Triumph Tiger Explorer

[nhbubba]

Only sort of off-topic: Tiger 800 vs Tiger 800 XC? And do we wish the Explorer were made in a more 'XC' like package?

The XC doesn't appeal to me personally in any way, shape or form. Quite frankly the 1050 would probably be a fine match for me.

Although I've always felt 8-900cc is the perfect size for a motorcycle.

One thing that chaps a little about these Triumphs though is the lack of range. I'm seeing most 800 riders report ~200 miles/tank tops. That kinda sucks. I have to admit I've very quickly grown spoiled by the 250-300 mile range of the wee. Don't know if I can ever go back now.

[Kenn157]

I definitely want comfort. Heated seat ordered. lol! I want the power. The Explorer will probably be my bike of choice when we have Seacoast Rides, DAKS rides, TransLab, Newfoundland etc... I'll be able to store gear like a tent and sleeping bag for wilderness camping. Yes I did say a tent! lol Camping, will be such a new experience for me. Do you get cold in a sleeping bag?

[GearHd6]

With my 800, I'm looking for gas at about the 190-200 mile mark. I have had my bike average around 55 mpg on many occasions.

The 800 is more road based than the XC. XC has the 21" (19" on 800) front wheel and longer travel suspension. It also has a higher seat height which doesn't work out well for me.

[nhbubba]

More road based is cool by me. The truth is I fit this "commuter only ADV poser" mold G-man keeps going on about. And honestly I just don't care.
My 'strom is a low-buck sport-tourer. Dual-sport? Nah. Who you kiddin'!?!

I'm even converting to sport-touring rubber this year.

The 19" front was actually a turnoff. I was (and still am somewhat) concerned about tire availability. You'll never catch me shopping for knobies; I want high-mileage rubber I can highway to work on.

G-man pointed out-and I largely think he was right-that the 19" is better for shitty New England secondary roads. And so far tire availability has been a non-issue. With more of these 'ADV' style bikes coming out with 19" fronts, that should continue to be a non-issue.


55MPG sounds good. Must be the extra 0.8 gal on my DL. I see 300 on the trip between fillups all the time.

[sveesix]

I definitely want comfort. Heated seat ordered. lol! I want the power. The Explorer will probably be my bike of choice when we have Seacoast Rides, DAKS rides, TransLab, Newfoundland etc... I'll be able to store gear like a tent and sleeping bag for wilderness camping. Yes I did say a tent! lol Camping, will be such a new experience for me. Do you get cold in a sleeping bag?

You, camping?

[Kenn157]

You, camping?

its fairly possible..

It all depends on who I go with of course!
I just don't double bag with anyone!

[GearHd6]

I'm with you NHBubba as far as the more road based working for me. I want the ability to occasionally hit some nasty fire roads and not have to worry much. I'm not looking to do the Dakar or anything like that so the all out Adventure bike really isn't for me. Maybe if I was 6' tall I would have looked more at the XC but barely being able to touch the ground on it really turned me off. If it's an all out dirt bike, I'm fine with not being able to touch, but for a mostly road bike, I want to be able to touch the ground with confidence.

My Tiger came with the Pirelli Scorpion Trail tires and I really can't complain about them. They have worked great in the rain, light off roading and I've got 10,000 miles on them so far.

55 mpg doesn't happen on every tank but I'd say it does half the time. I wish the range was a little more. I hate when my dad sits there on his R1200RT and watches me fill up.

[markbvt]

Only sort of off-topic: Tiger 800 vs Tiger 800 XC?

Depends on your purposes. More on this below.

And do we wish the Explorer were made in a more 'XC' like package?

Rumor has it that's coming. Larger gas tank and spoked wheels, to compete with the R1200GSA.

The XC doesn't appeal to me personally in any way, shape or form. Quite frankly the 1050 would probably be a fine match for me.

Maybe you should buy a Tiger 1050 then.

One thing that chaps a little about these Triumphs though is the lack of range. I'm seeing most 800 riders report ~200 miles/tank tops. That kinda sucks. I have to admit I've very quickly grown spoiled by the 250-300 mile range of the wee. Don't know if I can ever go back now.

I liked the range of the Wee a lot too, though I never got it up to 300 miles. But then again, I'm pretty anal about not running the tank empty. I usually filled up the Wee around 220 miles, and I usually fill up the XC when the fuel light comes on, typically around 170 miles or so. At that point there's usually over a gallon left in the tank.

As for Roadie versus XC... if you really have no intention of ever riding off pavement beyond the occasional gravel parking lot, then buy the Roadie (or the Tiger 1050). But if your riding includes not-infrequent dirt/gravel roads, then go for the XC. The 21" wheel just tracks better in loose conditions than the 19" one does -- the 19 tends to float more because the tire is wider. But it's not just on dirt that the 21 on the XC is beneficial -- it also does a great job of smoothing out rough pavement. It's just an awesome bike to ride.

