Triumph Tiger Explorer- Box Fresh

[Bryn]

Originally Posted by Paulvt1

Question for Bryn. The word is that the Explorer touring screen is excellent. Any feedback?

I've had a 1200 GS ( 09) and found I got 'buffeted' by the standard screen... so changed it for a 1200 ADV screen and added winglets... better ... added a Touratech screen extender to it.... pretty good ....

The Explorer touring screen as as good as I got it on the GS ( see above)

I won't have to mess much with it... on lowest setting it'll do the job fine ( 5'9" tall)

[Paulvt1]

Sweet. Just sent off for a Motorradworks screen adjuster for my S10. Will see just how effective that is.

[Bryn]

Originally Posted by Paulvt1

Sweet. Just sent off for a Motorradworks screen adjuster for my S10. Will see just how effective that is.

It's a shame they can't get it spot on first time .....

You wouldn't consider buying a car if you had to rip the seats out, change the screen and fit mud flaps as soon as you left the showroom

[nevermind]

Very nice bike, what's the latest update? How's she treating you? I'm really curious to hear about the wind protection on the faster roads, say 70 mph and up.

[kag]

I looked over a couple of the triumphs today including the Explorer........very spendy....but a very very nice machine. I thought it was the best looking bike they had.

[Fasttrak]

Originally Posted by nevermind

Very nice bike, what's the latest update? How's she treating you? I'm really curious to hear about the wind protection on the faster roads, say 70 mph and up.

I am not Bryn, obviously, but had a nice long day riding to and from the dealer I bought my graphite Explorer from, it was time for my 500 mile service. The ride is about 230 miles each way depending how I go. Either way requires going over one of two very windy passes and the weather in Nor Cal is unusually cool and even had rain at about 6:30 AM heading over the milder of the two passes, Pacheko Pass on Highway 152.

On the way out I went the longer route but usually less windy as I didn't want to get too beat up on a day of riding quite a few miles. Left the house at 6:10 AM and hit the pass about 6:20. High clouds, cool and very breezy and of course the rain came down for about five minutes. It wasn't heavy at all but the first time I got to test the bike and my new Klim Badlands, both treated me very well and did their job admirably. The bike is just very planted at all speeds, I could feel the tugs on the bike the wind produced but it was never an issue or unsettling. I am 6' and have the screen one click below full upright for highway work. It works beautifully and keeps me comfy and relaxed. I absolutely love this bikes stable nature even when the wind is cross wind and gusting pretty good, my guess that through the pass the cross wind gusts were hitting 35MPH easily, hard to say exactly but it was some odd weather for this time of year here.

I made the trip in one shot, yes one shot and no fillup, countdown said I had eight miles till empty upon arriving at the dealer. The trip out was 223 miles and I was running damn hot down Highway 5 that has a speed limit of 70 and was cruising along at... 80-90 the whole way. At speed the bike is just comfy and nothing to really report, not odd handling or unexpected that I have yet to experience. Though, this is my first big street bike I have no real comparison for you. All my time has been spent on dirt bikes and the last two years on a dual sport, Husky 610. By the time I got to the dealer I actually felt pretty damn fresh and was too early so went and hit a coffee house for forty minutes till the dealer opened up, was a good run out.

On the return trip I decided to go the Northern route, the nastiest pass I know of in Nor Cal for it's heavy winds that are considered dangerous for big rigs and camper trailers. I needed to see how this girl was gonna handle the worse I would see on normal rides and going Highway 580 throught the Altimont Pass. It is so windy it is lined with hundreds upon hundreds of windmills for power generation. Today was about what I expected with fairly heavy winds and more traffic than I cared for. I got a chance to push myself and the bike pretty hard and the worse I could say is, it got a bit nervous under me a couple times but that only entailed a foot or two movement in one direction or the other with some seriously nasty crosswinds as you moved through cuts in the mountain. Never phased me and got over the pass in quick order and no sweat to show for it. The screen does it's job nicely and doubt any other bike I saw up there had it any easier or more comfortable than I had it. This was really a fun run for me as I got a chance to work in less than ideal conditions through traffic and the bike just feels planted, it goes where you point it and doesn't require a ton of attention to keep it going there. I can not tell you how many Harley s, sport bikes and the like I passed and a good number of them were not even working the fast lane, the Harley s were mostly off to the slow lane or next to it, the sport bikes were trying to work the middle lanes it seemed to me. I guess they had it worse than I did in the wind, not really sure on that. Only BMW I saw was an early model GS and he was in cruise mode.

