Could the owners of Triumph Tiger 800XC let me know what kind front forks they have? Do you have similar issues as F800GS? Thank you.
There are two front fork legs on the bike, look upside down, they do go up and down from time to time, and there seems to be a spring in them. What issues do you have with the F800GS front?
Thanks for description on how the front forks work. It was educational. On the other hand, what I'm interested is the front shocks on Triumph Tiger made by Showa. Do any of you, Triumph owners replace it due to it poor performance off road, or you totally happy with it?
That's totally dependent on the rider. The forks are not adjustable, however they are set up to cover quite a wide range. Heavier riders and serious off road riders has had their forks re-worked for their weight with heavier springs. Some accomplish what they need to accomplish by adjusting the fork oil levels. But from what I have read most seem to be happy with the stock setup. I weigh 170 lbs. and it works well for me on road and off. Even when loaded. If I had one wish it would be the ability to adjust compression. It would allow for a little fine tuning for loaded with two up. Brad
The Showa forks on the Tiger are pretty much perfect for things like touring and dirt roads. They may even be fine for fire roads if the pace is relaxed. But they are not sprung or damped for off-road. I am 6' 1" and 220lbs. I took my Tiger down a whooped out two-track not long ago and even at a moderate pace (2nd gear, just loafing along) it was all the Tiger's front forks could handle. If I pushed the pace my enthusiasm was rewarded by a loud CLANK from the front end, the Tiger reminding me that it's not a dirt bike. I'm used to a great deal of specialization from my motorcycles. I own a road racing machine, a SuperMoto bike, and a couple of very nice trail bikes for the woods. Each and every one of them has had a great deal of work done to the suspension (both ends). The Tiger is exactly the opposite idea for me: I want it to work well in all the environments into which I ride it. If you go down that path with your BMW and find a good solution it would be great of you to come back and share it with us. We will be sure and do the same! -Tom
Glad to help. As far as I know the forks are made by Showa, they are not adjustable, a few people complain about bottoming out, but overall XC owners seem to be less pissed off by the fork performance than Roadie owners (like me), the XC I rode was okay. Certainly not a high quality suspension, but okay. Similar to the 2009 F800GS I had. A lot depends on your weight. The Tiger suspension (definitely the Roadie and I suspect the XC, too) are very susceptive to rider weight. I hated my Roadie front suspension quite a bit (though it was still better than the DL650 we had a few years ago) and replaced it, but I hear that much less from XC owners.
Thank you for all your replies. That's the information I was looking for. I'm researching to purchase the ADv bike and so far came up to ether F800GS or 800XC. I'm aware about many details on these two bikes. I was interested in performance of the stock forks under "normal" riding. Nothing major than the lite trail or regular paved road. Seems like it works well. If anyone has more information to share about their personal experience with stock suspension, that would be great.
I had a F800GS before and have a Tiger Roadie now. If you are looking for something very flexible for all types of roads from highway to back road to gravel or fire road, the Tiger is the way to go. If you are looking for a monster dirt bike, the F is better in my opinion. But that's my opinion, best to ride them both, they are different enough that you'll know quick enough which one you like more.
The stock suspension on the F800gs is OK, depending what you weigh, how hard you ride and where. At 200 lb, riding over a lot of rocks, and sharp edge pot holes I thought it horrible. Others claim it is just great. I look at their pictures and it is smooth dirt/gravel with some whoops. It does handle that well. You can't rule out that BMW changed the valving over the years. I got a first boat bike. The F800gs has the same issues, having limited adjustability. BMW chose to compound the issue by crimping the fork tube cartridges. If you repring a bike you should also revalve it to better control the spring. That can't be done, due to the valve being crimped inside the cartridge. So it becomes expensive. If you respring only, you can play with oil weights and air gap. it may or may not work well enough, depending on where and how you ride. A similar issue on the shock. The upper mount bracket is wider than the shock mount. It uses a spacer to fill the gap and is all held in place with a through bolt under heavy tension. The stock shock is not that bad and has enough adjustment to accommodate a heavier spring. There is still no compression valve adjustment, so it won't be the equal to aftermarket. Aftermarket shocks all/most have an inner bearing that allows some movement and aluminum spacers at each end of the shock's mount in place of the 1 pc steel bushing of the stock one. Stock is stronger and works if not bottoming under load. Aftermarket is not strong enough and needs a brace. The brace is relative cheap and made by an inmate. The 2013 F800gs has 43mm usd WP forks in place of the old 45mm Zokes. Still not adjustable. No one has taken them apart yet to see if cheaper to revalve. No pictures of the rear shock mount either. That is probably more issues isn't itBut I have never taken a Triumph fork apart.
I am about to buy the Hyperpro Combo kit for the 800XC...for $300 it's cheap enough to try. I find the stock suspension way to soft, especially the front end...anyone try the Hyperpro springs?
I found my 13' xc fork to be too softveven for street riding. Got heavier springs for the fork and the rear shock. Feels great now. The lack of adjustability in front doesn't bother at all. Sent from my XT1053 using Tapatalk
I just did the hyper pro progressive front and rear springs on the XC. I'm 6'"4 & 230 and I should have even stronger springs to get the proper sag. However, the hyper pros provide night and day difference offroad. Just hit it pretty hard this weekend and loved it...no bottoming out. Front install is quick and easy. Rear I ended up taking the shock to a shop as the spring compressor I had didn't fit. My buddy did a before and after ride and is going the same route for his ride.
220lbs, on either the Tiger or the Bimmer is going to push the limits on the forks, heck, what do you expect? Any decent shop can get you new fork/innards... Whats normal riding? 80 MPH on the highway? Urban stop n go? Rush Hours? Gravel roads? Fire Roads? Country roads in the mountains with all 3 boxes and a duffle? I can take a Multistrada or a KTM 1190, and besides the HP Difference, get the suspension to the limit easy, those are electronic...
I didn't care for the dampening or the springs so I changed them both. I would have been able to live with the stock suspension but I would have always looked at KTM's with envy. In fact I found myself combing the flea market for a super enduro. Now I'm much happier and I haven't looked at the flea market since. I hope everyone else is as happy as I am.
