New member

[oldrider]

G'day, I am not only a new member, I am also a new owner but have not picked the bike up from the dealers yet.



I am not a noobie to motorcycling though as I had my first ride on a bike in 1953 and got my bike licence when I was 15, one year later and have been riding bikes  almost continuously ever since.



My wife has had a bike licence for over 36yrs too and our kids and our grandkids have got or ride bikes as well.



I saw my first Honda when I was given a ride on the first Honda 300cc twin "dream" to come into NZ, in the late 1950's.( it was part of an advanced promotion tour from Honda, prior to release)



For it's time the bike was absolutely fantastically engineered and put together when compared to the range of bikes available to us in New Zealand at that time, I was smitten with the quality immediately.



I have only ever had Honda Bikes ever since that day!



At this moment the spell of the Honda motorcycle, for me, has been broken.



Not because Honda are not still great bikes but because Honda (NZ) have lost their customer focus and have forced me to look around at other brands.



Of all of the bike brand products offering for my requirements, the Triumph Tiger has put up it's paw and scratched me in all the right places, so I have traded my trusty little Honda in and signed up for a new 06 (blue) Tiger 955i and will consummate the deal next week in Nelson, at Thunderbikes all going to schedule.



I confess to having lurked a little and to sucking your brains on this (and others) forum for a while but now as you can see, I am all but one of you.



Being "between bikes" as they say is not my cup of tea so the sooner we are back on two wheels legitimately the better my mood will become.



I guess you will have deduced from my forum name and time as a biker, that I am getting long in the tooth so I will really have to get into the swing of owning and riding the Tiger as quickly as I can, so much to do, so little time.



See you about from time to time.     :D    Cheers John.

[Advwannabe]

G'day Oldtimer and welcome,



I've always thought Honda had a good product, they must have seriously lost the plot to lose you.



I think you will find the trumpy if not as completely engineered as a Honda ( he pauses waiting for the flak barrage   ) at least as solid.



Their loss is our gain, enjoy!

[speedjunkie]

consummate the deal

:shock:

I am all but one of you.

Welcome to the collective!!



Really tho, have you had the opportunity to ride it yet?  If not, I think you're in for a very pleasant surprise.  It is, IMO, one of the most underated bikes produced.  It is very comfy, very adgile, very smooth, and rather well built.  If you have a good dealer, which I believe TB is, you should have nothing to worry about.  My dealer has done a wonderful job of taking care of me.  I've only had 1 warranty claim and it was trivial at that.  Otherwise, the bike has been flawless!  It just purrs when you give her the gas and begs for more!!  It is one of the few bikes I've owned that puts a smile on my face every time I ride it.  It constantly amazes me just how great it really is!  Have fun and be safe!!





Mike

[kiwitiger]

crikey - two NZ posts in one night. Good on yer mate. The bike you have chosen is superb for our roads - especially if you take the missus with you. Effortless touring, superb mileage, good handling etc etc.

The boys at TB have a good RAT club - meet up with them and get to know some more nice people.

I too have had many Hondas , I bought the tiger and have enjoyed the awesome camaradie of owning a triumph through RAT.

I'm sure you will enjoy the capabilities of the tiger - what sort of honda did you swap it for ??

[navajo oshley]

Welcome.



Hurry up and grab that Tiger & post some pictures.

 :D/  :D

[zadok_oz]

Hope everything went to plan John. Looking forward to seeing the pics of the blue Tiger.

[Thaiger]

Good to see NZ well represented in the ranks of Tiger owners, shows what a great bunch we are! As a Thailand based Kiwi I am quite happy with my lot, but I do wish I could get my bike onto some of them South Island roads. Might have to head over next summer. Enjoy your new bike, Nelson would be a great place to be based with a Tiger, you'll need major surgery to get the smile off your face.

[oldrider]

After a string of frustrating hiccups, setbacks and delays, I arrived home from Nelson with 756 miles reading on the odometer and a deep satisfaction that I had made the right choice in purchasing the Triumph Tiger 955i!



On my initial ride I took the Tiger over the Takaka hill and back (100 miles) and on my return to my sister and brother in law's house for tea, they asked me how it went?



My reply was that for the first time in my life, I had experienced an orgasm with a "cat"!



The bike is bloody brilliant, I have ridden that hill many times on many bikes but there has never been anything anywhere near as satisfying as negotiating that hill as it was on the Tiger!



I am away to Dunedin on Wednesday for the first warranty check and tune at the local Triumph dealership, "Otago Honda"! would you believe!



