a problem, and won't hurt anything. I just find it annoying. Otherwise I love my bike, and all in all, would recommend one to anyone, especially someone who is limited to a one bike "fleet".
I was playing around with different weights and levels of oil in the forks last summer trying to firm up the front end some and reduce the braking dive. I found with heavier oil the clunk was not as frequent.
Interesting. I wonder of my use of ear plugs, full face helmet, and TOR exhaust have masked it... :lol:
Quote from: "EvilBetty"Interesting. I wonder of my use of ear plugs, full face helmet, and TOR exhaust have masked it... :lol:
I ride with ear plugs, full face helmet, and TOR exhaust and I still hear it. My friend was riding with me a while ago and he couldnt believe it as he heard it when we were pulling off a garage forecourt.
Quote from: "EvilBetty"Interesting. I wonder of my use of ear plugs, full face helmet, and TOR exhaust have masked it... :lol:
I ride with ear plugs, full face helmet, and TOR exhaust and I still hear it. My friend was riding with me a while ago and he couldnt believe it as he heard it when we were pulling off a garage forecourt.
I like to hear/feel the clunck on my 06 Tiger - that way I know the forks are doing their job. Just like the vibration at idle on my Uly - that way I know the engine is already running & wont strip the bendix drive by trying a restart.
I've had a load of bikes in the last few years, I rode a sportster for ages. Then I had a zx9r ninja, incredibly uncomfortable, wrist and shoulder ache but otherwise awesome. Then a gs650 dakar, very nice and reasonably comfy but not quite enough grunt, though great on rough roads. Then a Buell X1 lightning, with a good can. Just magic though the twisty stuff and admired by kids and grandads, but just not practical. I also want one bike to do everything, and I won't spend mad money on a badge. I looked at a Tiger but its very tall, and I'm not at 5'10", so still looking. And then I found her, 02 Girly with the forks lifted and a 17" wheel on the front. Also has huge givi topbox and panniers and a blueflame can. The day I bought her I rode 125 miles home, had some dinner, then rode 45 miles to see my girlfriend for an hour then home again. I use her to go to the shops, to go to work and this summer did the John O'Groats to Lands End run off motorway. She goes like a train and is nimble as hell, I've had both a GS800 and a SV1000 all over the road on the twisties while I've been well within my comfort zone. It's still a tallish bike for me, but once on it the ride position is just so comfortable, and it goes forever on a tankfull of fuel, I get to have a ciggy while the others are filling up. She's been off the road for a month, purely because of all the salt they keep spraying on the road, I don't like it, but we've just had a load of rain and the sun is out, I think its time to play. The other half has seen me get that look in my eye that means hours on ebay or autotrader looking for my next "perfect" bike many times, but not with this one, I can't think of anything I'd trade it for. I have wondered about whether a sprint motor would be fun to install, but only to be silly, girly has plenty of punch, its just always nice to have a bit more... :lol:
Quote from: "thefireweaver"... I have wondered about whether a sprint motor would be fun to install, but only to be silly, girly has plenty of punch, its just always nice to have a bit more... :lol:
You don't need the whole motor, just the cams and a new fuel map.
Yep, I heard the clunk today, not all the time, dont bother me.
lostviking, get a Tiger, really, Ive ridden GS's, even new 1200's, nah, this thing is the mutts.
QuoteYou don't need the whole motor, just the cams and a new fuel map.
Is that major surgery? I had wondered if it was just the fuel map. Actually I'm not sure that sprint tuning would work that well, I wondered if it was possible to keep the same kind of spread...but turn it up a bit, probably not by 38hp though :lol:
I nearly added that point to my earlier comment. I think 130bhp would be a bit much for the Girly suspension - she'd tie herself in knots. Being able to break traction under power and sideslide out of corners would be interesting.... with the short wheelbase and soft rear shock I'm thinking highside city :shock:
With a Blueflame can, baffles in and some map tweaking I have 102.5 bhp at the rear tyre. More map tweaking would maybe give another 3-4 bhp but it would start being unpleasant to ride as power improvements are a tradeoff against power useablility.
