New Triumph Trophy 1200

[nhbubba]

You mean like the shaft drive Honda NT700V?

Or the 1980's Honda CX500? Or Pacifica?

Popular in Europe, people here stay away in droves. Don't think they will take off until gas prices here are much higher. Those bikes have 6-7 gallon tanks so they can still do 200 miles.

Yeah, exactly like that, except without the suck!

I shopped the NT700V. I never managed a ride on one, but everything I read about or saw from that bike indicated it was not worth what Honda was charging for it.

65 HP x 50 lbft x 560 lbs x >$11k is NOT what I had in mind.

The Tiger 800 is pricey too; more than that Honda out the door once you add bags, I am sure. But at least it delivers nearly 100 hp.

The CX500 and Pacifica are largely before my time. The Pacifica is now so horribly dated that I couldn't imagine it being desirable. Sorry, but I wasn't riding (legally) when Miami Vice was still on TV. And I'm not sure I've ever seen a CX500 in person. (I had to google it to know wtf you were talking about!)

How about bringing back the VFR800? They still make the engine for their new 'adventure' thing and I think they still sell it as the VFR in some markets. Spend a few R&D dollars on a taller screen/bars and a taller reworked screen. Sell it only with bags in a real ST config and better differentiate it from the rest of the sport lineup. Maybe add some lightness.


BTW: Wiki says the NT700v has a 5.2 US gal tank. So I would expect range to be right in line with the Tiger 800 or any 800cc Triumph ST bike I can imagine.

You'd be welcome to try a spin on my Tiger 800 sometime.

Thanks for tempting me! I hear Great Bay has a demo Tiger 800 as well.

Honestly I don't think I want to ride it. I really can't afford to switch bikes right now. Not that a new bike is a good financial move for me right now anyway. But I made my choice with the V-Strom last summer and need to live with it for a couple years for it to make sense. Maybe in that time there will be a suitable stock on the used market. For now I am content not actually knowing what I am or am not missing.

Instead I'll just sit here and render opinions.

[nhbubba]

...the Sprint GT (though rumor has it the Sprint may be going away).

Apparently the salesmen are telling potential buyers this now too.

[markbvt]

Apparently the salesmen are telling potential buyers this now too.

I've been hearing the Tiger 1050 (now apparently renamed the Tiger Sport 1050 and significantly updated for 2013) will be their sport touring offering.

--mark

[nhbubba]

Kinda makes sense.

[caddydaddy]

I've been hearing the Tiger 1050 (now apparently renamed the Tiger Sport 1050 and significantly updated for 2013) will be their sport touring offering.

--mark

And the only one now that they've killed the Sprint ST and GT! I have a rare bike now!

[Garandman]

/Thanks for tempting me! I hear Great Bay has a demo Tiger 800 as well.

Honestly I don't think I want to ride it. I really can't afford to switch bikes right now. Not that a new bike is a good financial move for me right now anyway. But I made my choice with the V-Strom last summer and need to live with it for a couple years for it to make sense. Maybe in that time there will be a suitable stock on the used market. For now I am content not actually knowing what I am or am not missing./

Go ahead and ride it. I rode my V-Strom back-to-back on the identical route so I had a good feel for the differences. It's shorter than the V-Strom, a bit lighter, a bit more flickable, a bit faster, a bit worse mpg, better suspension than the stock DL650, and has some neat features like a quickly height adjustable seat. And it has a Triumph nameplate so you're not riding the plebeian DL650.....Great Bay quoted $12,000 with ABS, heated grips, handguards, but no bags for the street version or $1,000 more for the XC version.

I was going to go to North River or Second Wind to test ride a Tiger 1050 when I found the used one. I think you'll see more 800's pop up used now that the Explorer is out and the new water-cooled BMW and KTM will be out.

'13 Tiger 105o has been photographed a few times.

[nhbubba]

That post of mine is almost 4 months old. That's long enough for me to fall in and out of love lust with 5 or 6 bikes already.

Got serious about seeking out a demo later this summer, but struck out at Great Bay. The best they could do is let me sit on the XC they had on the floor. I do not like the XC very much at all, most especially for the money.

That Tiger 1050 spy-shot seems eerily like the Suzi Bandit 1200 S to me for some reason.

[markbvt]

Got serious about seeking out a demo later this summer, but struck out at Great Bay. The best they could do is let me sit on the XC they had on the floor. I do not like the XC very much at all, most especially for the money.

But you say that from only sitting on it? What didn't you like about it? You do realize, I assume, that virtually everything is adjustable?

--mark

[nhbubba]

Mostly the price, really.

I know it's harsh to discredit a bike without riding it. I owe the machine a ride... but I am in no hurry. Riding home I was reminded how well the 'Strom suits me.

I also have no business on an XC. It is the wrong bike for me. 'Roadie' all the way.

[markbvt]

Having gone from a Wee-Strom to an XC, I will say that the extra cost is well worth it. The Wee-Strom is a great bike objectively, but the XC is a substantially better bike, and aside from the objective measures, there's also the subjective -- the Tiger just has way more personality than the Strom, and it's a lot more fun to ride.

That subjective measure will vary among different people, of course. I've met a few people who don't get the subjective sense at all -- for them, a motorcycle is just a machine, the only thing that matters is the objective measure, and they've got no problem trading the bike in without a second thought when the opportunity arises to get something better. And I know people who find it difficult to get rid of any bike because every one of them develops a personality of its own and therefore a sentimental attachment. How important that subjective side of things is to you I have no idea, but the Tiger definitely appeals to it more than the Wee does.

--mark