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Triumph Tiger 800. 2 year (10,000 mile) review

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BrownTrousers
Trackday Trickster



Joined: 08 Sep 2013
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PostPosted: 21:09 - 18 Mar 2018    Post subject: Triumph Tiger 800. 2 year (10,000 mile) review Reply with quote

Well, after exactly 2 years and almost 10,000 miles, I am getting rid of my Tiger 800, so I thought I’d leave a quick review for anyone thinking of buying one.

My bike was a 2016 “XR” version. XR is the basic road version, although I added most of the stuff from the XRx anyway (handguards, centre stand, bigger adjustable windscreen) so I was just missing the riding modes. It came with a triumph top box and I also added a chain oiler, some bar risers and a rear hugger.

THE GOOD

The engine is the single best thing about the bike. The 800cc triple is silky smooth at just about any revs. It forgives you being in the ‘wrong’ gear without complaining, pulling well at almost no revs and yet when you give it some beans, it really sings and pulls well.

The seat and riding position is very comfortable and, with the various accessories I added, it is a very practical bike for touring / commuting.


THE BAD

The windscreen / wind protection / wind noise is the single worst thing about the bike. Forums are rife with problems from people of all builds and there are various different screens, deflectors, helmets etc. which are proposed as a solution. I ended up with the triumph high screen and a wind deflector, just to keep the wind noise down. It looked ugly but did the job.

There is nothing else really wrong with the bike, although I would encourage people to avoid the XR version specifically as extras that come with the XRx (or XRt) are decent – I ended up buying most of them anyway.


EVERYTHING ELSE

The bike never let me down even slightly, during 10,000 miles including a couple of big tours around the UK and across Europe. My bike doesn’t have rider modes but the traction control and ABS seemed decent, although were rarely called into use. The dash looks a bit dated by modern standards – I think the 2018 models just released have addressed this.

The top box is pretty cavernous and effective but also extremely expensive – I got mine thrown in during purchase and that is definitely the way to go. The trend is obviously to get panniers on bikes like this but I wanted to be able to filter through traffic and they don’t hold a full face helmet and also come with a load of ugly racking.

The best accessories I bought were a sat nav mount that goes behind the dash / in front of the windscreen – way better than the handlebar mounted ones. This wasn’t a Triumph accessory. Similarly a rear hugger is a must to protect the rear shock but Triumph don’t even make one! Another word of warning – fitting a scottoiler is a right PITA due to poor access to the vacuum tube behind the engine.

I swapped tyres for PR4 trails last summer. They work great and are wearing much better than the tyres that came on the bike (although I never had any grip problems on those either), although note that you have to go to a slightly different size on the front which isn’t recommended in the manual but is common amongst owners.

The triumph lived outside for the first 18months of it’s life and admirably shows no ill effects today. It has held its value reasonably well over 2 years, helped by the popularity of adv models generally and the fact that it is now well loaded with accessories and hence easy to sell.


WHAT NEXT

I tend to swap bikes every 2 or 3 years as I like to try a range of bikes; the Triumph was very effective and I really like the brand, however I have decided motorbikes should be purchased with the heart, not the brain so I will be swapping it to something a bit more exotic. When in full swing on a nice road the Tiger never failed to make me smile but I never really found myself glancing back fondly when walking away from it.

https://cdn.bcf.44bytes.net/files/dsc_0167.jpg
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Rogerborg
nimbA



Joined: 26 Oct 2010
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PostPosted: 22:10 - 18 Mar 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wait... hang on... this is a motorcycle forum? Eh? Shocked

Nice review. I always had slight regrets about settling for a GS rather than holding out for an XR with that triply goodness.

One thing, have you actually had offers for it, or are you assuming that you'll get what other private sellers are asking?
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Polarbear
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Joined: 24 Feb 2007
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PostPosted: 22:50 - 18 Mar 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Interesting review Thumbs Up
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chickenstrip
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Joined: 06 Dec 2013
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PostPosted: 22:55 - 18 Mar 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Useful review, and nice photo on the Grossglockner Smile
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A100man
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Joined: 19 Aug 2013
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PostPosted: 12:48 - 20 Mar 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Indeed, great review. More exotic eh? Do tell.
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barrkel
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Joined: 30 Jul 2012
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PostPosted: 18:24 - 20 Mar 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

When I spotted the radiator leak on my Brutale that I bought from Triumph Woburn, I brought it back to get it replaced, and I got a loan of a Tiger 800 XRx for a couple of weeks (about 350 miles), so I'll chip in with my own review.

Going from Brutale (exotic, eh?) to the Tiger was like going from a motorcycle to a car. When I got the Brutale back it felt like riding astride a steerable rocket.

Seating is bolt upright, almost as upright as my scooter. Steering on the wide bars takes a lot of motion for not a lot of action. The screen left me feeling disconnected from the road, much more so than my VFR did. The engine felt slow to spin up, and didn't feel like it had significant punch - it was never surprisingly powerful. The traction control kicked in on my commute perhaps 3 times a day, with the various bumps along the road, and felt quite disconcerting - like a random complete loss of power.

Leaning the Tiger over felt odd - because you're bolt upright, it seems like you need to lean over more to make the same radius turn than you do on a bike where you're closer to the roll axis. Combined with the wide bars, the effect was to make riding seem overly exaggerated and under responsive.

I didn't care for the riding modes much - max throttle sensitivity for me, thanks, the Brutale is fine in Sport mode in the rain, and the Tiger isn't nearly as short geared - while I think I used the cruise control once, on the motorway. Would be useful if you're crossing the flat bit of France to get somewhere interesting.

So I concur with buying a bike with your heart rather than your head. The Tiger 800 isn't a bike to fall in love with.
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