Tiger 1200 mergefest **all 1200 chat here

[John Stenhouse]

Having had a peek yesterday, I'm with Chris on this one, anyone looked at the one with crash bars on and worked out where it would hit if dropped? I reckon it would take out that "lovely" bit with explorer on  :oops:

[97steamer]

I had a look today at the NEC - i think it will sell pretty well. In fact the whole Triumph stand seemed to be the most popular to me, especially compared to the Suzuki and Kwak stands - very dull (except maybe for the Versys 1000).

I also (surprisingly) liked the Super Tenere and the Honda Crosstourer! Overall a pretty good show I thought.

[Advwannabe]

Great rant Chris!

BMW 'legendary' reliabilty is the same story. It's fine if you ride your GS on the blacktop, do less than 5000 miles a year and trade it in after two. However, the idea of my magic key rejecting my bike 200 miles the wrong side of rabbit flat road house just doesn't appeal and explains why I'm still riding my 955 with the ks creeping up towards the 120 mark.

You have to hand it to Triumph. They've ticked all the Ewan and Charlie wannabe boxes and will sell a boatload of 1200s. Good luck to them.

I rode my old 955 1200 miles in a day in August and 4500 miles over the five days and have never been happier.

When it does wear out I guess I'll just have to make an XC more comfortable for the long hauls between the tracks I want to ride. I'd rather invest the money building more fuel capacity into something I can pick up if it falls over and isn't game over if I bend a rim.

[Bixxer Bob]

Had a look at Dora yesterday.  Like Chris, I think I'll be sticking with my Girly. It's a very tall engine so the C  of G is not going to be helped by that. And these days I don't worry so much about getting the Girly scratched.

I would love a seat that low on the Girly though. On Dora I had both feet flat on the floor :lol:

[Sin_Tiger]

They will sell shed loads on the flat foot alone, especially out here  

[Chris Canning]

Well sadly without even going into the faintest whys and wherefore's I had a chance meeting last week and for those that are not happy with the said model wait and see what else turns up.

Although I did point out the thought of riding a heavyweight with 130hp on what amounts to bicycle tyres didn't appeal,so please Mr Bloor if you read this I'd like a larger tank,17" front wheel and a 6" rear so I can fit a 190 rear and use that HP  :D

[AK Tiger]

Hi Mr. Bloor.  Speaking as one from the other side of the pond, I'd like to whole heartedly endorse a large(r) tank.  I absolutely NEED a tank that can take me a minimum of 250 miles between refills or I'll be pushing this 570# behemoth along the Dempster Highway towards Inuvik, NWT and that will be a bad thing.

One more thing, Sir, and please don't tell Mr. Canning, but could you leave the 19" front wheel?  Even though this is a beast, my sweetheart and I will be riding it on dirt roads that we shouldn't be riding it on and will need all the help we can get.

Sincerely

[Chris Canning]

Actually rather interestingly Kev Ash wrote a great article last week in the MCN about the variations in new big Traillies or as he said the new sports tourer's.

[blacktiger]

So when it comes to selling units!!! I think it'll sell well,the fact that oddballs like me/you/BT do something different doesn't make it wrong,

Call yourself an oddball if you like. What I do with my bike is quite normal to me. Has been for years.
I do agree, though, that we are not in the majority when it comes to bike usage and it's that majority Triumph are tapping into. They've seen the research that points out that the vast majority of GS owners never get them dirty. They just buy for the image.

This 1200 is not for me. It's just too heavy for a start. The only progress over the Girly is that it has more bhp. As I get older and have lost a lot of fitness and strength over the last 10~15 years, I'm looking for a lighter bike that can do anything and I bought one of those in June and I'll stick with it for the foreseeable future. The only way I'll change my 800XC is if the next version of it is 20Kgs lighter. At the moment it is the perfect all-rounder.

[blacktiger]

Actually rather interestingly Kev Ash wrote a great article last week in the MCN about the variations in new big Traillies or as he said the new sports tourer's.

And he's right. The "adventure" segment is splitting into two camps. It seems that the Japs have bottled it by not challenging the GS directly. That just leaves Triumph and Moto Guzzi in the "dirt road" capable segment which I think will sell the most because it covers three bases :-
1, they make exceedingly good touring bikes.
2, they have a roughty toughty image.
3, you can explore a dirt track.
The Jap segment only covers #1.

[Chris Canning]

[Bixxer Bob]

Is that today's Chris?

[Chris Canning]

Yep and another 2 pages after that,it's interesting reading!!the bottom line,they lost their nerve after the slagging they got after the spy shot.

[Mustang]

yep the final version look's like a BMW 1200 GS adventure clone ,
my steamer's gonna be around for quite awhile I think
 :shock:

[Chris Canning]

It's interesting how the colour changes the bike,the black tank version looks a horror but the photo in blue doesn't look half bad,but the write up is an eye opener,the more I read the more nervous I become,not for me but for Triumph,I hope they've got this thing right for their sake.