The TransAlp XL650v that I traded in on the Tiger was a wonderful little bike and I was very sad to leave it behind but some one is going to get themselves a very capable and reliable go-anywhere bike when they buy that one.



I have spent the day today cleaning and checking out the tiger ready for the trip and warranty check on Wednesday and tomorrow is my other half's turn to try out what it feels like for her on the back before she commits to coming with me.



So, so far so good, first British bike in my shed for 48 years and so far I am loving it.     :D    Cheers John.

[cbxtc6]

Be sure to have the Dealer install the "Off-Road" tune for you when you get your Warranty service done.  Regardless if you have the off-road pipe or not, your bike WILL run better.

[oldrider]

Be sure to have the Dealer install the "Off-Road" tune for you when you get your Warranty service done.  Regardless if you have the off-road pipe or not, your bike WILL run better.

I have just rang the dealer rep workshop and made the request for the "off road tune" that you suggest.



At first they didn't know what I was talking about but they soon found some one who did and it's all arranged for tomorrow.



Can't say that they filled me with confidence but I guess I have to start somewhere and they are the closest Triumph dealer to home. (215km)



I will be very interested to see how well she runs because she has become a bit erratic as the run in process evolved.



Much as you guys have described in your posts!



I was hoping for improvement after the check and tune. Helpful information! Thanks.  Cheers John.

[Stretch]

I have just rang the dealer rep workshop and made the request for the "off road tune" that you suggest.



At first they didn't know what I was talking about but they soon found some one who did and it's all arranged for tomorrow.



Can't say that they filled me with confidence

Don't sweat it.  Lots of shops I've visited have had youngsters answering the phones who don't have a clue about motorcycles, aside from which colors coordinate with the apparel in the showroom.



The folks who know bikes are in the back working on them, too busy to answer every phone call.



All is well.

[M.T.]

Don't sweat it. Lots of shops I've visited have had youngsters answering the phones who don't have a clue about motorcycles, aside from which colors coordinate with the apparel in the showroom.



The folks who know bikes are in the back working on them, too busy to answer every phone call.



All is well.

+1



Believe me (and everyone else!)  The offfroad tune is definitely the way to go even if the highschool kid answering the phone has never heard of it.



Tell us what you think!

[oldrider]

Don't sweat it. Lots of shops I've visited have had youngsters answering the phones who don't have a clue about motorcycles, aside from which colors coordinate with the apparel in the showroom.



The folks who know bikes are in the back working on them, too busy to answer every phone call.



All is well.

+1



Believe me (and everyone else!)  The offfroad tune is definitely the way to go even if the highschool kid answering the phone has never heard of it.



Tell us what you think!

Had the first 1,000 mile Warranty check/tune and asked for the "off road tune".



The shop has only had the Triumph agency for a short while and the Mechanic was delighted to have his first Tiger in for a service.



When I asked about the off road tune his reply was, you are the customer, you can have anything you want.



He didn't see it as a problem and had the bike all ready for me in half the time first given and is very keen to hear back from me on how the bike is running.



I think I am going to have a good relationship with this guy, I like his style.



The bike went like a charm on the way home.



The only problem I have with it is the position of the foot pegs, they interfere with my ability to balance the bike at stand still or stopping and starting off.



The hero knobs are long and protrude out and force my legs too far out from the bike and they catch in the tops of my boots and prevent me getting my foot to the ground properly sometimes.



I am thinking of unscrewing them and taking them off, they are dangerous and more of a hazard than a help.



I have already had the bike drop because the hero knob caught in my boot preventing me getting my foot down until too bloody late and then I lost it on the fine gravel.



Lucky I had the Thunderbike bars fitted before I got the bike, they have paid for themselves already, not a mark on the bike anywhere.



An old lady backed into me and the bike and pushed me off balance, that's how I lost it in the first place but those bloody knobs don't help at all!



I don't have any problems when the bike is fully loaded and a pillion on board, just when I am riding the bike on it's own, shit it's high!



So we now have the off road tune with the standard muffler and she's running sweet. Thanks for your help. Cheers John.

[Advwannabe]

Hi John,



Delighted with your report on the off road tune, and that you found a good mechanic, they are gold.



I'll get the tune installed at the next service.



I like the hero knobs. When you are pressing on they tell you when you are getting close to the edge. On my bike they coincide exactly with the very edge of the rear Anakee. I like that kind of reminder!



Cheers