Another critical error in judgement...

I had been looking for a bike to augment the stable for a little while now, especially as it looks like I'll be traveling to the Bay Area a lot for work and a bike works better in traffic down there. Initially I was doing my usual routine of looking for cheap & cheerful E36 M3, but I tired very quickly of looking at other people's projects. I have enough of my own already. So I hit up the only two dealers in the area that will happily let you test ride a bike and had decent reviews, namely the local Triumph and BMW dealers.

BMW experience was so-so, salesman there pretty much tried to steer me to the cheapest bike they had rather than what I needed. In contrast, the sales guy at the Triumph dealership (who also happened to be one of the owners) was happy to listen and discuss the various options that he thought would be suitable. Amazing on how a salesman having (presumably) an off day was able to steer this serial BMW owner over to the competition...

Anyway, I digress. The Triumph dealer was happy to let me take out the demo bikes we thought were suitable for my needs (a Trophy SE and a Tiger 800 - I also wanted to try a Bonneville but they advised against it due to my expected use, plus they'd just sold their Bonnie demo bike). So after some rumination after the test rides, I signed the purchase order for this beauty yesterday:

It's a 2014 Tiger 800 XC that used to be the dealer's demo bike. I do get the full warranty for it as it's sold as a new bike, but between the ex-demo discount and another incentive from Triumph plus another $400 discount on the hard bags for this bike, I think I got a pretty decent deal. Doc fees in Nevada tend to be stupidly high (around $500) so that eats up some of the savings but the base price for the bike was less than I've seen used 2014s being advertised for and those didn't include the bags either, nor do they have any warranty left.

It'll be roughly two weeks until I actually get the bike as they'll have to order in a couple of dealer installed extras and I'll also be out of town a lot, but that should work out pretty well.

Nice! Welcome to the triple club. I love my 955i tiger.

Sweet! Tis the season :)

Sweet. I really miss the sound of my 955i Daytona

Sweet. Seems like a very nice critical error in judgement to me. After getting the Kat, I was worried about going to the dealer, as I might have a strong want for a new bike. New bike prices were enough to cure that for me.

In reply to 81cpcamaro:

Yeah, I got a definite "HFM?" with new bike prices. The nice part about this bike is that it's technically new, but with the ex-demo discounts and other gear discounts, the out the door price including all fees and sales tax is still less than list price on a brand new one.

I could never wait two weeks. I would burst. The 4 days it took for me to get the XR was excruciating.

It helps that I'm out of town for most of the time.

And we can haz better photo:

I have the side cases as well, but normally don't have them on if the bike's in the garage.

So... Where is your review after a few days with the new bike?

I looked at them before I bought the GS in '14. I really liked the motor and the look of the thing but the used market coughed up a BMW so that's what I ended up with.

Since you have had a GS, I'm interested to see how this bike compares to your expectations.

Love a big Dual Sport/Adventure Tourer and the Tiger has always looked good.

Enjoy it!

In reply to Huckleberry:

Not much to report (yet) - I took it out for one decently long run, which confirmed that the guys on advrider were right about the quality of the seat (it needs help, badly) and that the grip diameter is too small for my hands to ride it comfortably for longer distances.

Currently trying to play with an Airhawk cushion to see if that helps (so far, not much, but I probably need to experiment with the air pressure in it) and I got some grip buddies to help with the diameter of the grips. Oh, and I changed the oil - probably unnecessary, but more for peace of mind with it having been a demo bike and all that.

Schrödinger's Flight Service wrote: Love a big Dual Sport/Adventure Tourer and the Tiger has always looked good. Enjoy it!

I am, thanks!

One thing I really liked about it is that it's a reasonably sized bike. Most of the longer distance capable Adventure Tourers are Yuuuuuge (like the 1150/1200 GS) and while this one is tall, it's also very narrow and comparatively lightweight.

In reply to BoxheadTim:

That is why I loved my Gran Canyon. I am thinking of an African Twin may be the next one for me. I like the idea of the VFR1200X, but let's be honest. I have Impulse Throttle Control Issues and need a long travel suspension with 125 hp like a hole in the head. Which I would probably create.

I like these bikes for their Urban capability as much if not more than their SUV appeal.

In reply to Schrödinger's Flight Service:

There's a Gran Canyon for sale on ADV right now that I think I want... enable me? Sorry for threadjack.

