The 1200 Tiger Explorer Mega Thread

[markjenn]

Originally Posted by gregdee

This evening I was reading through the owners manual and I see (on page 120) that there are two empty fuse positions (1 and 2) in the right hand fuse box under the seat. Is there any reason I couldn't just use these to power the GPS and radar detector?

I know nothing about your particular bike, but I doubt these empty positions are pre-wired with power. So you'd probably have to modify the factory fuse block with wiring and connectors which may be more trouble than running a small one of your own.

If your power needs are modest (three extra circuits or less), the easiest setup I've found is the 3CS from Eastern Beaver.

- Mark

[E.O.T.D.]

Originally Posted by markjenn

I know nothing about your particular bike, but I doubt these empty positions are pre-wired with power. So you'd probably have to modify the factory fuse block with wiring and connectors which may be more trouble than running a small one of your own.

If your power needs are modest (three extra circuits or less), the easiest setup I've found is the 3CS from Eastern Beaver.

- Mark

I'm not sure if these ports are powered from the factory or not. I would assume they are, you'd have to put a tester on it to see for sure. I didn't want to mess with the factory fuseboxes so I got a fuse block. Iv'e never had one, but man it's pretty nice and easy to wire additional things to it. Mine is the Touratech fuse block. It's mounted under the passenger seat where the tool kit was. This seems to be the best flat spot for it that is still accessible for extra wiring. I will be keeping my larger than factory tool kit inside the lid of one of my panniers. This is a good option if you think you will be expanding down the road.

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To access the wiring you just unscrew the two screws on top and it's easy to wire anything you want. Really easy to wire the pwr and ground wire on either side. You can choose whether you want it straight wired (pwr all the time) or switched with the ignition switch...

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with the top off, there's three female spots for a fuse, if you want it switched with the ignition just use the two right side spots, if you want it straight wired use the two left side spots.

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[E.O.T.D.]

oh yea... here's some pics of my new one. Only had it two weeks but have spent enough time on it to not look back at the GS I got rid of for it. I love this thing. The Touratech panniers are undoubtedly better and stronger than the factory bags.

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[ridenm]

Originally Posted by gregdee

Without further ado..



Picked her up a couple of weeks ago and have added around 1000 miles in a couple of weekends despite it being the middle of winter. I scored the bike from my local (crack) dealer (http://www.pjsmotorcycles.com/) with about 8000 miles on it. He gave me a great deal on my trade-in of a 2008 Sprint ST and with the discounted price of this slightly used machine I have been able to go nuts with the farkles.

Since acquiring this awe inspiring rig I have added the Jesse luggage, a Madstad engineering windscreen, Twisted Throttle headlight protector, the Triumph skid plate and fog lights (crash bars and heated grips were already on it), a Touratech radiator guard, and the K60 Scout tires. I also had a few items from Palmer Products shipped across the pond. Those items are the rear fender extender, the center stand plate/guard, the mud flap for the back wheel, and the bar end weights. The Palmer products are nicely made parts and worth it in my opinion. I am currently working the electrical gadget farkles and expect to have those completed in another week or so.

I've had a few minor hicups with Jesse Luggage with regards to fitment issues of the rear rack parts but they are sorting things out and I expect to see the third round of parts tomorrow night. Shipping's real quick being only one state away. The folks at Jesse are gracious and great to deal with. Can't say enough good things about their stuff. I really like the boxes. These Odysey boxes (the larger ones) are narrower than the relatively small Zega's or Caribou top loaders Pelican Cases.

This bike is an absolute joy to ride. For anyone still on the fence - get off it and get on one of these. Super fun.

Greg, I live just up the road from you at Sedillo Hill. I'm sending you a PM because I would really like to check out your luggage and Madstad installs first hand.

[Jeffn]

Since this is the mondo Tiger thread, if anyone has a nu leads on a clean lo miler abs 1050, it'd be greatly appreciated with a bottle of bubbly on purchase, cheers!

[Kawidad]

I saw this thread when it came out and I started wondering about having some extra coolant around for my Triumph. I had no idea what HOAT or OAT or XYZ coolant is or was, so I did some researching and found some interesting, at least to me, information.

Basically the OAT coolant is Dexcool, the orange stuff and the HOAT stuff is the yellow stuff. (Over simplified of course, since either can be dyed in differing colors.)

Personally, I would not recommend the Zerex G-05 because it contains silicates. The Zerex for "Japanese imports" (so labeled) is the same HOAT stuff, but without silicates. I don't have a clue what Triumph uses, but silicates in motorcycle engines is usually a big no-no and I'll stick with that concept.

So topping off with a universal coolant should be acceptable and not damage your coolant system.

The best summary I could find is here:

http://www.farrelloil.com/documents/cooling.pdf

[burmbuster]

Engine Ice. As warm as these triples run, I strongly suggest a coolant designed to help keep it cool.

[gregdee]

Originally Posted by E.O.T.D.

This seems to be the best flat spot for it that is still accessible for extra wiring. I will be keeping my larger than factory tool kit inside the lid of one of my panniers. This is a good option if you think you will be expanding down the road.

To access the wiring you just unscrew the two screws on top and it's easy to wire anything you want. Really easy to wire the pwr and ground wire on either side. You can choose whether you want it straight wired (pwr all the time) or switched with the ignition switch...



with the top off, there's three female spots for a fuse, if you want it switched with the ignition just use the two right side spots, if you want it straight wired use the two left side spots.

