The 1200 Tiger Explorer Mega Thread

[ThomasVolomitz]

"Are some of you guys on here just pretending to be ADV riders ??"

The image of being an ADV rider is very alluring and means different things to different riders. Of course there is the image of the GSA rider heading to Starbucks in his one piece whale foreskin lined adv suit. Lots of Harley riders get the pirate look for bike week and the weekends and then back to the shirt and tie and the drudgery of the cubicle.

I think of Ted Simon and his mid 70's RTW trip on an old Triumph as my first point of reference. Lots of very capable riders find great routes in their area but are always back home at night.

This is a subject for an entirely new thread, but I find it interesting.

[mrpete64]

I think for the "few" times one will go somewhere where gas is difficult to fine you will bring an optional gas storage system....or cheap strapped on plastic gas can. I think that 99% of the time 200 miles or so one should be able to find a gas station with either a gps or you new i-phone you will buy yourself for X'mas! It would be very interesting to do a research study, after say five years, of exactly how many of us take big GS type of bikes truly "offroad" and how many "actual" hours/miles we go compared to normal driving.
I am sure it is like people who buy Jeeps or other 4-wheel vehicles. The research on this shows that people who buy these kinds of vehicles rarely use the four wheel drive option.
Jeeps just "look" like you are going to Utah and bash around!
I am going to look at the Triumph Adventure bike at the NYC bike show. I love the idea of cruise control...and the "Adventure Look." It will either be an 800 XC or the new Adventure for me this spring. Being big and heavy should make it ride very nice on the two lane roads that I like to take riding across America.
Hope all of you have a wonderful Holiday.

[high dangler]

Originally Posted by Rasthomas

"Are some of you guys on here just pretending to be ADV riders ??"

The image of being an ADV rider is very alluring and means different things to different riders. .

i rode my bike in a gravel parking lot once.

[Zapp22]

good assessment Ras.
To me it is pretty simple:
do I like riding a motorcycle? yes, under the right conditions.
do I like riding a motorcycle on the interstate with big vehicles belching smoke and trying to assassinate me? no... not really
does something spark inside me when I see a dirt road and wonder where it goes? YES
am I easily bored while riding a motorcycle? YES

like many here, I learned to ride via enduros in the back-country - old logging and mining roads, forgotten places, river crossings. When I tried to like a cruiser, I just felt shamefully dirty. it bored me to tears. cruisers do have a role - the good ones are really good at carrying 2-up down boring roads for hours on end. But 95% of my rides are solo, and I go because I want to hit the reset button - for me that is a combination of lonely places and enough of a skill challenge to focus my mind on staying in one piece

Originally Posted by Rasthomas

"Are some of you guys on here just pretending to be ADV riders ??"

The image of being an ADV rider is very alluring and means different things to different riders. Of course there is the image of the GSA rider heading to Starbucks in his one piece whale foreskin lined adv suit. Lots of Harley riders get the pirate look for bike week and the weekends and then back to the shirt and tie and the drudgery of the cubicle.

I think of Ted Simon and his mid 70's RTW trip on an old Triumph as my first point of reference. Lots of very capable riders find great routes in their area but are always back home at night.

This is a subject for an entirely new thread, but I find it interesting.

[Mikef5000]

Originally Posted by Mercury264

In years gone by, you may have had a point. These days, with all the options available to us to carry extra fuel, I don't think it's valid any more.

I don't want to have to buy extra containers (some of which get quite pricey), figure out how to mount them on my bike without interfering with other luggage, or my passenger, or effecting the overall handling or durability, just to allow a $15,000 adventure bike to go on an adventure.

I'm all for the occasional "stop and stretch my legs" that has been mentioned several times previously... only where it seems many enjoy stopping at gas stations to stretch, I much prefer finding a scenic overlook or creek/lake.

While you'll always find people that want more and more (yeah I may be one), I don't think it'd be that hard to satisfy the masses with this fuel tank thing. 6.0 gallons seems the standard right now. So making a new adventure bike? Trying to make a splash in the market? Looking to stand out above the rest? Go 7 gallons! Going anything less (Triumph!) is going to be viewed by most as just that; less! Less than the standard. Sub-par. And by some, inadequate.

[high dangler]

if you guys had your way with designing bikes they would weigh 900 lbs.