BoxheadTim wrote: One thing I really liked about it is that it's a reasonably sized bike. Most of the longer distance capable Adventure Tourers are Yuuuuuge (like the 1150/1200 GS) and while this one is tall, it's also very narrow and comparatively lightweight.

That is exactly how I feel about the S1000XR. It's tall, narrow and reasonably light at just over 500lbs wet (compared to the R1200GSA @ 650!!). It's actually better confidence-wise on normal dirt/gravel roads than the GSA was just because it's light and easy to manhandle. It runs me out of my comfort zone though pretty quick when the dirt gets wet. Fat sticky street tires are verrry skittish in minor mud/sand of any kind.

Have you looked at Sargent or Corbin seats? I've had good luck with both on previous bikes that needed seat upgrades. The Corbin transformed my VFR... the Sargent made the GS Adv from a 300 miler to an all day ride - which was huuuge because the damn thing would go 340 miles to a tank and let me only have to stop for gas instead of trying to get blood back in my legs every 275 mi. I got both seats used from classified ads for less than half the new part price.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: In reply to Schrödinger's Flight Service: There's a Gran Canyon for sale on ADV right now that I think I want... enable me? Sorry for threadjack.

Honda TransAlp with a Ducati 900SS motor tuned for mid-range torque.

It is an easy bike to live with. Put on a set of slip ons and tune the ECU and forget it. It was the Multistrada before the Multistrada. It is a backroad and urban weapn. It will embarrass sport bikes on anything but perfect asphalt.

It is a fun bike. Not super fast, but quick, comfortable, forgiving, and predictable.

Great looking bike. Much more attractive than the Multistrada.

Huckleberry wrote: Have you looked at Sargent or Corbin seats? I've had good luck with both on previous bikes that needed seat upgrades. The Corbin transformed my VFR... the Sargent made the GS Adv from a 300 miler to an all day ride - which was huuuge because the damn thing would go 340 miles to a tank and let me only have to stop for gas instead of trying to get blood back in my legs every 275 mi. I got both seats used from classified ads for less than half the new part price.

I have - Sargent is the only company that makes a two-piece seat with the height adjustable rider's seat. However Corbin has a custom seat ride-in ride-out service at their factory in Hollister. I'm hoping I can make the stock seat bearable enough to ride the bike down there and have a seat made, but so far that looks unlikely.

I've been looking for used Sargents but so far, no luck.

In reply to DaveEstey:

Unless you are paying cash for the Cagiva, I would go the route Tim went.

Getting new old stock is a great bargain and with a full warranty, that is a peace of mind you can't beat.

I give him mucho kudos for his choice.

Tim... give these guys a look. http://www.meancitycycles.com/

I came across them in a thread on ADVRider talking about seats. They have a big business doing Harley stuff but list all makes and have good reviews. They mod your seat or a spare you pick up cheap and have a bunch of levels but the most expensive is under $300. If you have priced custom seats - that's a steal for one made for your own personal arse.

!!!NMNA!!! Just saw someone post about it that had a good experience and then someone else seconded it. Both were non-hardley sport tourers.

In reply to Huckleberry:

Thanks, I will. Provided I can rustle up a spare seat.

Well, that didn't take long. First bunch of "mods" done.

Battery Tender connection hooked up:

Grip buddy test fitted:

Got lucky on the Sargent front - the dealer I bought the bike from had a display model Sargent that they were happy to let got at a discount. Still an expensive seat, but any nickel counts .

The difference between the Sargent and the OEM seat is night and day. I had a chance to take out the bike for a longer run last weekend. Not quite as long as the first run, but still about 100m and I was actually able to walk unaided afterwards. Unfortunately the OEM seat was so bad for me that I couldn't really wait to get a custom seat made if I wanted to use the bike pretty soon. Of course now the weather has turned crappy again...

This is about as far as I got on the last ride:

That's the Eastern approach to Ebbetts Pass, one of the really nice, slightly out of the way driving and riding roads in this part of the Sierra. Still a ton of snow up there so the road's closed pretty far from the pass, but it's a nice road there and hardly any traffic.

My brother has one of the first 800XC imported. He's put a bunch of miles on it and still loves it. I've ridden it a bit on dirt and pavement and I like it too. Nice choice.