The 1200 Tiger Explorer Mega Thread

[Bryn]

Originally Posted by Fasttrak

Bryn, that is the best looking Tiger yet! Oh wait, same color as mine
I would ask if you could take a picture with out one of the bags mounted? I would like to see how the racks look and the mount points if you could please.

K.B.

Thanks KB

The racks are quick release... there's a plate that bolts behind the rear footrest hanger, and another one that fits behind the license plate. The rack itself has two nylon blocks which hook into the original mounting point used by Triumph bags, then the two quick release screws seat and turn into the plates, and they're fitted... so taking the racks off when you are not using them takes around a minute. Only issue is that so can anyone else. There is a locking mechanism which is about £30 which can be ordered at the same time or retro - fitted.

The other good thing is that these racks will be good for Hepco & Becker, SW Motech, and Trax boxes, they just need adaptors fitted .

Originally Posted by Grizzlybear

Question, is your top case mounting plate a GIVI part or an SW-Motech part?

The top rack is an old Givi plate I fitted, with a bit of modification to make it work on the Triumph Rack. The only issue with it that I have is that it only has two M8 bolts holding it on, and I had to make up an angle steel bracket underneath to spread the load.

SW Motech now have an Ally rack that uses 4 mounting points, so I may well bite the bullet and change for one of these... saying that the present set up worked fine on the trip we've just had to France

[GaelicDog]

Just got back from a 2200 mile ride on the Explorer.
Atlanta to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, up the coast to close to the Virginia border then all the way south again and ferried back over to Cedar Island. Beaufort, NC to Charlottesville, VA to Fort Royal, down Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah Forest (AT NIGHT!) then the entire Blue Ridge Parkway and back to Atlanta.

The Tiger was amazing. Performed flawlessly! The bike's mpg's are increasing, on the BRP I was getting 48 and the blast home from Cherokee was mostly interstate at 46 mpg's. Not bad for a loaded bike! The motor,,,,, through the parkways is stellar. Pulls like a freight train and did I mention SMOOTH!

The throttle is no longer an issue. It's just second nature to me now.

The seat, for my ass, has got to be dealt with. It's comfortable for a few hours but when you are on the bike for 12 or more hours at a time it sucks!

The Jesse Bags are great. I have had them on other bikes and already knew what to expect. I knew I'd love them. BUT! This is the first set I've had with their new mounting system. The 5 inch adjustment front to rear is genius! When I got into the tight switchbacks it dawned on me that I could adjust their position since I had them almost all the way to the rear. I scooted them all the way forward and she was handling like a sport bike again!


Waiting to load the Ferry to Ocracoke Island,



Camping on the beach at Oregon Inlet:


One of the first photo ops in the BRP:


And you'll never know what you'll see in the Smokey Mountains!

[drklr]

Thanks for sharing. Bikes looks great and sounds like it worked extremely well for the trip.

It is getting harder to decide which bike not to buy... the Explorer or the Yamaha S10!

[ZZ4Blazer]

Originally Posted by GaelicDog

Just got back from a 2200 mile ride on the Explorer.
Atlanta to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, up the coast to close to the Virginia border then all the way south again and ferried back over to Cedar Island. Beaufort, NC to Charlottesville, VA to Fort Royal, down Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah Forest (AT NIGHT!) then the entire Blue Ridge Parkway and back to Atlanta.

The Tiger was amazing. Performed flawlessly! The bike's mpg's are increasing, on the BRP I was getting 48 and the blast home from Cherokee was mostly interstate at 46 mpg's. Not bad for a loaded bike! The motor,,,,, through the parkways is stellar. Pulls like a freight train and did I mention

This is exactly the kinda reviews that I love hearing. What kinda highway speeds averaging 46 mpg? This it's exactly why I can't wait to get my own "SUV" of a bike

[GaelicDog]

Originally Posted by ZZ4Blazer

This is exactly the kinda reviews that I love hearing. What kinda highway speeds averaging 46 mpg? This it's exactly why I can't wait to get my own "SUV" of a bike

Mostly ran around 78 to 79 mph,,,,,, reserve light came on at 200 miles showing 48 to empty.

On my trip I always calculated MPG's at fill up to compare to my display and it was always pretty damned accurate!

[ZZ4Blazer]

Originally Posted by GaelicDog

Mostly ran around 78 to 79 mph,,,,,, reserve light came on at 200 miles showing 48 to empty.

On my trip I always calculated MPG's at fill up to compare to my display and it was always pretty damned accurate!

Fantastic. I'm sure on a trip running a little hard id be running right around 80 mph as well. Thank you for clarifying mpg calculation. That was gonna be my next question.

