Sleepy Weasel
01-19-2009, 07:47 PM
01/17/09...
Triumph Tiger 1050 impressions.
A quick test ride confirmed what a week or so of research had already hinted at. This was the bike I was looking for. After last May's road trip to Florida & back, the SV650 clearly was not a bike I cared to ride more than 400 miles in a day, much less two 650 mile days back to back. Strange, but I didn't remember smoking or drinking anything when I came up with the plan to ride the whole 1300 miles straight through in under 24 hours.
The Tiger, despite putting me on my toes at stop lights, was instantly comfortable. It even somehow felt familiar, like I'd managed to have an imaginative tactile precognition of what I was looking for before I went looking. The time between the test ride and leaving the dealer to bring her home seemed entirely too long, partly because I forgot my checkbook, and had to run back home. Bugger!
A quick 50 mile roundtrip on the SV and I was back at the dealer. My right hip got a little sharp pain in it as I got off the highway, probably the SV's way of saying, "I know what you did... I saw you and that little English tart!"
So then a quick signature on the check, a thumbprint in my own blood at the bottom of the contract, something about my first born, I think I might have seen Satan peeking out of the "Employees Only" door to the service bay... and the Tiger was mine. Ok, maybe that was just one of the mechanics, but I definitely smelled brimstone. Then a quick ride home to peel off the cold weather layers from the morning's breakfast ride to the Blue Hangar and grab my mesh jacket. Might as well feed the dog... he looks hungry.
One and a half hours later as I crossed the Lake Ray Roberts Dam I thought maybe I should have kept the heavy jacket at least. It turns out the short windscreen on the Tiger keeps the brunt of the wind's force off of you, but you still get plenty of wind chill. Come summer, it's nice to know I'll still get plenty of airflow, but for January, I'm already wondering who makes a nice screen for the Tiger. Note to self...
Day two, morning plans with family keep me from touching the bike until 3:30 in the afternoon. Stupid family! Grumble grumble grumble... A little time off the bike gives me a chance to realize my calves are a little sore from standing on my toes. Word on the street says that after a couple thousand miles, the suspension will settle in, and it won't sit quite so tall. I've resolved to wait it out, and maybe modify my seating position to just one foot down flat, with the other left on the peg in the meantime.
Today I head out with a heavier jacket, and don't have any complaints. Still, I have to be at work tomorrow, so I cut the ride short, though I remember to test the ABS. I only manage to clamp down hard enough to engage the ABS once. That was a real quick stop, especially for tires that only have two relatively short rides on them. I remember the last time that I had to panic brake on the SV, and hearing the front tire chirp as I locked it for a moment. I wasn't going to miss that. The long inverted forks on the Tiger have a bit of dive to them, but nothing too dramatic. Somehow I can't remember anything about where I've been, just that I had a great time while I was there.
Day three, I have to go to work. It's dark out, and the ride in is my first glimpse of the Tiger's headlights. High-beam is ok, but the low beam has a very sharp upper cut-off, beyond which I can see jack squat. Within that limit, it's bright enough, but the cut-off is way too close to me. I'll have to check and see how to adjust the angle. After work, I'm back out on the road for a couple of hours. Again, impeccable manners on all surfaces, high speed, low speed, straight, or curves, the Tiger just imparts this sense of comfort and confidence. I can't believe it's 70 pounds heavier than the SV. I was always happy with the SV650, so much so that I'd bought two of them. I never realized what a harsh sloppy ride it was until I got on the Tiger. Even if the seating positions were identical, the Tiger was always going to feel better. Money well spent, I say. I remembered to call the Suzuki dealer, tell them to stop looking for an ABS V-Strom for me, and get my deposit back. I still don't know how Triumph managed to make this Tiger 1050 lighter than the DL650.
So I've been wanting Kung Pao chicken all day. Don't ask... I stop off for some Chinese food and start thinking this is the first bike I've had that needs a name. Sure, I liked all the others, but this one really speaks to me. Hmmm, I'll have to mull that one over a bit. What's a good British name? Something that suits her...
