Fantastic looking bike Kilboy:evil

I've just ordered my black ABS 800XC today, and not surprisingly, 50% of the farkles available online via Triumph retail website were not even in the dealers parts database :eek1

I'm very interested in your frame colour choice...is that a Triumph provided option as I've sen a few pics with the black frame or did you have it PC'd yourself?

Cheers
Peter

In 80,000 + miles on my 1050 Tiger I've adjusted them once. I checked them at 70,000 and still fine. The valve cover won't come off again until later this year. That ought to be over a 100,000 miles. If the 800 motor is as easy to do as the 1050, it's a 2 hour deal.

If this 800 motor is as bullet proof as the 1050 motor has been, the BMW 800GS is basically obsolete now. Why would I spend more money on an inferior bike?

I'm here to tell you...I'm totally jonesing for a Tiger 800 but I'm paying off the Wife's Masters Degree so I'm broke as hell :wink:

Agreed with the above. Also, when I test rode an F800GS, I found it to be rather slow-handling compared to my Wee-Strom. Not so with the XC -- it handles beautifully. And yeah, the 800 triple is a really fun engine, even prior to finishing break-in (so far I'm still only supposed to rev it up to 6000rpm).

Part of the beauty of that engine is that it will happily rev and build power fast, and yet it's also perfectly happy cruising sedately down a country road in 6th gear at 3000-4000rpm without any danger of lugging or any feeling of needing to downshift for hills or passing. Definitely the most flexible engine I've ever used.

--mark

I had a 1050 for around 9000 miles and sold it only because of it's total lack of dirt ability. You described exactly what I miss about that bike, and I can't wait to be back on a triple. It's gotta be the best format out there!

I don't alot about the 800 other than its basicly a stroked version of the 675 but Triumph did change enough that the engine had to be homologated on its own. I have the 1050 engine and have 90% of max torque at only 3000rpm so I have a habit of running twisties in 3rd gear and running 3000rpm up to 9000rpm and just have a wonderful time. The fiance really wants the Wee Strom, maybe can talk her into the regular 800. Hopefully she can touch ground on that. The more I watch this thread the more I want. Unfortunately have to wait until Julyish time frame so may not get one. All you guys are buying them up and really don't think anyone is going to be unhappy enough to see a used one for a couple of years.

Honest question here, really not just trying to stir it up. I've seen you post this before and others with similar statements, and I think you know this is the main reason I didn't get a Tiger. I agree the GS is slower handling than the wee strom, which is one of the reasons it's so much better in the dirt. Like saying a KTM 690 turns in slower than a 600cc sportbike....of course it does, it's supposed to. Another term for slow handling is stable, which is a good thing in rough conditions. And of course one can ride a faster handling bike in the dirt, we've all seen supermoto guys do it with 17" wheels, but that doesn't change the fact the same bike with a 21" will be better when it gets rough.

So outside of street riding, when we put the adventure in adventure bike, how is the faster steering a good thing? I'm really curious if it's just that so many judge the bike by it's street ability that dirt is secondary?

So jealous of the blacked out frame! Looks nice. Congrats!

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...Day/Tiger1.jpg

I think it's the leaning of the bike.

You've got the ADV guys that ride 800 miles of asphalt to ride 200 miles of dirt roads.

and then you've got the ADV guys that ride 200 miles of asphalt to ride 800 miles of dirt.

First camp wants something more akin to the 800 Tiger, 1200 GS, Strom..

Second camp wants something akin to the 950SE, 800GS, KLR.

At least that's how I see it.

From what I understand, all 800s build after April 1 will have the blacked out frame. Its the 11/12 models "upgrade". Same finish as the Street Tripple Rs.

That's kind of what I'm thinking. Which leads me to a conclusion that one is only better if the rider has the same balance of riding.

My average day ride on a GS is two hours of asphalt to go explore in the dirt for 6 or 8 hours, otherwise it doesn't leave the garage.

Believe it or not, if I had enough money I'd have one of each in the garage, they are both that good at their niche. I really can't say one is overall better. And yes I'll "defend" the Tiger when the GS guys pick on it as it does have many better point:deal

That was my impression of the engine in my brief test ride. I thought, "this thing could get by with a 3 speed"

Have any of you guys thought the turning radius is a little big? When I returned to the dealer I swung it around so I could back it in from wenst it came, and hit the steering stop before I was expecting it. I didn't even notice the steering stops on the Boneville when I parked it the same way.

