Tiger Tales - Dialling in the 800XC for the dirt

These are expensive but getting pretty good reviews:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=571500

what adv grifter said:

neduros mirrors are the only way to go.
fold them in then you ride offroad, but even if you don't the will fold in if you crash.

http://www.doubletakemirror.com/
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=571500

Please post the results. Hope it will work!

Of course windscreens are a very personal taste sort of thing... for me personally (6'2"), the stock windscreen actually worked pretty good (no buffetting) but was just too noisy, even with ear plugs. I removed the screen all together and really like it w/o the screen. Quiet and with the hot summer, lets air flow through my jacket better. The looks of the bike even grew on me w/o the screen. If I have to do a lot of interstate at 70mph+ or if I'm in the rain, then I start wanting a screen again. When I got the bike I also ordered the touring screen which is adjustable. I mounted it up and tried it in all it's positions... still can't find a sweet spot. All the way up was probably my favorite position, and if I had a long interstate ride to take, I'd probably put the screen on, run it in the high position and wear earplugs and be happy. Will likely put it on as winter approaches as well. The adjuster that comes with the touring screen will also work with the stock windshield so I also want to try that combo... when I had the stock screen on it, I felt that if I could have just tipped the stocker back a little, it might have improved. Still need to try that.

For me... I'll likely end up riding it 90% of the time w/o the screen (naked!!!).

SOLD!!!

I posted the story of how I broke my mirrors in my Day Trippin' tread. Click the link in my signature... Post number 37 if you want to skip right to it.

I run em on 4 different bikes. Plus, proceeds go towards sending one of our own to Dakar.

Be still, my beat heart ......... That's lovely news. I had Aqualine tanks on my 990 and loved them ........


Here's another question for everyone ...... Engine Guards .....

The Happy Trails product looks nice, and protects the lower and upper sections of the bike. And from the one poster, that had some get offs the H.T. bars did their job.

I've also seen H.B. bars, though I think it's a two set, as in the lower half and upper half. I'm about to research that out some more ..... but;

Who here has the lower and upper H.B. bars, and what do you think about them? Also, how was the price for both units?

And, for anyone with the H.B. bars, if you've had a get off, how have they held up and did they do their job?

G.

If you don't mind me asking, because I could not find them on the Happy Trails website, what did the bars run you?

G.

They should be for sale soon. These are the prototypes. All the R&D was done on my bike. The racks and boxes are for sale now. I'm not sure what they are gonna run price wise. But, I can tell you they're worth every penny! I fell really hard to the high side twice on my little adventure. These things didn't even think about bending. If I just had the low Triumph guards on, the upper plastic would have been destroyed and the tank dented from a log the bike landed on. I may have also sustained radiator damage. Then it would have been a Spot message to come get me.

The V-strom rally was just in Boise, so I know the shop was really busy building stuff for those guys. I can send an email to see if I can find out a release date and cost info for you. I can probably get a response on Monday. Check back then. I'm sure they are anxious to get them built and on the market.

I took a still shot out of the video I was making when I crashed. This is the abuse I put the HT guards through on Wednesday. Here's the pic if you guys didn't make it over to my RR.

<a href="http://s73.photobucket.com/albums/i230/tystellrecht/2011%207-20%20Crashing%20on%20the%20Obsticle%20and%20Hills/?action=view&amp;current=P1010057.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/tystellrecht_2011%25207-20%2520Crashing%2520on%2520the%2520Obsticle%2520and%2520Hills_P1010057.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

You may not have this product in your country, but I'm sure you can find something similar. HERE It's the MSR Dromedary bag. And it's come way down in price. It used to $80! It's for water, but if you rinse it out well after putting gas in, it will last a long time. I've got a buddy that's been using one for a few years now. It's great cause it packs away until the long leg of your trip and then straps on top of your bags with ROK straps (or whatever you use) when you fill it. A little tip if you go this exact route. A Nalgene water bottle cap fits the threads perfectly. Use the Nalgene cap when it's full of gas cause the stock pour top leaks a bit. Change to the stock MSR cap when filling. The spout makes a nice stream with no spills. Then put the Nalgene cap back on.

My brother uses the Rotopax on his KLX and loves it. He can strap his Wolfman dry bag on top of it. It's a bit spendy, but well engineered and built tough.

That's a nifty idea - the MSR bag.

I know of the rotopax containers, and agreed, they're built really nice.

G.

P.S. - yes, if you could find out a release date on the H.T. bars, and even a rough price, that would be great.

How did you like your KTM 990? I've just recently come across this bike.

Hmmmmmm ........

For me it was a love/hate relationship with that bike, leaning more towards the hate side.

All in all it was / is designed as a big ass dirt bike. Seriously, and if you think not, just check out any Riceless vid or Neduro vid, and what they do with them. Though, those are 950s, but essentially the 950 and the 990 are the same bike. Though not all riders can do that with them, I certainly couldn't.

Suspension wise, you couldn't beat it. I love KTM suspensions and they're dialed for the dirt more than the pavement. The bikes are also light.

