Tiger 955i - Your Opinions

I got my Tiger at April with 10k miles on clock. Since then I have driven only 1k miles, but all-ready can tell that I am really satisfied with my bike.
I switched from Kawasaki KLE 500 (37hp) to Tiger 955i (104hp) and the power of the Tiger is an unbelievable. Great motorcycle.
I am thinking about exhaust change to Blue Flame, put an K&N air filter, mount engine guard and taller wind screen.

Picked up my new to me '02 on Wednesday and put about 1100 miles on it riding home. I love it!

outside Yosemite, on the way home.

I've had 2 sellers in 5 days pull their bikes off the market on me in the 11th hour of negotiations

Here's to hoping #3 happens tonight...

Great bike! I've put 74,000 miles on my 2006 Tiger 955 and it's still running like new!

Photoboy - thats great to hear. I got my 06 Girlie in 10' with 3k mi on it - only up to 20K now. Trouble free...so far. But use my XC a bit more for dirt trips. Still prefer Girlie for road oriented adventures. Any 'issues' with your 06' ?

I have had 2 regulator/rectifier failures, one at 30K and the other at 50K. Triumph apparently had a bad batch when the second one went south. Nothing else other than that.

I'm thinking of getting a Tiger 800 roadie. How do you like your XC? Power OK? Does it get pushed around by the wind or passing trucks on the highway? How's the stock seat?

Success...finally. They don't come much more stripped or neglected than this...but at least I have one

Bobnoxious - Hows that thing stand up with only 1 fork tube?? Is that to match the single sided swing arm ? Looks pretty darn clean tho & not neglected. Photoboy - I just checked my connector & cleaned the blades, flushed out with contact cleaner & zip tied it shut. But I think I'm 'just whistling past the graveyard' or "putting lipstick on a pig" (not sure which metaphore fits best here) but figure its just a matter of time. Did you replace with triumph parts the 2nd time - or go after market? But gotta say - if thats ALL thats gone wrong - pretty good for 74K mi! Power on xc seems a bit more linear - no 'surge' like the girlie @ around 6k RPM. But still plenty adequate. If I didnt already have girlie for my road bike & mild dirt - would have probably tilted towards the roadie. I think its adequate for 99% of my riding. Its that ocassional 1% that turned me towards xc. Frankly, either bike is more capable than me anyway - so not sure the xc is much advantage in my hands. Probably just encourages me to go where I shouldnt. Anyway - I got the low gel seat (to match my 30" inseam) so cant really comment on stock seat. I also have optional tall windscreen - works well for me & xc doesent get blown around anymore than the girlie. And...I have boxes on xc vs the more aerodynamic stock girlie cases - go figure? I do like the 800 a lot - but, if I could only have one - would be a tough choice. Thankfully... I dont have to make one.

jphish,

I went with Triumph parts though Rick's Electric is a good source for aftermarket. Early on I replaced the stock tune with the off road tune while keeping the stock pipe so there's no surging at 6,000 rpm or anywhere else. Before I did that there was a slight surge below 3,000 rpm.

I go through rear brake pads about every 6-7000 miles. Front pads go for more than twice as far. Right now I'm trying to decide between buying a new Tiger 800 or an aftermarket shock and keeping the Girlie longer. I run 15 weight oil in the forks to stiffen them up a bit.

I've been through one set of brake rotors at around 60,000 miles, not warped just worn below the minimum thickness. I just installed my third set of sprockets and chain though rear sprocket looked OK.

I also replaced the stock seat with a Russell Daylong back at 30,000 miles and installed a Palmer adjustable medium windshield at the same time. I replaced the stock mirrors with CRG barend mirrors to clean up the view to the front and to the rear.

Other than that just tires and oil.

