Triumph Tiger 800

I just bought the "locking" version of the tube, came with a short cable and small lock.

I needed the height so I could stand more comfortably. No problem with the cables or wires. Although the clutch cable is at it's limit with this set up. I put a piece of door edge molding on the right gas tank mounting flange(?). Didn't want the cable jacket to get messed up on the metal edge at full lock.

yes, the Ohlins comes with a lifetime warranty so I never have to dick with it again. Revalving is great but its set up for you, and that sucks when you go to sell it to someone else. I think having the good warranty saves you money in the long run. And it's probably not really that much more money...

But Oehlins are often off the shelf and not done for your weight. Or did you get a proper spring explicitly for your weight? If yes, where?

Wilbers builds the shock exactly for you and what you do with the bike, price is about the same as Oehlins, 5 years warranty, properly rebuildable.

I've replaced mine with a fully adjustable one from Hyperpro. Built from the ground up for my specs. Definetely cheaper than Ohlins, propably just as good .

Worth the money; can't say yet since it's only been 500 km's but already I have a feeling I'm not going to regret the investment.

Thanks for the input guys.

I'd like to cycle back to a few XC questions - I don't want to dismiss the bike too soon based on my feel of the riding position...

Since it looks like the bars can be swept up and back, that should take care of being more upright...

Can the pegs be moved down and forward by chance? I felt i was in a bit of a crouch.

Lastly, I'd say the bike was maybe 1 - 1.5" too high for my preferences (5-10, 32 inseam). My thinking is that once I toss bags on, I'm getting closer on the rear. For those that have lowered the bike, have you found that it didn't compromise the handling too much?

Here's my bigger picture thinking - The engine and transmission are perfect for my low speed needs around SF and plenty of power for everything else. If I can get the ergo's proper (which was the Roadie's out-of-the-box advantage), then the XC allows me to do my modest and occasional dual-sporting without concern. Also, my feeling is that there is more room to work with for dialing in the suspension to my liking since I'm really not looking to exploit every inch of travel - I just want it to absorb bumps a bit better than my F650 (Ohlins shock, stock front with intiminators)- it shouldn't be too damn hard i figure :)

And regarding ergos - I haven't even considered that the seat can be addressed as well.

Ever seen this? Maybe it will help. http://cycle-ergo.com/

I found it to be virtually identical to my '09 DR650. Boots make a difference too. I'm 5'11" with a 32" inseam and can flat foot the DR with my riding boots on.

I don't think you can easily move them forward, but there are a few options to make them more comfortable, wider, lower:

SW Motech On/Off Road Pegs (lower/wider)
Touratech Works (wider, more open, not sure about lower)
Pivot Pegz (pivoting, wider, don't think they'll mount lower)

If I'd look into anything at all, I'd get either the SW Motech or the Touratech. Didn't find the pivot pegs useful at all when I had them on my R1200GS.

But first of all: take the rubber out and try again. You'll get nearly an inch seat-to-peg distance which helps a lot.

Unfortunately Fastway doesn't make their pegs for the Tiger, it's a real bummer because these are probably the best combination of them all.

Regarding ergos you can do all adjustments to XC as well as Roadie. Parts are interchangeable. The main issue is: if you lower an XC to Roadie level, you'll have trouble with the softer suspension and scraping in corners. The suspension is softer and provides more travel - therefore, if you get them close together (said 1.5 inches), the Roadie will actually give you better ground clearance because of the harder suspension with less travel.

And the Roadie will already touch the pegs down fairly early, shortly followed by hard parts - which you certainly don't want. So, if canyon carving is in your mind, I would not lower the XC but get a Roadie. If you don't lower the XC, you should be okay.

I have a low and a standard seat for my Roadie and they give exactly the same reach to the ground. The standard seat is too soft, it lets you sink in after a few minutes, giving you the same reach to the ground, but you can very intimately feel how the plastic seat pan is shaped and where it hurts your behind. The low seat is much firmer, but has wide edges, making the reach to the ground actually more uncomfortable according to my wife (5'7", 32.5" inseam). For me it doesn't matter that much (34.5" inseam).

