Triumph Tiger 800

Yes, there's a significant difference in the suspension as well.

Why is it 'too tall feeling'? Your feet go on the pegs, not on the ground.

Mainly suspension (higher, plusher, better quality, I find it's too soft for my taste for my typical road riding), handle bar (wider, different bend), higher risers (30mm), some farkles (handguards, ...), beak.

I've added XC risers to my Roadie but I like the Roadie handle bars much better, I'll likely add a beak fairly soon, just like the looks ...

Now your telling your age, Browneye. 1973? Hell, I wasnt even in kindergarden yet!

Dunno if this has been covered elsewhere, but what top-opening panniers ride narrowest on the roadie? I like the Motech Trax boxes, but with their rack they're hella wide. Does someone make a rack that hugs the bike closer so that the bags wind up being near-handlebar width?

Top-opening only, please.

The 9" Safari Jesse bags are supposed to be only 35 inches across.

I found these fit very close. They come in silver aluminum or black;

http://holan.pl/en/product/24/507/512/2333/PRO_system_with_NOMADA_Pro_cases_for_Tiger800

Metal mule has a pretty narrow symmetrical setup. $$$ though. And you need a narrow pipe.

Is the gas tank steel or does it have a plastic cover on the Tigers?

The tank is not plastic as my tankbag mags to it. It does already have small plastic guards on the side though.

I sold a new fully farkled Tiger 800 street after 6 months & 3.5K miles of ownership. Overall, it is a very nice bike - but didn't work out for my particular situation. Here's what I liked, and what I didn't:

LIKES:

• The engine is a BEAST - with the Arrow exhaust it sounded like the turbine engine on a jet - and when you cranked back the throttle, you needed to hold on as before you know it you're hitting triple digits. Amazingly powerful & quick engine for an adventure oriented machine.
• Comfortable seating position - pretty upright like most adventure oriented rides.
• Handling - Very nimble, like a hot knife through butter if you know how to ride it - e.g. no chicken strip left on your tires.
• Looks - I had mine in the white metalic - beautiful machine to behold - great lines.
• OEM Accessory Options - just about everything you can think of to customize your ride - I got the ABS model with the high windscreen, Arrow exhaust, heated grips, engine & radiator guards, fog lights, panniers with waterproof liners, & a low gel seat. Then added, Rox risers, a set of Barkbusters and a Garmin 550 cradle connected into the battery.

DISLIKES:

• Gas mileage was terrible - it promised 45-48 mpg - was lucky if I got 40 mpg, granted I rode it like I stole it.
• Stock suspension SUCKED. I had a previous lumbar surgery and thought the Tiger would work with my back issues after a lengthy test ride. Once I put 500 miles on it around bumpy New England Roads, my back was wrecked. Threw down a Grand for an Ohlins shock, which did little to solve the problem - just not enough travel available in the bike no matter what I would have put on it. After 3.5K I ended up having a second lumbar surgery effectively cancelling my whole summer season and putting me out of work for 10 weeks. Sold it as I knew I couldn't risk a third surgery. Now back to my little old reliable long travel DS ride. I think the Tiger XC does a better job in this department however, but you'll need to be willing to gain an inch of seat height.
• Not alot of Triumph dealerships around - if there's one near you you'll be ok - but they take a specially trained wrench to work 'em - lots of computerized electronics which take dedicated Triumph computerized analytics tools to diagnose any issues.

Hope this was helpful - good luck in your search!

I'll agree there aren't a lot of dealers, but we have more Triumph dealers than Ducati. My dealer is two hours away, but I do all my own maintenance so only an issue for recalls etc. That's just not true about needing a "specially trained wrench". Buy DealerTool and or TuneECU and you can do any maintenance required in the service manual. I've owned TuneECU for awhile so I could update maps on my wife's Street Triple but I just bought DealerTool so I can now bleed the ABS brakes on my Tiger as well as reset the maintenance indicator. The Triumphs are just as easy to work on as any bike, in fact the valves were easier to check on the Street Triple than on my Honda CBF.

Does the XC come with an adjustable seat? If so, what is the lowest height setting. I'm 5'10" with a 30 inch inseam. Just curious if I'll be tip toeing at stops.

Hey Fireman,

Yes, the seat is adjustable, but I don't recall what the spec height is at the low setting. I'll go out and measure it in a bit if I can tear myself away from Supercross for a few minutes...250's are banging it up in the heat races!

I'm 5-10 with about the same inseam and I'm fine with the height, in fact I always ride with the seat in the high position, like the extra legroom. I can't flat foot it, but I really never expected to be able to. If you're ever over the the Dawsonville/Cumming area, let me know...you're welcome to have a look.

I measured the height, it's around 33" with the seat in the high position and preload set a little higher than it comes from the factory. Seems to be in keeping with the published spec's.

happy trails denali cliff cuts are 36"

I am 5' 9" and can flat foot it in the low setting... High setting isn't bad either.

painted metal.

http://www.triumphmotorcycles.com/m...re/tiger-800/2013/tiger-800-xc/specifications

Dimensions and Capacities
Length 2215mm (87.1in)
Width (handlebars) 865mm (34.0in)
Height without mirrors 1390mm (54.7in)
Seat Height 845mm (33.2in) - 865mm (34.0in)
Wheelbase 1545mm (60.8in)
Rake/Trail 24.3°/95.3mm
Fuel Tank Capacity / Efficiency 19.0 litres (5.0 US gals)
Wet Weight (ready to ride) 215 kg (473 lbs)

You're exactly the same dimensions as me and I can very nearly flat foot both feet on my XC with the seat in its highest position.
A lot of people don't set the rider sag properly and then moan that the bike is too tall. The sag with rider sat should be around 65~70mm which'll put the seat height below 800mm.

If you want good petrol mileage then number 1 mistake is to fit the arrow exhaust & tune. They slaughter mileage and only give a very modest increase in power AND are flipping expensive.

Pretty funny. The poster made two decisions (arrow tune+aggressive riding) that guaranteed bad mpg then complains about. Apparently mpg was not that important. My first 12k miles has yielded an avg. of 54mpg.

Agree with the sucky suspension though but that is fixable with little heart ache.