As the Kung Pao settles, I head home, and it comes to me. I'll call her "Rose." I imagine it's a bit odd, as she's shiny black, and how many black roses have you seen? No, the name made sense to me, because I was reminded of the British sitcom from the early '90's, "Keeping Up Appearances."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeping_Up_Appearances
So why Rose? Well, Rose is the trampy sister, always wearing some little black dress that's too short for the comfort of her uppity sister Hyacinth, always showing a bit too much leg for the vicar's comfort, and more than anything, she's not shy about letting the lads know she's easy to handle. Oh, that's every bit the Tiger's personality, though at this point my Rose hasn't been around the block as many times as the one on the show.
I've got a longer chain guard on order from Pat Walsh Designs. The plastic stocker is too short, and all the Tiger-heads say it allows the chain to sling oil on the bodywork. This aluminum guard is 3 inches longer, and 1/2 an inch wider, and comes highly recommended.
http://www.patwalshdesigns.com/triumph.html
I've also got the guys at Grif's here in Lewisville looking for a Zero Gravity Double Bubble screen for me. Their distrubutor gave them a "Huh? What's a Triumph?" even when I gave them the part number, so Grif Jr is going to see if he can work stright through Zero G. Grif Jr & Sr have always been easy to work with, so even if I can find a little better deal online, it won't be SO much better that I can't afford to support these guys. Still, I'm betting he comes up with something reasonable.
Anyway, the Double Bubble is about 2" taller than stock, so we'll see how that works out. If I still get too much air for winter, it might make a decent summer shield, and I know there are taller/wider models out there.
I know, I know, this thread is useless without pics. As I've done my first few days in secret, there's nobody to take pics. I did find a couple of threads over on Adventure Rider from a girl who has one just like mine, though she's running a tinted aftermarket screen. I'm thinking I'll stick with clear screens to make it a little easier to run a camera. For now, if you want pics, look at these, but pretend the scenery is flatter and more Texafied.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=369666
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=386151
And that's day three. G'night, Rose.
Triumph Tiger 1050 impressions.
A quick test ride confirmed what a week or so of research had already hinted at. This was the bike I was looking for. After last May's road trip to Florida & back, the SV650 clearly was not a bike I cared to ride more than 400 miles in a day, much less two 650 mile days back to back. Strange, but I didn't remember smoking or drinking anything when I came up with the plan to ride the whole 1300 miles straight through in under 24 hours.
The Tiger, despite putting me on my toes at stop lights, was instantly comfortable. It even somehow felt familiar, like I'd managed to have an imaginative tactile precognition of what I was looking for before I went looking. The time between the test ride and leaving the dealer to bring her home seemed entirely too long, partly because I forgot my checkbook, and had to run back home. Bugger!
A quick 50 mile roundtrip on the SV and I was back at the dealer. My right hip got a little sharp pain in it as I got off the highway, probably the SV's way of saying, "I know what you did... I saw you and that little English tart!"
So then a quick signature on the check, a thumbprint in my own blood at the bottom of the contract, something about my first born, I think I might have seen Satan peeking out of the "Employees Only" door to the service bay... and the Tiger was mine. Ok, maybe that was just one of the mechanics, but I definitely smelled brimstone. Then a quick ride home to peel off the cold weather layers from the morning's breakfast ride to the Blue Hangar and grab my mesh jacket. Might as well feed the dog... he looks hungry.
One and a half hours later as I crossed the Lake Ray Roberts Dam I thought maybe I should have kept the heavy jacket at least. It turns out the short windscreen on the Tiger keeps the brunt of the wind's force off of you, but you still get plenty of wind chill. Come summer, it's nice to know I'll still get plenty of airflow, but for January, I'm already wondering who makes a nice screen for the Tiger. Note to self...