--mark

[nhbubba]

Don't think I've ever come even close to running the thing dry, yet I've been over 300 miles twice. Pumped just over 5 gal to fill on one of those occasions... The other I threw 2 gal in to get me the hell out of Mass and into an area with cheaper gas. Maybe it was nearly dry then, but I don't think so.

The most I've ever put in the tank was 5.164 gal, per the pump receipt.

60% of my fills have been done after 250 miles.

Spoiled I tell you.

[markbvt]

Sounds like you've been getting better-than-average mileage with the Strom. You probably would with the Tiger as well.

Though I do agree, I wish the tank were a little bigger. There's a company in the UK that's working on an auxiliary tank that will mount on the side opposite the muffler, and supposedly the company that makes Safari tanks is working on a large replacement gas tank for the 800.

--mark

[Garandman]

I love the site Ashonbikes. Here's something interesting.

You have to applaud Triumph's directness, first simply for naming the GS as the Tiger Explorer's benchmark and rival, where others shy away or try to wriggle out of any conflict. Then the oft-reported weakness of the GS's shaft drive was homed in on by Triumph in descriptions of its own shaft, in language which you don't have to boil down very far to end up with: our shaft drive is reliable where the GS's isn't. But even that paled in the Explorer's presentation the night before our ride. On the screen popped up a graph of power and torque curves, with lines for what looked like three bikes. And there were, sort of… "These are the curves for the Tiger Explorer, and here are the curves for the customer BMW R1200GS. And here, just above those, are the curves for the R1200GS press bikes…"

http://ashonbikes.com/content/triump...xplorer-review

[Kenn157]

A hopped up "Press Bike"... A lower performance bike being sold to the general public.

[Garandman]

With my 800, I'm looking for gas at about the 190-200 mile mark. I have had my bike average around 55 mpg on many occasions.

The 800 is more road based than the XC. XC has the 21" (19" on 800) front wheel and longer travel suspension. It also has a higher seat height which doesn't work out well for me.

I rode an 800XC today, although I was interested in the street model. Wuz fun.

[GearHd6]

I never test rode the XC basically because the seat height was too high for me. I sat on one on the showroom floor and even with the seat in the lowest position it was still too high to be comfortable for me. I really enjoy the 800 and so far it has worked out for what I want to do. I figure there are some knobby tire options if I want to do some lighter off road riding.

Once I caught wind of the Explorer I was sort of upset that I should have waited another year. Once I saw the Explorer though, I knew I made the right choice with my 800. The Explorer does have some features I wish the 800 had but I'll survive without them.

[Kenn157]

I never test rode the XC basically because the seat height was too high for me. I sat on one on the showroom floor and even with the seat in the lowest position it was still too high to be comfortable for me. I really enjoy the 800 and so far it has worked out for what I want to do. I figure there are some knobby tire options if I want to do some lighter off road riding.

Once I caught wind of the Explorer I was sort of upset that I should have waited another year. Once I saw the Explorer though, I knew I made the right choice with my 800. The Explorer does have some features I wish the 800 had but I'll survive without them.

I've sat on and test rode the XC nice bike but at best I was on the balls of my feet at stops. I wanted the Explorer since I saw it. Got to sit on it at the bike show in NYC. I was pretty much flat footed. I'm going to be going to Newfoundland with DucDave and looking forward to the cruise control! Heated seat in case my arse gets cold looking at the icebergs!

[nhbubba]

Wuz fun.

Seems like saying water is wet.

Any dets?!

[GearHd6]

I've sat on and test rode the XC nice bike but at best I was on the balls of my feet at stops. I wanted the Explorer since I saw it. Got to sit on it at the bike show in NYC. I was pretty much flat footed. I'm going to be going to Newfoundland with DucDave and looking forward to the cruise control! Heated seat in case my arse gets cold looking at the icebergs!

Same here Ken, if not worse. I was on my toes on the lowest seat setting (30" inseam). The Explorer just seemed like an updated 1050 once I saw pictures of it and the 1050 was too big a bike for what I was looking for. I'm not knocking the Explorer, it's a nice bike for sure. The features from it that I wish my 800 had are the ride by wire with the electronic cruise control and the bar mounted switches to scroll through the display. The shaft drive is nice but IMO not needed. I think I have adjusted my chain 3 times in the 10,000 miles I have logged on my 800. I'm good with that.

[Garandman]

Same here Ken, if not worse. I was on my toes on the lowest seat setting (30" inseam). The Explorer just seemed like an updated 1050 once I saw pictures of it and the 1050 was too big a bike for what I was looking for. I'm not knocking the Explorer, it's a nice bike for sure. //

There's the dilemma. The Tiger 800 is a little smaller bike that the DL650 so you basically get more power with no weight penalty, and I think most riders could probably pick one up by themselves on a trail.

