Hi Guys, Long time since last post but love affair with my 885 injecte Tiger was rather short! Still head is talking now and not heart so can you help me with this question? My local dealer has a carb Tiger and I really love the look of these over the injected bikes. Looking at the specs the performance seem svery similar to the early injected bike whilst having more grunt. This sounds like what I want but opinions most welcome. thanks
The '98 carb Tigers are most preferable because of the Keihin carbs vs. Mikuni (better fuel consumption). The Mikuni emulsion tubes can wear, which causes them to use more fuel. This can be fixed.
The carb models have great performance. I have not owned an injected model, I am currently looking for an 885i. They look like they would be simpler to maintain than the Steamers.
Ask your dealer to quote an air cleaner changeout. See if you can negotiate the next service into the purchase price. To me, that's the real PITA issue with these bikes, especially when using in dusty environments. It takes me about 6 hours to do it. You must remove the carbs. No, I'm not kidding.
Other than that, it's just the 23 or so fasteners it's necessary to remove in order to remove the tank & side panels.
K-Dog
Having snapped a throttle cable in late August on my '98, I can tell you that my second carb removal went ALOT faster and smoother.
The first time I did it I about destroyed my garage in frustration. LOL
The second time I was more methodical and it paid off.
BTW, on the Steamer, one of the easiest upgrades I can recommend is to order a set of grips from the new Tigers. Fast swap and after 5 years on those waffle grips, these things are GREAT. :)