Day two, morning plans with family keep me from touching the bike until 3:30 in the afternoon. Stupid family! Grumble grumble grumble... A little time off the bike gives me a chance to realize my calves are a little sore from standing on my toes. Word on the street says that after a couple thousand miles, the suspension will settle in, and it won't sit quite so tall. I've resolved to wait it out, and maybe modify my seating position to just one foot down flat, with the other left on the peg in the meantime.
Today I head out with a heavier jacket, and don't have any complaints. Still, I have to be at work tomorrow, so I cut the ride short, though I remember to test the ABS. I only manage to clamp down hard enough to engage the ABS once. That was a real quick stop, especially for tires that only have two relatively short rides on them. I remember the last time that I had to panic brake on the SV, and hearing the front tire chirp as I locked it for a moment. I wasn't going to miss that. The long inverted forks on the Tiger have a bit of dive to them, but nothing too dramatic. Somehow I can't remember anything about where I've been, just that I had a great time while I was there.
Day three, I have to go to work. It's dark out, and the ride in is my first glimpse of the Tiger's headlights. High-beam is ok, but the low beam has a very sharp upper cut-off, beyond which I can see jack squat. Within that limit, it's bright enough, but the cut-off is way too close to me. I'll have to check and see how to adjust the angle. After work, I'm back out on the road for a couple of hours. Again, impeccable manners on all surfaces, high speed, low speed, straight, or curves, the Tiger just imparts this sense of comfort and confidence. I can't believe it's 70 pounds heavier than the SV. I was always happy with the SV650, so much so that I'd bought two of them. I never realized what a harsh sloppy ride it was until I got on the Tiger. Even if the seating positions were identical, the Tiger was always going to feel better. Money well spent, I say. I remembered to call the Suzuki dealer, tell them to stop looking for an ABS V-Strom for me, and get my deposit back. I still don't know how Triumph managed to make this Tiger 1050 lighter than the DL650.
So I've been wanting Kung Pao chicken all day. Don't ask... I stop off for some Chinese food and start thinking this is the first bike I've had that needs a name. Sure, I liked all the others, but this one really speaks to me. Hmmm, I'll have to mull that one over a bit. What's a good British name? Something that suits her...
As the Kung Pao settles, I head home, and it comes to me. I'll call her "Rose." I imagine it's a bit odd, as she's shiny black, and how many black roses have you seen? No, the name made sense to me, because I was reminded of the British sitcom from the early '90's, "Keeping Up Appearances."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeping_Up_Appearances
So why Rose? Well, Rose is the trampy sister, always wearing some little black dress that's too short for the comfort of her uppity sister Hyacinth, always showing a bit too much leg for the vicar's comfort, and more than anything, she's not shy about letting the lads know she's easy to handle. Oh, that's every bit the Tiger's personality, though at this point my Rose hasn't been around the block as many times as the one on the show.
I've got a longer chain guard on order from Pat Walsh Designs. The plastic stocker is too short, and all the Tiger-heads say it allows the chain to sling oil on the bodywork. This aluminum guard is 3 inches longer, and 1/2 an inch wider, and comes highly recommended.
http://www.patwalshdesigns.com/triumph.html
I've also got the guys at Grif's here in Lewisville looking for a Zero Gravity Double Bubble screen for me. Their distrubutor gave them a "Huh? What's a Triumph?" even when I gave them the part number, so Grif Jr is going to see if he can work stright through Zero G. Grif Jr & Sr have always been easy to work with, so even if I can find a little better deal online, it won't be SO much better that I can't afford to support these guys. Still, I'm betting he comes up with something reasonable.
Anyway, the Double Bubble is about 2" taller than stock, so we'll see how that works out. If I still get too much air for winter, it might make a decent summer shield, and I know there are taller/wider models out there.
I know, I know, this thread is useless without pics. As I've done my first few days in secret, there's nobody to take pics. I did find a couple of threads over on Adventure Rider from a girl who has one just like mine, though she's running a tinted aftermarket screen. I'm thinking I'll stick with clear screens to make it a little easier to run a camera. For now, if you want pics, look at these, but pretend the scenery is flatter and more Texafied.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=369666
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=386151
And that's day three. G'night, Rose.