New to me Tiger 800XC

Maddmatt

Explorer
OK, I'm putting this post up for several reasons:
1) There's not enough posts in this forum
2) It's a rainy Sunday morning
3) I had a phenomenal 10 hour day on the bike yesterday, and I'm still charged up from the awesomeness that is the Tiger 800 XC

So, about me - 49 years old, father of 2 teenage girls (Happy Father's day everybody!), faithful EXPO follower/lurker since the Expeditions West Tacoma days, and casual/armchair adventurer, but relatively new to motorcyles. That's enough of that.

About the bike: 2012 Triumph Tiger 800 XC. Perfect. I bought it with 20k on the clock, every farkle known to man, every service record since new (including a folder with the receipts and manuals for every farkle) and exactly one (1) scratch. I know, right? I saw it online at a consignment only dealer about an hour's drive away, thought it looked too good to be true, so I drove down there just to remind myself that internet pictures don't usually hold up in real life. But I brought the checkbook just in case.

It was so nice I had to sit on several other bikes to try to talk myself down. But I was sold when I walked in. After the usual but easy back and forth, I wrote the check and we loaded it onto my truck. I also brought the ramps, you know, just in case....

Pictures or it didn't happen, here it is the day I brought it home, panniers taken off just because....
IMG_4301 3.jpg

If you're looking for the Tiger 800XC review, here it is: Perfect.

Not enough? Upright riding position is comfortable for hours. Incredibly deep torque well means you can pass at any time, in any gear you happen to be in. I weigh just over 200lbs without gear, and riding at high altitudes, uphill, I can tell you for a fact that it can safely pass a slow moving semi, starting at 45 mph, in 4th gear without downshifting, ending at "did I already pass him?" speeds, with zero drama. And then the exhaust burble from the inline triple when you back off the throttle has to be one of the best sounds in the world.

Stable and predictable on dirt, but take that with a grain of salt. I have decades of mountain bike experience, but am new to dirt riding on the motorcycle. But I'm learning.

So that's hardly an unbiased review. I love this bike.

It replaced a 2006 Ninja EX500R. Also a great bike, and was my first. When I decided to finally get a motorcycle, I bought a helmet, took the MSR class (highly recommended), and then bought the Ninja on Craigslist. And then put 4,000 miles on it in three summers, and minus consumables (oil changes, tires, carbs rebuilt) I sold it for $50 more than I paid for it. The Ninja was not without it's charms, and was a fantastic learning bike, but in reality the Tiger is much easier to ride in every situation. I don't regret the Ninja at all, I think the height, weight and power of the Tiger would have made it a challenge as a first bike. Here they both are before the Ninja went to it's new home.
IMG_4302 2.jpg
Forgive the messy garage...

So that brings us to yesterday. My location at the base of the Rockies means worldclass riding is easy to access. For those keeping track, yesterday's ride consisted of Rist Canyon, Poudre Canyon and then some Forest Service roads until lunch, then back down the canyons, hanging out at a Starbucks while the downpour passed (lucky timing) and then home. Total mileage was right around 280, and plenty of time to stop and take in the scenery. I didn't take any scenery pictures, but here we are at our lunch stop.

IMG_4549.jpg

Eagle eye'd readers will notice that I was riding with two other Tiger riders. Strange coincidence, a guy I've been friends with for 12 years or so, unbeknownst to me, bought his Tiger right around the same time I did. And he has a friend from work who also has one, so there you go. And yes, we are treading very lightly, we stopped for lunch in a designated ( but unused at the time) National Forest camp site. So all is good...

That's it, like I said, no real point to this post, other than I had time to kill on a rainy morning. Safe riding everybody....
 

Maddmatt

Explorer
6 month ownership update - for no reason, other than another Sunday, 6" of snow this time.

Turn signal stalks break easily, like when you're moving it around in the garage. Replacement 4 packs are less than $10 including shipping.

No other changes, other than it's not nearly as clean now, even though it didn't get ridden nearly enough this summer.

Today's snow will melt soon, but realistically there's only a little time before it goes back on the charger and into it's winter cocoon at the back of the garage.
 

jkam

nomadic man
I borrowed a friends Tiger 800 for a ride through Big Bend area.
It had the smoothest throttle of any fuel injected bike I've ridden.
No hunting or surging, compared to my BMW it was amazing.
 

Maddmatt

Explorer
Just a quick update - still zero issues with the bike. I replaced the expensive lexan headlight cover with a cheap chinese metal one for two reasons - 1) I think the metal one looks cool. Same reasoning I use with tire purchases, I'm not afraid to admit it :cool: and 2) on the rare occasions when I ride at night I found the reflection from the lexan cover distracting.

Was able to squeeze in a three day 2 night trip this fall. Did a couple sections of the CoBDR, and several passes, both paved an unpaved. Great trip, bike performed flawlessly - although nearly didn't start on the morning after a sub 20 degree night. Battery is end of life and will get swapped next spring - here's a picture from one of our campsites.
Camp small.jpg

That's my brother's "new to him" Africa twin, also fantastic. I was envying the auto trans on a couple BDR sections that were definitely pushing my abilities.

One note - for the first time owning this bike I experienced the logic behind Triumph also offering a 1200cc version. This bike is still perfect for me, but coming up Monarch pass after a LONG day of riding, fully loaded with camp gear, food and water, full tank of fuel and my 200+lbs, and I was looking for just a little more while getting around a couple semi's. Not looking to upgrade, but was definitely thinking "oh, this is when another 400cc might be nice...."
 

BritKLR

Kapitis Indagatoris
Great post! Love the bike and your brother's AT!

If your looking for another great adventure ride try the RimRocker out of Montrose over to Moab. Great riding, nit overly technical and lots of great camping. They've added some new routes that I'm hoping to hit next summer. Cheers.
 

Maddmatt

Explorer
Great post! Love the bike and your brother's AT!

If your looking for another great adventure ride try the RimRocker out of Montrose over to Moab. Great riding, nit overly technical and lots of great camping. They've added some new routes that I'm hoping to hit next summer. Cheers.
Hey Paul - almost forgot to mention my awesome waxed canvas ATC tool roll!
 

Maddmatt

Explorer
Thats cool! Thanks........oh, and they do come in handy if your as clumsy as I am on trail!

My favorite tool is just like my favorite first aid kit, the the one that never gets used, so lucky for me on this trip both kits sat unused in the pannier.
 

BritKLR

Kapitis Indagatoris
I'd love to hear from your brother how he likes his African Twin? Thinking long and hard about one...
 

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