[bigdave-gs]

Originally Posted by mrpete64

I think for the "few" times one will go somewhere where gas is difficult to fine you will bring an optional gas storage system....or cheap strapped on plastic gas can. I think that 99% of the time 200 miles or so one should be able to find a gas station with either a gps or you new i-phone you will buy yourself for X'mas! It would be very interesting to do a research study, after say five years, of exactly how many of us take big GS type of bikes truly "offroad" and how many "actual" hours/miles we go compared to normal driving.
I am sure it is like people who buy Jeeps or other 4-wheel vehicles. The research on this shows that people who buy these kinds of vehicles rarely use the four wheel drive option.
Jeeps just "look" like you are going to Utah and bash around!
I am going to look at the Triumph Adventure bike at the NYC bike show. I love the idea of cruise control...and the "Adventure Look." It will either be an 800 XC or the new Adventure for me this spring. Being big and heavy should make it ride very nice on the two lane roads that I like to take riding across America.
Hope all of you have a wonderful Holiday.

It's apparent you've never been south of the US border....I-Phone......, you truely are funny if you think your I-Phone will be your back up plan all the time. Hell man, here in Texas there are enough places you don't have cell service to rely on a cell phone. GSP's are OK when they work, you get into a heavy mountain range with high tree's and they can be iffy. Always carry a paper map/topo with you. They don't need a signal or batteries! ! ! And you better have enough gas or that 800 XC will get real heavy after about 10 miles of pushing it.

[RED CAT]

Just buy a Gold Wing. Do not understand this fixation with being able to go 600 miles without stopping and adding all that extra weight to an otherwise spirited riding experience. 250 miles isn't enough? The difference between the GS and GSA is huge on the Grin Factor scale.

[3Putt]

Points.

If I could get more than 180 miles out of my Tiger 800XC I'd still have it and trade for the 1200 when it comes out.

I assume the 1200 isn't going to do any better on fuel than the 800.

Both bikes fully fueled ready to ride the GSA weights 60 pounds more than the GS and no one says you have fill the tank. For me the extra comfort and weather protection is worth the extra weight.

And just for what it's worth, fully fueled ready to ride the GSA weights 5 pounds less than the Tiger 1200 and 3 pounds less than my 1200 RT we'd normally tour on.

I'm not a good enough rider, or take the bike off-road enough, that a few pounds one way or another is going to make any difference.

I say live and let live. Whether your idea of adventure riding is finding new dirt and exploring, sticking close to home and rat racing with your buddies, or hitting the road for weeks at a time attempting to see the whole country (me), I say it's all good. Different jobs call for different tools.

This thread and the 800 fuel consumption thread have morphed into the same topic. I'm having trouble keeping straight where I've attempted to defend my huge tank

[RaY YreKa]

Originally Posted by 3Putt

Both bikes fully fueled ready to ride the GSA weights 60 pounds more than the GS and no one says you have fill the tank. For me the extra comfort and weather protection is worth the extra weight.

Triumph say some of the extra weight is due to the robust nature of the shaft-drive. I guess we can't have it all

[Bundu]

Originally Posted by ray_rev

Triumph say some of the extra weight is due to the robustness nature of the shaft-drive. I guess we can't have it all

yeah and that should give it a nice low COG

[RaY YreKa]

Originally Posted by Bundu

yeah and that should give it a nice low COG

Felt like that at a standstill, but I was most impressed by how slim the seat and rear of the bike is. I guess since the boxer motor is so wide (and I really like boxers), plus the rounded tank of the S10, I had got used to thinking that a big ADV bike had to be wide. I think the 1200 is going to fit a wider range of people.

[Adv Grifter]

Originally Posted by Tiger-G

Some of the places we get to there aren't any fuel stops. The whole ethos of a "Big Trailie" is a large capacity tank so you can travel far and distant places without worrying about fuel.

Are some of you guys on here just pretending to be ADV riders ??

This from a guy riding around the UK? Our ride to breakfast would take us across England!

We have some real Writing talent here! A few great quotes!

Originally Posted by Rasthomas

Of course there is the image of the GSA rider heading to Starbucks in his one piece whale foreskin lined adv suit. Lots of Harley riders get the pirate look for bike week and the weekends and then back to the shirt and tie and the drudgery of the cubicle

Originally Posted by Zapp22

good assessment Ras.
When I tried to like a cruiser, I just felt shamefully dirty. it bored me to tears.

Some very funny comments guys! Excellent work!

[RED CAT]

I don't believe the new Xplorer will weigh more than a fully loaded GSA. We'll see when a real test comes out. If they do weigh that much, may as well get the S10. I'll keep flying on my Standard GS and hopefully fly higher and faster on the new Watercooled when it comes out this summer. Was really hoping the new Triumph would be the one. They must be tough on gas. I can do 250 miles on my 08 GS with 20 liters between fills and I don't baby it.

[creggur]

Originally Posted by Adv Grifter

We have some real Writing talent here! A few great quotes!




Some very funny comments guys! Excellent work!

Agreed - it's hard to go wrong by working 'whale foreskin lined' into a sentence about outerwear...