The main problem addressed with the 990's are the throttle and F.I. mapping / response. The "jerky" or "snatchy" throttle issue is well documented, and there's a number of ways to try and fix it. Why KTM has (or at least had) a problem with this is beyond me. The F.I. wr250 is as smooth as butter from what I hear, and my F.I. Tiger 900 and Capo are smooth as butter with no dead zone, no hesitation, and no snap into action issues.

With that said, I could not fix my issue, so I was not comfortable with taking my 990 off road. My carbed 640, hell yeah !!!!! - The 990, no.

So I gave up, and swapped the knobbies on the 990, to more of a 50 / 50 tire - the Heidi K60s - and attempted to use the bike for more of a touring bike, that if a smooth fire road presented itself, I could take it.

As far as pavement touring, due to the light weight nature of the bike, and the aqualine tanks - which acted as a sail, per se - the 990 was not really at home on the pavement. Wind gusts, that other bikes like my Capo, or an 1150gs, or a Honda ST1300, or Yamaha FJR, would really have no problems with, blew the bike and me around like a freaking rag doll.

So it didn't really have a place IMHO as a touring bike.

On the plus side - great motor, great suspension, great handling. But due to the above issues, for me, it really didn't have a place on the dirt or the pavement - so I sold it.

Could it do long pavement trips? Yes. Though depending on weather conditions, specifically wind, it definitely wasn't fun, and could cause a major pucker factor.

To date, I do not know if KTM has corrected their F.I. / throttle issue.

Now, 950 owners - which that bike is carbed - do not, and have not, had any jerky throttle issues, and the throttle roll is as smooth as butter. I've even read some threads where 990 owners gut their bike and remove the F.I. and put in carbs. It's a bit of an undertaking, but for those that have done it, they've reported back that the bike is as smooth as butter, so the issue is definitely related to the F.I.

Had I a 950, I probably would still have it.

So my time owning a 990 was not the best, and my review is not the best on the bike.

If I were you, I'd look at a 2005.5 or 2006 950adv over the 990. Even with the F.I. the mpg on the 990 wasn't better than the carbed 950. They're both in the 35mpg range. You get a big grin when you twist that throttle, so that's the compensation for the low mpg.

That's my .02 cents on the bike .......

G.

made a big difference on mine with the stock screen.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=707131

G,

Not to turn this into a 990 thread, but check out the Orange Crush thread re. the Bazzaz Fi + AFM + handle bar switch combo. It looks like it totally cures both the snatchy EFI issue and really improves the fuel mileage (from 35mpg to 45mpg!!!), which totally makes sense when you compare the stock A/F plot (SUPER rich below 4k RPM and rich through the rest of the range) vs. the Bazzaz plot (right around 13 through most of the range....right where it should be). Also, the switch gives you 2 maps to choose from on the fly so you can run a "best mpg" map and a "power" map (or whatever combo you choose).

-SM

Me too. Just back from the first road trip with the Tigger and the adjustable screen made a big difference to me too - much much less buffeting. I'm good with the screen now....

Thanks for the honest review. I agree regards "riders". Ned is racing Dakar, is an AA enduro rider. I only made B rider ... and that was 15 years ago.

Same goes with both Crashmaster and Misery Goat ... both well 'above average' riders for sure and both have current South America Ride Reports here on ADV on their KTM's. Neither have had serious mechanicals. Very impressive for the big KTM's. If only all KTM were as reliable.

Can the Tiger 800XC match the 990/950 off road?

Dunno ... I guess it depends who's riding! I think AV Mech and Burren's reports give some insight into what the Tiger XC is capable of ...IN THE RIGHT HANDS!!! And were just getting started here!

But the fact is ... add all the farkles you like ... if you can't ride, it won't help you!

I'm not tall enough ... or good enough ... to get the most out of the big KTM. Also, can't imagine replacing all that broken plastic and dual fuel tanks after it hits a rock pile. :eek1 YIKES! $$$$$$$$

I've ridden both the 950 and 990 on the highway. I've swapped out my Tiger 1050 with my KTM buddies. I like the KTM's a lot ... but I prefer my Tiger for most road riding ... and especially touring.

But on very rough, sandy, wet or whooped out and badly knarled up pavement ... the KTM is the better bike by a good margin. It can attack those conditions like a true dual sport ... or should I say "Giant Dual Sport"? It's marvelous!

Any comments on how the Tiger 800 XC performs ridden HOT on bad paved roads as described above?

My Tiger (with bad stock suspension) gets out of shape on such a road and is dangerous. But on a less beat up road it's better: Faster, (15 more HP) better brakes and wide 17" sporty tires and massive lean angles. I can keep pace on my Tiger 1050 with a better rider aboard a 990. Why? More power mostly ... and much better brakes. The Tiger's radial brakes are really good.

The Tiger 1050 is also very smooth, quiet and comfortable on a 500 mile day. The KTM is good ... but the Tiger is better, IMHO.

The 800/800XC should also be a fine long range tour bike. BTW, absolutely no wind issues on the Tiger 1050 ... and I know about wind issues having owned Vstrom's, which are scary in cross winds. Tiger is rock solid. The T800's? Dunno?

Finally got smart and took some time to mount this.

<a href="http://s73.photobucket.com/albums/i230/tystellrecht/Tiger%20800%20XC/?action=view&amp;current=photo31.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/t/tystellrecht_Tiger%2520800%2520XC_photo31.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>