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The Triumph Tiger 800 is more exciting, its look, sound and feel stimulating my lizard brain, that primitive nerve center of emotion. The Tiger is also more capable offroad—such an important consideration for me that I’d probably pony up the extra dough for an 800XC.
On the other hand, the Suzuki V-Strom 650 ABS is more practical. It’s cheaper, it’ll go farther on a tank of gas, it’s more comfortable for the long-haul with or without a passenger, it’s supported by a larger dealer network and the aftermarket offerings are much broader and deeper. If, as they say, we buy with our hearts and justify with our minds, I’m sure it wouldn’t be too hard to convince myself that the Tiger 800 is the better choice.
Before I buy another new bike I'll test ride one. But I had a chance to ride a BMW 800 in a track session at NJMP and was underwhelmed. Yes, it's faster and has more torque in the mid-range, but the V-Strom felt more agile and that's a pretty big mpg hit for such a small boost in performance. The 800's may be "too big to be small and too small to be big."