Add displacement and horsepower and you get the "wow" factor on acceleration and great two-up capability, but now these 1200's are at 560-575 lbs without any touring gear.

I'm still interested in trying the BMW R1200R and Ninja 1000, lighter bikes with more power. I've ridden an R1200GS and R1200GS-A quite a bit, and even though they are a little bit lighter and feel lighter than they are, trying to keep even semi-knobbies on a bike with that much weight and hp seems to be an exercise in futility.

But if the "Adventure Touring" label hadn't been invented by BMW, all these bikes would still be immensely tractable, flexible, and fun. In a few more years the segment may be like the crossover SUV market, which spans everything from AWD econo wagons to fairly capable AWD machines and literally everything in between. The segment already runs the gamut from the Multistrada to KTM.

[Kenn157]

The Explorer does not have the XC label. I would think the chances of this bike falling over to pick up would be neglable . Hard packed dirt roads is where this guy would live. Not jumping stream or logs on a dirt trail. I wouldn't go off in the woods on it. To heavy and if someone buys the Explorer thinking they can do that is better rider then me or uninformed from the dealer etc...

[markbvt]

The Explorer does not have the XC label. I would think the chances of this bike falling over to pick up would be neglable . Hard packed dirt roads is where this guy would live. Not jumping stream or logs on a dirt trail. I wouldn't go off in the woods on it. To heavy and if someone buys the Explorer thinking they can do that is better rider then me or uninformed from the dealer etc...

Hell, even the 800 XC isn't designed for that level of offroading. I consider it an awesome long-distance dirt-road bike -- the 21" front wheel helps soak up bumpy roads and tracks better in soft conditions, while wider 19" front wheels tend to get a little floaty -- but for trail-riding a true dual-sport (or better yet, a proper dirtbike) makes way more sense.

No way would I ever want to try riding the Explorer in true offroad conditions... and truth be told, even for a dirt-road-focused trip like the Trans-Labrador Highway, I'd choose the 800 XC over the Explorer or R1200GS or Super Tenere without a second thought. What I'd choose the Explorer for, if money were no object, is riding to Alaska, swapping on a set of TKC-80s in Fairbanks, riding up to Prudhoe Bay and back, and then riding back home.

--mark

[Kenn157]

I've not been dirt roading since I was a kid, not counting the DucDave rides where he almost always finds a dirt road. I have no trouble riding the dirt when on my Speed Triple or the Gladius I used to have. I learned to ride on mini blkes and dirt bikes. I'd do the translab ride with the Explorer and the aluminum belly pan and radiator guard and a more aggressive duel purpose tire. Like the Heidenau tire I posted on my Triumph Adventure Group on Facebook.

[nhbubba]

462lbs x 94hp. That can't possibly suck. Now if they could only do something about the price tag.

Can't wait for these things to be in rich supply on the used market.

Great Bay doing their demo rides again this year?

But if the "Adventure Touring" label hadn't been invented by BMW, all these bikes would still be immensely tractable, flexible, and fun. In a few more years the segment may be like the crossover SUV market, which spans everything from AWD econo wagons to fairly capable AWD machines and literally everything in between. The segment already runs the gamut from the Multistrada to KTM.

I agree completely. I'm in love with my 'adventure' bike... even if I never plan to 'adventure'.

[Kenn157]

Great Bay will be doing demo I'm sure.
next weekend they're having an open house 3/17 Meat house BBQ and beer 10a to 4p

[GearHd6]

462lbs x 94hp. That can't possibly suck. Now if they could only do something about the price tag.

That is the 800 specs, and trust me, it doesn't suck at all. I really didn't have a hard time laying out the cash for the bike. I have owned Triumphs in the past and I enjoy the riding experience and the 800 keeps that experience going strong.

Again, I'm not knocking the Explorer, it's just more CC's and weight than I need. My 800 with fully loaded panniers and top box, lets just say, gets into the triple digits very easily and quickly. The "quickly" part is what I like most.

[markbvt]

I'd do the translab ride with the Explorer and the aluminum belly pan and radiator guard and a more aggressive duel purpose tire. Like the Heidenau tire I posted on my Triumph Adventure Group on Facebook.

Oh, don't get me wrong, Kenn, the Explorer can certainly handle a trip like the Trans-Lab, and I'm convinced you're going to love the bike. I was just saying that the XC, with its 21" front wheel and lighter weight, would handle those conditions a bit more effortlessly, hence the reason it would be my choice for that type of trip. But last time I rode the Trans-Lab I did it on my Wee-Strom, and stayed upright the whole time (at least, I did till I made it back to suburban traffic in Maine...). It was just much more of a white-knuckle experience than it was the previous year on my XR650L.

--mark