I agree...it is all about riding styles and where you go most often...different strokes for different folks I say and the Tiger is a welcome addition to the ADV family of bikes. I think a few potential Beemer owners or wanna bees will be swayed by this bike but there will always be the die hard loyal brand types who will stay within their comfort zone or with the bike the meets their needs.

As more and more reports come out about this bike regarding engine dependability, any future if any recalls etc........and more reports as to how the XC really handles off road it is still In the end, a beautiful bike which I have no doubt will make many people HAPPY riders who I hope explore and have great adventures.

I took an 800 Tiger out, last weekend.
Sweet bike on the tarmac. The power delivery is far too explosive for me to
ride that thing on gravel. I could not imagine riding it (truly) off road.
I guess I am now, officially, beyond my due date! :D :D

A friend recently got a '10 F800GS/ABS, Remus pipe and not much else, IIRC : $14,300 out the door.

For me, what really matters more than price is long term reliability and easy owner self service. What will the running costs be down the road?

Having lots of R12GS riding friends who've owned not only the R12 but many other BMW's for the last 25 years ... I've learned that taking your bike to a BMW dealer can turn out to be an expensive experience ... and once that nice 3 year warranty runs out .... DUCK!

I got to ride a F800GS for a couple days on great roads. I really liked it.
Sucked up nightmare roads with aplomb, turned well; I felt at home after 10 minutes. All good signs. Very Japanese. It was a nice cross between my DR650 and 1050 Tiger. Great on knarly back roads, OK on dirt (only did fire roads). Not so good on the highway. Noisy and some vibes at high speeds, but not a deal breaker. I was interested.

But then I started following the Parallel Universe forum and others. For BMW guys who jealously defend the Blue Rondel ... it's funny that all the deep dark secrets come out on P.U., GSpot , not to mention the MOA and RA forums. Problems abound.

Has anyone ever seen bikes with more problems? Anywhere? Ever, on any forum or anywhere else?
BMW Experts tell us that everything on the Net is just loud mouth BS ... made up by "haters" ,jealous of BMW's "success" ... or some such rot. :D I've followed such internet rot since 1997 and pretty much the story remains the same.

We won't know definitively about the new Tiger 800's for a year or more. Lets hope some riders really get out there and put some big miles on these new bikes. Lets see how they do when loaded up, on the gas, hard over on crap roads in all weathers. :freaky

Nope, Tiger is too much of a street bike to take off road. Especially with the stock tires on single track. :norton

This is a short piece of "known" trail that we've had our dirt bikes down. However, we didn't "know" about the deadfall across the trail over the winter. Had to do a bit of creative off-trail riding to get around the downed trees. This shot is at the end of the section, where it turns into 2-track. I'll try to post the video once it's edited.

http://loriktm.smugmug.com/photos/i-...-NnRpgPw-M.jpg


Another forest road, this one is about 20 miles long with several elevation changes and varies from smooth straight gravel to switchbacks with loose silt and rubble to sections of large slabby rock. Running 1st to 3rd gear the whole way.

http://loriktm.smugmug.com/photos/i-...-XHVNWst-M.jpg


The suspension on the Tiger works very well. We (husband and I) did get the occasional "clunk" from the sidestand (or is it chain slap?) that others have heard. Bike did fine plonking at 15 mph on these squirrelly dirt roads, and then we picked up interstate and wicked the bikes up over 80mph (ok, 90mph) for a stretch. Very versatile, very smooth in all conditions.

I owned a 2004 KLR650 for about a year. The stock suspension was pretty scary in many of the forest roads around here. The KLR forks flex too much and follow every rut.
Aside from the weight, IMHO I'd rather ride the Tiger than a KLR on the same roads. With some more aggressive tires, the Tiger will be worthy of more off-road antics than I'll be willing to put it through. :lol3

I bought the Tiger to work as a commuter bike, a fun twisty road bike, a bike that will take me touring with hard luggage, and then take me down some forest roads to explore and find a camp site at the end of the day. So far, it has exceeded my expectations.