I don't know about the cam changes, scuttlebut has it that it's a straight swap but I've not heard from anyone who's done it. It would probably be easier to do a whole head swap but again, you'd need to do your homework first. A morning spent at a breakers yard should do it.
Thanks, that does sound interesting. 102 at the wheel sounds just about perfect. I was scouring the forum for tuning tips but must have missed them. Any idea where to go to get the mapping looked at? It'd be interesting to know what I have at the moment, its no slouch and I'm not looking for mad increases, I do want to keep it controllable and really don't want to slide sideways out of bends, it always ends in ouch, and I'm too old for that.
I lost patience with the Triumph dealer and invested heavily in a Tuneboy so now I can do more that the dealer can. Using that and a friendly dyno owner I have a map that works for me.
Rugby isn't that far from me (I have a 1200GS-riding friend at Dunchurch)so we could look at yours but wouldn't be able to edit anything unless you invest in a Tunedit key which would cost about £95.
Wow thanks! Goes off to investigate tunedit keys...This is a cool forum, I'm glad I found it. :D
The Tuneboy software is free, but it needs a software key specific to your ECU (expensive) and a bespoke cable (v expensive) hence me saying I could help as I have the cable, but you'd need a key.
Then you need to know what you're doing with it... that's where the real fun starts... :roll:
If it's running well, I'd leave it alone - at least to start with.
Thanks Bob, she runs fine as she is, really no complaints at all, so I wouldn't start fiddling for the sake of it. It would be interesting to know how she's mapped now though, for the sake of comparison. If it turns out that she's already mapped as far as is sensible, then no point buying the key. If it turns out that there's a usable 20 horses available then well worth the money I should think. I'm in no rush anyway, the council have just been round and gritted again. Why is beyond me, the roads were nice and clean after all the rain had washed the salt off and nice and dry. Where were they when we were knee deep and I couldn't get my van to my workshop? :roll:
Cheers,
Julian
We can always have a peek into your ECU and see what's in there, no need for anything more than my laptop and cable for that. Maybe set something up when the weather inmproves. :roll:
That would be brilliant. Temperatures up on the plus side of 10 would be nice, I'll look forward to it. :lol:
Is there any real advantage in going with the later years. I must admit the '05 in BRG looks mighty sweet. I need to find some inmate close to Oneonta NY to get an educated walk around.
I went an tried a BMW F800GS, I liked it but not enough to pull the trigger. Also tried a R1200R. If I was looking for a dedicated street bike this would be it. It was 17 degrees F the day I went so I had to take it easy.
Haven't seen many Tigers pop up for sale lately. I guess that's a good thing.
Quote from: "Lostviking"Haven't seen many Tigers pop up for sale lately. I guess that's a good thing.
Try cycletrader.com and be prepared to travel for it. They are out there.
I've got a fair few miles on the 1150 and 1200 GS and like them both, specificaly the telelever front end and the low center of gravity.
But to put it into perspective, I bought an '02 Tigger in 2006 with 15k on the clock with a full luggage kit. I've since added engine and radiator protection, three screens to figure that riddle out, a Hagon shock and now front suspension upgrade and lower footpegs ( thanks mustang).
I still have about three grand change from the price of an equivilent 1150GS before I start farkling and now in all but the slowest snotiest conditions the Tigger is far the better bike.
Then there's the horror stories in Oz about canbus and final drive failures. Suddenly the choice seems easy.
But if you decided to get a 1150 you would still have a great bike. Enjoy the choosing, it's one of the most fun parts
In GS mode I like the 1150 more than the 1200. They do seem to have their problems though. However I also know of some that have gone well over 100,000 miles with very few issues. Canbus only comes into play on the 1200 hexhead series.
I'm convinced the Tiger is a better value. I just need to take the time to find the right one. Somewhere in a heated garage is a sweet Tiger with about 6K on the clock and farkled up nice just waiting to be liberated.
Take a look at craiglook.com, it's a craigslist scrubber that'll pop up everything related to what you're seeking.
I typed in Triumph Tiger and wound up with a dozen bikes for sale across the US.