I ordered the same unit. Based on some info gleaned from the Tiger Explorer forum I decided to tap into the heated seat power for my switched power. But this didn't work out as expected. Oddly, this measured 11.4 V with the ignition on rather than something in the 13-14.5 V range. I wired this up and then found that after going through the fuse block the output voltage would be only 1.03 V. I remeasured the input wire and it was still 11.4V but I was not getting the expected voltage out of the fuse block to power the devices.

To test things I wired a lead directly from the battery to the switched port (same as the standard power in) to verify the fuse block was OK and it was. Deciding the fuse block was find I then taped into one of the several unused plugs under the rear rack to get a switched power source as I found one that was reading 14.something volts. I didn't want to use these because they are on only when the bike is running, not when the ignition is on. It works for now so I'll deal with it.

But now my radar detector mute button cycles at a high rate when the bike is switched off required me to unplug the power from the radar detector even when the bike is off. Anyone know if this is something unique to this switch? It doesn't appear that the radar detector is powered on but there must be some low voltage signal feeding the switch.

The radar detector is an Escort Passport 9500ix and the mute button is on the power line into the unit. I will try to get some pictures of this tomorrow but it was cold and less than pleasant in the garage after spending all day troubleshooting this sillyness. I have the audio out ported to a Sena SR10 hub which will then transmit the warming signals via Bluetooth to my Sena SMH10-R headset.

[scrambled]

I rcently bought a Tiger Explorer and am planning a trip from here in southern Ohio to Alaska this July. Been doing a little research on my route and it looks like round trip is gonna be 8500 to 9000 miles. The question I have is what kind of mileage can be expected from the stock tires ? Are there other tires that seem to last longer ? I would like to make the trip on one set if possible. Thanks.

[TAMPAJIM]

My front tire started squaring off at 2,000 miles, by 5,000 miles it was so bad I changed it out for a Pilot Road 3 trail. That tire now has 7,000 miles on it and looks like it could go at least another 5,000.

The rear picked up a big nail at 1,800 miles and was changed out for a Pilot road 3 non-trail. I changed it out (PR3 trail) at the 10,000 miles service due to two nails (one patched, one plugged) but still had some good rubber on it..

So other than my rear wheel is a nail magnet I don't have an answer as to how long a rear tire will go.

[shaner1100gs]

I have around 9200 miles on the stock tires. I'll be getting a new set soon. The center of the rear is down to the wear bars.

Shane

[Drunk_Uncle]

I think TKC 80 front and Heidenau K60 rear may be the ticket. You should think about doing your trip earlier to make D2D. I did it last year and would do it again this year, but a work trip prevents. I got 3000 out of the rear TKC and still has a little life left and the front is just starting to square off.

I ride a 955i. I am going to try the Mitas E07 Dakar, but won't have any feedback for over a year. Going to mount it and a TKC 80 front in a month. got the TKC 80 half off last month. Don't know if I'll come back to the states for my R&R or rent a bike in Germany.

Good luck on your trip. If you want some tips on places to hit up send me a PM. The Motorcycle Shop in Anchorage is a great shop. You can make arrangements ahead of time to have tires waiting for you. Do the Alcan from the east. I drove it last May when I moved up here and it was worth the drive.

[gregdee]

Got the radar detector setup and working. Went out for an afternoon ride today despite it being in the 30's with snow flurries. Here's a shot of the setup.


The radar detector is sitting on an Adaptive mount which is now available with a half inch bar clamp, a size that fits the bars that make up the windscreen support bracket. The mount is sturdy and is made completely of aluminum. The top plate is isolated with rubber pads which supposedly dampen the vibrations some. I attached the radar detector using a piece of Velcro and it is a solid mount - the adhesive starts to peel away before the Velcro actually starts to break free. Not sure if this will be a long term solution but it works for now. The audio output is directed to the Sena SR10 hub you can see on the left side of the image. The hub transmits to my Sena headset via Bluetooth. The SR10 is secured to the lower part of the windscreen frame with a rubber strap. The cable runs in from behind so you cannot see it in this image. There is a little blue light that flashes to let you know its on. There are two Aux input jacks on the unit so the other will be the audio out from the GPS when I get the mount for that installed. I pre-wired the power when I ran the power for the radar detector and zip tied all that out of the way below the radar detector for now. The little button you see on the display just above the spedo is the mute button. Comes in handy when a detected signal is on for a while.

So far so good and I am pleased with the setup.

[Tropical Bird]

Radar detector....sigh....they are illegal in our nazi state of Australia...if you are caught with one, it is a BIG fine...

Anyway, I installed my Givi rack yesterday - better than the SW-Motech one, as the box is closer to you. I never carry pax, so that is fine.





I have a 33L Givi box. Not too big...




Have the OEM GPS mount wired into the rear top box power connection and the Madstad screen fitted - great! I can ride with my visor up at 100 km/hr.

[TAMPAJIM]

For years I resisted putting a tail box on my bike- thought they looked "Bumble Butt"

But I put one on my Explorer "temporarily" for a road trip and it never came back off. Don't know how I managed all those years without one. Much more convenient than having to deal with permanently mounted panniers for normal riding around.

Function over form wins again