[Bryn]

Get them pictures out of your Jesse's from the rear ... they look great from the side.... I can see me getting a pair of them in the future when I get bored with the Trekkers

[charliebrown]

Ok, don't jump all over me for this, but....

Has anybody mounted, or have seen mounted, highway pegs for the explorer? Unfortunately I need to make more than a few miles on the highway before finding any interesting roads to ride and my knees really appreciate the ability to stretch out on those boring slab roads. Seems like a peg mount on the crash bars would be relatively easy, but I'm not sure what the result would be on a drop/lowside. Maybe something that can be easily removed after the slab portion of the ride is over.

Any ideas, thoughts?

[Big Jon]

I woke up to rain today & decided it would be a great morning to clean the girls up a bit.

I also got to finish up on a couple of other projects. Here's a couple shots of the fog lights and Admore LED kit for the Givi Tail case. They really do show up pretty well even in the daylight.

[Jud]

Originally Posted by drklr

Thanks for sharing. Bikes looks great and sounds like it worked extremely well for the trip.

It is getting harder to decide which bike not to buy... the Explorer or the Yamaha S10!

Same here, Ma Yamaha needs to add cruise or Triumph needs to add a 2nd more "adventurous" model with a larger tank and possibly wire wheels. Can live without the wire wheels but I'd really like at least a 250 range and would prefer around 300. Don't care how I get that range, either a big tank or great fuel mileage but I will say that better fuel economy with a medium capacity tank is what I would prefer. I will also say that mileage in the 40s is terrible for this size engine and this much weight. Hell, my Kia nearly gets that dammit!

Keel back the power and spend some more R&D on fuel economy and that tank on the Explorer would be plenty.

[TAMPAJIM]

Originally Posted by charliebrown

Ok, don't jump all over me for this, but....

Has anybody mounted, or have seen mounted, highway pegs for the explorer? Unfortunately I need to make more than a few miles on the highway before finding any interesting roads to ride and my knees really appreciate the ability to stretch out on those boring slab roads. Seems like a peg mount on the crash bars would be relatively easy, but I'm not sure what the result would be on a drop/lowside. Maybe something that can be easily removed after the slab portion of the ride is over.

Any ideas, thoughts?

I've got all the bit and pieces to mount them but can't get the engine guards. Waited over a month after I got the bike, got ready to mount them and they shipped two left sides. Can't get an answer out of Triumph as to when they will make it right. Really pissed

But it is doable, I had them on my F800GS and tiger800. Involves Rivco pegs and some homemade extensions. If I ever get the guards on I will post pictures. In the meantime this is what it looks like http://www.tiger800.co.uk/index.php/....html#msg36320

They look huge in the picture but in person they blend right in.

[RRVT]

Originally Posted by GaelicDog

The Tiger was amazing. Performed flawlessly! The bike's mpg's are increasing, on the BRP I was getting 48 and the blast home from Cherokee was mostly interstate at 46 mpg's. Not bad for a loaded bike! The motor,,,,, through the parkways is stellar. Pulls like a freight train and did I mention SMOOTH!

I am surprised that the difference between BRP and an interstate was only 2MPG for you. With my F800GS I get about 45MPG on highways but I got 65MPG on BRP. The Trax boxes stick out quite wide so I think that's what kills my mileage at higher speeds. But on BRP I thought my gas indicator was broken, hour after hour still not showing me the actual remaining miles, I had a spare gallon I used so I didn't have to get off the parkway. I ended up using 4.22 gallons for 275 miles, without the spare I probably would've run out of gas less than a mile before the gas station in Raonoke.

[GaelicDog]

Originally Posted by Jud

Hell, my Kia nearly gets that dammit!

Keel back the power and spend some more R&D on fuel economy and that tank on the Explorer would be plenty.

Would you be happy with an Adventure bike with KIA like performance?

Sounds like a KLR might be the perfect choice!

[GaelicDog]

Originally Posted by RRVT

I am surprised that the difference between BRP and an interstate was only 2MPG for you. With my F800GS I get about 45MPG on highways but I got 65MPG on BRP. The Trax boxes stick out quite wide so I think that's what kills my mileage at higher speeds. But on BRP I thought my gas indicator was broken, hour after hour still not showing me the actual remaining miles, I had a spare gallon I used so I didn't have to get off the parkway. I ended up using 4.22 gallons for 275 miles, without the spare I probably would've run out of gas less than a mile before the gas station in Raonoke.

I was on the BRP both days about 6:30am. I ran a spirited pace since I was all alone, keeping the bike mostly in third gear. Had I ran the 45mph and poked around it would have been a lot better.

[twinrider]

The Jesses really blend in well with the lines of the bike. Maybe an Airhawk would cure your monkeybutt. I tried a friend's the other day and was impressed enough to order one.