Triumph Tiger 800 XCx

[Grumpy Goat]

Yesterday I took a bike like this one for a 2-hour test ride and had a great time.

   

I rode this one as a proxy for the one I may be interested in, which is in Oklahoma City.

One thing that really struck me was how much of a sport bike our RSs are after I got on my bike for the ride home. For one thing it seemed low and compact, and even the handlebars seemed like crotch rocket clip-ons. The handling was so much more precise and of course the power had me grinning in my helmet. I thought to myself, good thing I don't have an S1000RR to ride home after riding the Tiger as I would surely get a ticket. I could have got a ticket with the RS! On top of that it was a nice time for a ride with temps of about 72 deg.F.

So - how was the Tiger? It was very nice ... a different bike from the RS, that's for sure and what it does it does very well. The engine was superb - smooth and powerful enough for anything I'd need. The WP suspension was also quite good although I did not go over anything more serious than bumpy roads and train tracks. The gearbox was smooth if a bit rubbery with no definite click (or clunk) so there was no feedback on whether the gear change was successful. That said, the gear changes were very smooth and not at all jerky. There was zero clunk into first, and neutral was not hard to find. The RS gearbox is a lot more precise and with good feedback.

The front brakes are 308 mm floating discs and two-piston Nissin calipers, while the 255 mm rear disc has a single-pot caliper. They do an adequate job of stopping the bike which weighs 474 lb with a 200 lb rider - they are not in the same league as our Brembos, that's for sure. Had one half-panic stop behind a female driver who stopped short after deciding her contact car could not go through the mid-size space between a car in the next lane and the curb on the other side. I applied both brakes fairly hard and the bike continued to proceed (without any lockup or action of the on-board ABS) as if it was going to hit the car. It didn't. I could not help but compare that experience with my RS, which would have stopped pretty quickly with the same application of braking force despite the 50 lb weight penalty. I can only imagine hard stopping with a pillion or a full moto-camping load might have some drama. So, brakes are a weak point of the chassis.

Handling of the bike was excellent, and while some may say that it is a little top-heavy, I had no such experience. Cornering tip-in was great, especially for a bike of this type, and that is likely because the rake on these Tigers are a little more vertical than others in the class. Powering out of corners was very nice thanks to the superb triple. I was also impressed by the cornering feel of the tires which were not street tires but are probably 80-20 blocky tread tires - didn't note the name, sorry. On the street the 21" front wheel and 17" rear wheel felt no different fro normal to me. Handlebars are comfortable and gives great steering mechanical advantage. This bike had a narrow and tall Puig adjustable windshield fitted which was adequate in the lower position and in the upper position produced irritating buffeting at the top of my helmet. I had to stop to lower it back down. Poor windshield for this bike.

On the handlebars, there are two more weak points of this bike - the mirror mounts are crap, plain and simple. The bottom of the stalk is threaded and simply screws into a base on the handlebar with no locknut. This means that when tightened to stalk is at a wrong angle (too far forward) to the handlebar, and not the same as for the right side. As a consequence of all of this, the left mirror is either improperly adjusted or simply swings backwards due to wind force. Switch gear is also not as good as on our bikes and the more often used indicator switch has a long travel left or right with a very rubbery feeling cancelling press. What's with this rubbery feel in the switch and gearbox?

Engine guards are not fitted to the XC but small ones come with the XCx I am considering. Either way additional bars would need to be fitted to provide good protection for the front end in the event of a fall. The pillion footpegs are in a good position per my wife, but they have a critical flaw - they are welded to the rear sub-frame so that if they are bent they cannot be replaced, and could twist the sub-frame.

So in summary - a very nice and capable bike, that would be a great compliment to my RS. I could ride it to tour, moto-camp, go on adventures and also commute to work. And it looks nicer than its GS competitor.

[MrVvrroomm]

There are some spectacular deals to be had on Gen2 and possibly Gen3 DL650s too, V-Stroms.

Dawn and I had a pair of Gen1s. We put a lot of miles on them. They cost virtually zero to ride. Oil & tires. They don't do anything perfectly, but they do everything pretty well.

[Grumpy Goat]

There are some spectacular deals to be had on Gen2 and possibly Gen3 DL650s too, V-Stroms.

Dawn and I had a pair of Gen1s. We put a lot of miles on them. They cost virtually zero to ride. Oil & tires. They don't do anything perfectly, but they do everything pretty well.

Thanks for the tips Bruce. I was looking at a 2014 VStrom some time late last year but that sold before I could get to look at it. I think the DL650 would be too much off-road focused for what I want to do with it. After riding this Triumph I think I want something with similar punch.

[MrVvrroomm]

I put 40K miles on my '06 V-Strom. I'm not an offroad guy. The only time it ever left pavement was if I mistakenly went down a road where pavement ended. Then I turned around.

[runnerhiker]

These Tigers are very well equipped with electronics - TFT display, cruise control, heated grips, ride modes, etc, etc. All good things. Today's chain drives with o-rings are very low maintenance. The selection of road going tires for the 19" or 21" front wheel (I don't which one your bike might have) will be extremely limited, but I guess your test ride experience was good with 80/20 trail tires.