PS: While both are a bit 'top heavy' - not sure what actual weight diff is on Girlie vs XC. But while Girlie looks considerably larger (could be that camel like tank) It doesnt FEEL all that much heavier. It does take 10 more pounds of fuel tho... In corners with Anakee2s - the Girlie feels MUCH more solid / planted than the xc with TKCs. Thats why I use it more for road trips - much more confidence inspiring in the twisties. Just my 2 c

Hmmm - I have Palmer screen too. (medium - light tint) Had one on my Uly & transformed the beast - Great on Girlie too! My 6K 'surge' is not a bad thing - happened after I put on TOR can & remapped - its like a little mini turbo kicks in - hauls ass. Ricks electric - thanks - good to know. They Brit co? Its who our "across the pond" cousins seem to use. I dont think you'd be dissappointed in 800 after Girlie - but would have to transition to ABS & LED gauges you can actually see in the dark. The 2 tiggers have more similarities than differences. But also, for just road riding - not sure you gain all that much. But with 75K mi - you're getting very close to 'new bike' territory. I had a guy offer me $6,500 for my Girlie last year - had no trouble saying 'NO'. But with only 20K mi - its best years are still ahead. I hope...

Yeah, the Palmer screen is great!

I'd be glad to get ABS brakes with the Tiger 800, had them for years on various BMWs and I'm a firm believer in their value.

Here's a link to Rick's Motorsports Electrics http://www.ricksmotorsportelectrics.com/ for new stators, regulators etc. Hopefully you won't need it.

Best wishes for many happy miles on your Girlie. At only 20K now, you're just at the beginning of a great ride!

Thanks for the link - nice to have - "just in case". Do you commute on yours ? And did you buy it new ? One guy in Seattle has 105K on his girlie - still runs well & well cared for. But he got it new in 2001. I sold my Uly, St1300 & KLR last year - decluttering phase of life. Now down to 2 tiggers - so expect the miles to start piling up on them both. No regrets - even tho the Uly WAS a very fun road beast. Retired now - so no commute miles for me - just camping / fishing / fun miles. YAHOO! If you do test ride the 800 - be curious about your impressions. TTFN, j

I do commute 40 miles round trip maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of the time. I also do trips to the mtns of N GA, Tenn, N.C. VA, WVA, etc at least twice a year plus weekend rides of about 150 miles most weekends. I did buy it new in February of 2006. Traded a 2004 BMW R1150RT with 20K miles straight up for it.

I did demo the 8000 roadie about a year ago. Very nice bike, with an engine that likes to rev., good power, much smaller feel and lighter weight, lower seat though I'm used to a tall Russell, narrower front tire seemed to fall into turns quicker, much less wind protection, similar engine heat on the right side only noticable whe wearing jeans instead of riding overpants.

I liked it!

Well I got there in the end had me tigger since April I kind of forgot about this thread :huh








Since I've had it I've had heeps of help from the chaps over at the tiger triple forum and the mods so far are

Palmer screen and brackets , heated grips , rox risers , big feck off HID spots and HIDs in the headlights,
Corbin seat , one off zumo mount , Remus revolution titainium , Koso volt meter .Mustangs lowered foot pegs touratech hand guards

Next on the list is K+N filter Tor tune and Airbox mod.

If you talking bang for your buck Nothing really beats this bike.

Triplechad - "bang for the buck" - you're right about that. Girlies are getting harder to find on this side of the pond. Looks like you & Bobnoxious snagged a few good ones though. Cheers, j

First ride impressions:

-Ooh...runs smooth and quiet.
-May need an aftermarket muffler so I can hear that sweet triple note better
-Pulls like a freight train from idle to redline...holy crap!
-Can't believe how low I can lug in 6th gear and still have it pull cleanly.
-Handles extremely well...was kind of shocked at my lack of chicken strip already.
-The wife likes it, is fairly comfortable on the back, and feels confident that she'll be ok riding it solo if she wants
-Has no problem pushing us along 2-up at 80+ mph
-It sure does make people look
-immediately took it on a dirt road while we were 2-up...no problems, and we were both pleasantly surprised at how smooth it was (road had plenty of potholes
-I need the bars a little closer to me
-2-up on the gravel, I could feel how light the front end is

Overall, I really like it...I think it may be a keeper. Now to farkle, starting with bags/racks for bags

:huh when the hell were we going 80mph?

Uh-oh..... BUSTED!!!!