So, to get better reach to the ground: forget the Triumph low seat. Buy one with a better shape.

As said, the standard seat is way too soft, I'm planning on having mine re-done at Corbin on the stock pan for the stock height but with much firmer foam. Not sure whether and when I'll get to that though.

One more thing: The XC has tubed tires, the Roadie tubeless. I don't care much for tubed tires, therefore this was another argument for me to get the Roadie - plus the firmer suspension was a bit more stable for my typical riding. I'd have liked if Triumph had given the two a bit more "distance" from each other. A 17" front and a slightly wider rear on the Roadie + fully adjustable suspension would have been my dream bike.

Other than that: great bike! Yesterday on Highway 9:

Regarding hard parts touching down, I think that's what happened to these guys (at ~7:30):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuJrzm4q6Bk

it was ordered with the spring i chose. my dealer did it all.

mine was a warranty claim so i lucked out with the "price". my ohlins was ordered to my specs. everything is adjustable as well. the turn dials are on top so I can transition from highway to offroad and not even have to stop. its sweet!

Havent had a chance to post -I picked this beauty up a month ago - now just chomping at the bit for some good weather around here
Thanks to all the inmates - this forum helped tremendously making my decision

!photo bomb!

Nice pic. Congrats!

It depends. An Ohlins ordered through Triumph's OEM program is going to be a standard spec. However, if you order from a suspension specialist, they'll be built to the shop's spec by Ohlins in NC. If you use a suspension shop that has a shock dyno, they should verify the valving and spring rate, before shipping to you. Traxxion Dynamics offer a guaratee on their valving/springing; if you're not satisfied with it, they'll keep at it until you are satisfied. I ran my front springs, for a year. When I sent the forks back in for servicing, they swapped them to a lighter rate, at no charge for the springs.

I wouldn't go that far. I'm not an Ohlins nut (never owned one), but, from talking to the crew chief of an AMA rider, whose day job is at Traxxion (they offer several brands of shocks), the differences are inside. Some of the stuff he's seen inside of various shocks would constantly bother me, if I ever bought those brands.

When you lower the rear, you're raking out the frontend. If you're talking a bike with a soft-ish rear suspension, lowering only the rear will cause the bike to not finish turns even more. That means you'll be leaning the bike over further and further, yet, it won't turn. This will cause hard parts to drag and/or running off the outside of the turn's exit. You want to equally lower the front and rear. Lowering the front pays off, because most people, who are at their inseam limit, tend to slide forward on the seat at a stop. Don't be afraid to tinker with geometry, as you can always return it to the original position.

Copy that... 45 lbs of rack/bags on the back would probably allow me to raise the fork tubes at least 1/2", which may make the height acceptable - it's about the same height I have my F650 and multistrada right now, just 60 lbs heavier.

As I'd likely end up having a suspension shop tune the front and back to my liking, I might be able to factor in another 1/2" or so possibly? In either case, it looks like the height issue is workable from a couple of different angles.

It certainly is - just be careful with what you do there. Maybe it's better to just get used to it. If you don't want a suspension shop to make the XC suspension as stiff as the Roadie suspension, you'll drag hard parts earlier on the XC if you bring it down so low. I wouldn't want to catch hard parts when cornering, might not be an issue for you, but as said before, the Tiger is fairly wide at the pegs, so that stuff drags very early without lowering either bike ...

The tube isn't waterproof as supplied anyway as there's a hole in the side near the large mount. That's what's being covered by that bit of duct tape in my picture. The hole I drilled into the lid is "blind". i.e. it doesn't go right through.

I agree but with that guy's 32" inseam he shouldn't be struggling (I don't with my 30" with seat on high) which suggests that the rider sag isn't set right.

I rather suspect a different comfort level with high and heavy bikes. And to be honest: riding in San Francisco is quite different from riding somewhere in the boonies.

So, don't compare just seat height and inseam, also consider what the daily ride might look like. I personally hate riding in San Francisco and I take every advantage I can get to do it. A light, flickable, low enough bike goes a long way there.