One thing I see a lot of folks complain about is the seat. Not sure why but I find it to be the most comfortable seat I have had yet, probably cause I am used to riding narrow and thin plankwood on my dirtbikes. It seems kind of like memory foam that has more body to it. It allows my fairly scrawny bum to settle in on the pelvic bones a bit but then holds it in place and has been very comfy for me. No way I could of done two rides of nearly six hours on any other bike I have but no clue what some of the big touring bikes are like for long haul riding. So far I am happy with the seat even though I think some others find it too soft. I find it funny that Bryn says he feels that the ergonomics seem to be tailored to him specifically, I have to say I feel the same thing at almost three inches taller than him; the bike feels like it was built for my frame exactly. There is a slight forward lean but for what ever reason, I am riding with almost no weight on my wrists and I find that between the seat and the handlebar position my back is inn a perfect position and I get no backache which I usually do.


K.B.

[Bryn]

Nice report K.B.

I've not added to this thread as it all went a bit quiet, although I did do a ride report here

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=801904

I had some issues with the seat..... but I think that could be down to me and not specifically to the bike, as I have had a painful coccyx for a couple of months.... ( won't go into how I managed to hurt it... but it involved a shovel )

I decided to buy the comfort seat, did a trip of around 100 miles before the French trip and still found my backside uncomfortable, so I stuck a sheepskin over the comfort seat.... Coped quite well doing 1000 miles in 4 days on it .... so got back and decided to put the standard seat back on , as , fingers crossed, my coccyx seems to be settling down..

Doing around 120 miles this afternoon, a mate is meeting a guy to do a bike swap deal ... his GS for the guy's Pan Euro... so going along for the ride.

Ordered a powerbronze short screen , as I think I might be in clean air with one of those fitted .. the touring screen is fine, but this is an itch I need to scratch




Bags are sorted.... another issue I've now found are that the Givi bags are 3" higher, and 3" further forward than the standard Triumph bags.... my other half has flagged up it may be more difficult for her to get on and off the bike .. I've noticed I am kicking the nearside one when I get on and off due to its positioning....

Time will tell....




2500 miles now and still sweet

[FargAT]

Love the tie-in of the autocom. It's a definite must have for our next rides.

We're looking into replacing our Concours 14s with 2 dual sports. She's due for a TEX, I'm torn between the TEX and the GSA... (6'3" @ 250lbs).

Can you shed some light on the cruise control on the TEX, when you get a chance?

Ride safe and thanks for the updates!

Mike

[Bryn]

Originally Posted by FargAT

Love the tie-in of the autocom. It's a definite must have for our next rides.

We're looking into replacing our Concours 14s with 2 dual sports. She's due for a TEX, I'm torn between the TEX and the GSA... (6'3" @ 250lbs).

Can you shed some light on the cruise control on the TEX, when you get a chance?

Ride safe and thanks for the updates!

Mike

Hi Mike, the Autocom works really well... speech is clear up to around 100mph.. I've got a Zumo 660 in the mix as well, the voice commands not quite as clear but still ok.

Cruise control got a good work out on my French trip a couple of weeks back.... the French Peage's are perfect for it.... two lanes and little traffic, with an 80mph speed limit. Ergonomically it can be difficult to switch on with the right hand, as the throttle is so sensitive, means a lot of lurching, so I got used to using my left hand to press the button .... once on it's good, only if your speed drops a couple of miles per hour , say on hills, the display overides everything else and flashes the speed until it gets back to whatever you had the cruise set to... not a major issue but a little annoying ....

The jolt when cruise comes off by closing the throttle slightly caused my other half to bang her helmet into mine a couple of times ( when I could see traffic ahead and needed to come off cruise) got used to warning her... she said it was a little disconcerting....

The other strange thing is that if , say you had it set at 80 and came off , and then found yourself at 90, press resume, and you would expect the cruise to take over, and gently lower the speed to 80....

Not quite... the speed drops quickly, with the lurch again, down to about 77, then brings it back up to 80 again....

I think these are all software issues that may be sorted.... saying that I'm still glad its there... great to be able to take the right hand off the bars without slowing

[Paulvt1]

Good updates Bryn. I note that some punters are complaining about vibration and a drop off in engine performance after the first service. How's yours?

[Bryn]

Paul, no drop in power noticed and I've never noticed any vibrations.....

[EggChaser]

Originally Posted by Bryn

Paul, no drop in power noticed and I've never noticed any vibrations.....

+1 mine hasn't noticeably changed by first service either.

[Paulvt1]

Cool. Thanks for the feedback.

[FargAT]

Thanks for the feedback, Bryn!

I'll keep watching your thread here for future updates.

[Bryn]

Originally Posted by FargAT

Thanks for the feedback, Bryn!

I'll keep watching your thread here for future updates.

Well, the Frames for the Trekker's sat them up 3" higher and 3" further forward than the standard Triumph items, which meant that the passenger has less room.... so already done a deal and exchanged the bags and frames for a set of OEM bags...

I don't hang around