Tiger 955i offroad: tell me what you have done

So , I see references to people taking these off pavement, but just how much can be done? Please share your experiences and pics. I'm just trying to make sure I am not barking up the wrong tree before I get carried away with the farkling and tire changing....

fire roads , high speed gravel , stuff like that they shine on , single track not so much .
Get in loose sand or mud you WILL wash out the front wheel 90% of the time .
They are over 500 lbs ready to ride and "top heavy" would be the understatement of the year .

The good is they have a nice flat torque curve .............
the bad they are a 100 HP motorcycle and WILL spin up the back wheel pretty good off road .

on an Off camber trail and the big beast will fall down cuz your tootsies wont touch terra firma . They are tall and worse with a Corbin seat.

Man, these Girlies really eat that sand up......



And they High-Center on occasion.

What about with a good set of knobbies? Tkc80s, karoos, scorpion rally etc?

You better start pumping iron because they are heavy to pick up by yourself on the trail
IT'S still a heavy pig wearing street bike knobbies . the front ends are wicked light in the loose stuff . and they carry their weight up high when it starts to go over it's a rare occasion when you can save it.

my crf 450x will go places the tigger can't even dream about .

Girlies are a blast on fire/gravel roads but, as Mustang said, when the going gets loose and unstable they really aren't the ideal bike...regardless of the tires.

The fun factor isn't there, Heavy as hell, and worse yet, trying to do some work on it on the trail, takes almost an hour to remove the tank. Not much you can do with the suspension with out spending big money and still not get what your looking for (by the way I have a works shock for sale).
But comfortable as hell, fuel range that keeps you going with out worry, and also fun to have a bike that not many ppl have.

i ride mine fairly slow and easy when offroad... and i stick to fairly mild conditions.... fireroads mostly... knobbies, engine guards, skidplate and handguards would be wise investments, but of those i only have the engine guards so far... the tourances work okay so long as you dont' push them too hard... my bike is lowered 1" so it doesn't feel as top-heavy as some of the others have mentioned... i like the suspension on this bike much more than on the r1150gs i recently acquired... this tiger is a highly underrated bike imho... i have the drz for the single-track stuff..

I have seen a number of GS1200s and GSAs out on the rides I plan on doing.....are they really that much better than the Girlie in the dirt? How would it compare to V-Stroms?

I put 80k on a Wee Strom before the Girlie and I'd have to say they were close to being equal off-road. Tiger had the better suspension and the Wee seemed to carry its weight a bit lower. Both 19" front wheels and similar ground clearance. Tiger has the power edge.

The GS's really do feel like the weight is lower (all you have to do is sit on one), and the suspension is quite a bit better. All of this comes with a premium price.

I see some folks here saying no to off road with the Tiger, they no doubt have multiple bikes for each type of riding. But if your looking for a great all around , do it all bike, the Tiger is awesome! I have a 2004 955i in Colorado and I have taken it just about everywhere. I've riden singletrack, alpine trails, fire roads, rocky streams, you name it! And, I can go 100 MPH to get there! Now, l would love a new 800 XC, but the Girlie can take you wherever you want to go. I am often the largest of whatever group I'm with. Now, it won't go where the 250's go, but where the 650's go, you can get there. Is it heavy? Yep. Will it go down? They all do. Anyway, I love mine. Oh yeah, I've run Tourances, TKC 80's, and currently am on Heidenau Scout K60's. TKC's were good off road DOT tires, but thoroughly happy with the Scouts. Handles off road great and can bank the turns nicely.

Like Mustang & other experienced tiger riders opined - Its a seriously oversized beast for any really gnarly stuff. But for dirt roads (including Dempster / Dalton & worse) or good 2 track, its quite capable, but be sure YOU'RE up to it - cuz it IS heavy. Also - Tank protection, grippier foot pegs (Mustang?) and a few other accessories would improve its handling... or at least crashability. Most of us love our girlies, but are aware of its limitations. (Of course, I'm really the biggest limitation the bike has) I like my K60 scouts - but for muddy road travel, I still think TKCs are the better tire - But only about half the mileage of K60s. The question is: What are ya really gonna use it for ?? Many folks outfit their bike for a Dakar run - but never even approach riding those kind of conditions. For a capable touring, camping, fishing, adventure moto - the tiger is hard to beat.

PS: But gotta say - there are a few tiger riders I've ridden with (like DANNO88) that take their girlies to some pretty inhospitable places & do fine. But - they are very familiar with their machine & have the riding skills to get the most out of what they offer. My 30" inseam is a struggle on uneven ground, (especially swails - ya gotta be lined up & commited - there is NO stopping for me) in this case its the rider, not the tiger. For what its worth...

Tiger is a handful off road, has more to do with the nut holding onto the bars. If you are tentative, it will bite







Lands end Grand Mesa CO


Really loose gravel on the TAT, somewhere in AR

Witnessed a Preacher from OK ride a green 955 Tiger on trail 82 - Tellico Plains, Tn , he did not stand up, just hauled ass through the woods. Would not have believed it, but I was trying to keep up on my Honda XR650L. The Tiger may be the best value available in a dual sport.

I don't have any pictures of my own so I'll borrow a couple from sanjoh since the terrain is very similar where I am,
My experience is that this is fun:



and this isn't really that much fun. By the way, where was this taken sanjoh?

great bike on fire roads and rough secondary hwy. the power delivery is great. overall a great adv bike

I've ridden The Blue Meanie a few times on dirt roads, some in Bastrop State Park and the surrounding area and out Llano way between it and Johnson City. My brother in law who I road with had a couple of different Thumpers but has has since gotten a 1200gs. When we did the dirt and river crossings he had told me to let some air out which I did down to about 32#s. Is it a good idea to do this? Luckily there were gas stations to air back up when we hit the asphalt again...

I have ridden the Top of the World in the dry, Denalli Hwy in heavy rain and loved it the Girlie. I have an 06 which is the least offroad of the series. I ran tkc 80s last year. Going to run a Mitas E07 dakar rear and tkc 80 front this year. I am going to get a 800xc for more offroad riding after I sell my xr650l. I was sliding the bike through the turns on the Top of the World having a great time coming home from D2D. It takes learning the technique when you are a street rider to get comfortable on the big girlie. But once you do. It is the biggest bang for the buck on the adventure market. Got my 06 for 5k with 14,000 miles last year and love it. Granted it was a farkle money pit since I bought stock.

Admit mine is mostly on road and commuting but here is a pic from a couple months back playing on some local trails, she did great. Nothing radical but coulda handled more had I thrown it at her.