I'd say it looks good, I hope it works out for you. I am delighted with my 2nd bike, the S1000 XR.

[Grumpy Goat]

I put 40K miles on my '06 V-Strom. I'm not an offroad guy. The only time it ever left pavement was if I mistakenly went down a road where pavement ended. Then I turned around.

Hehehe ... kinda sounds like me, although I have watched so many YouTube videos of people riding offroad to get to really nice places for motocamping or just visiting, that I think that going offroad is calling me. I could not care less about the actual riding offroad per se ... all about the destination for me.

I do like the look of V-Stroms though. Was it the 650 or the 1000 you had? Sounds like it might have been the VStrom 1000 ...? The lack of cruise is a concern.

I just note in my above message when I said the DL650 was too much offroad for me, I was actually confusing the DL650 (which is a VStrom) with the Kawasaki KLR 650 - that is the one that I think is too off-road biased for my liking. Plus I think its ugly.

[Grumpy Goat]

These Tigers are very well equipped with electronics - TFT display, cruise control, heated grips, ride modes, etc, etc. All good things. Today's chain drives with o-rings are very low maintenance. The selection of road going tires for the 19" or 21" front wheel (I don't which one your bike might have) will be extremely limited, but I guess your test ride experience was good with 80/20 trail tires.

I'd say it looks good, I hope it works out for you. I am delighted with my 2nd bike, the S1000 XR.

Thanks Ron. Yes, the electronics is one thing that attracts me and also scares me at the same time. I keep thinking about British electronics (think Lucas) and get nervous, but then I own a fully electronics-equipped BMW and I get some perspective. I don't see the tire selection as being an issue for me and my capability at all.

The S1000XR must be a blast and also a nice contrast from the RS. The 2016 S1000XR was the bike I was almost ready to buy when I realized that I would not be able to live with it for long distance travel due to buzziness in the handlebars and an engine that revved a little to high for my liking at cruising speed.

[Duccrazydave]

The 2020 big V-Strom has cruise control, according to the website. When Suzuki was still bringing demo bikes to VIR, Kent and I were testing everything, I liked the big Strom, but noticed a typical FI neutral throttle hunting. That was really the only issue. Both the 650 and 1000 have great engines and surely are reliable, being the proven platform that they are. Thanks for all of the detail of your Triumph demo, GG!

[Grumpy Goat]

The 2020 big V-Strom has cruise control, according to the website. When Suzuki was still bringing demo bikes to VIR, Kent and I were testing everything, I liked the big Strom, but noticed a typical FI neutral throttle hunting. That was really the only issue. Both the 650 and 1000 have great engines and surely are reliable, being the proven platform that they are. Thanks for all of the detail of your Triumph demo, GG!

Thanks Dave. hope it was useful. Yes, I was aware that the big VStrom had cruise but I think I am looking for something smaller / cheaper. These middleweight AVD bikes have a good reputation off road (easier to handle and more agile) and so long as it can keep up on the highway then it is probably the way to go for me.

[BobAin'tStoppin']

My 2006 trip to Alaska was with a buddy on a Wee-Strom. He loved that thing until he totaled is 300 miles from the end of our ride. Then he bought another one. Great bike, but I never got to ride it. The guy ran a whole tank of gas forgetting to shift into top gear. That's how smooth they are. Everything I've heard is that the 650 is a better bike than the 1000, but that may be old info.

[Ray]

My 2006 trip to Alaska was with a buddy on a Wee-Strom. He loved that thing... Everything I've heard is that the 650 is a better bike than the 1000, but that may be old info.

GG- good to see your enjoyment of motorcycles has a rough and dirty side.

If you're really interested in off-pavement travel for camping, and a bike to complement your RS, lighter is usually better, easier, and a lot less expensive.

Anytime the dealer tries to sell you a winch and a lift for your bike, you should suspect you are overdoing it.

Given my enjoyment of BMW engineering, I've worked hard to get into the GS/GSA spirit, but even with my size and strength, my talent at wheelying and bunnyhopping the really heavy stuff sucks; the lighter bikes are much more forgiving (and easier to repair). (By the way, this from a guy who cracked an oil filter cover on his new 1986 K100C trying to wheely it up the half-dozen concrete step to his front porch.)

As I have found - even with fire roads, on my current 510-pound beast that is the RS, it only takes one big tree across the road to turn me around. A little frustrating, as a smaller motocross bike could have slipped up and around the tiny space between the trunk of the tree and the embankment, with little effort - or dragged under the gap between the tree and road. (I've been looking for spaces in the garage to hide a KTM 250 XC-F.)

You might have read in the August and September issues of the MON the article by Jocelin Snow and the head-to-head competition between the 310 and 1250 GS through 16 challenges. Weren't you thinking of adding a 310 to the garage? Think of how much money you'd save in bike, parts, gas, etc. Think of how many weekend camping trips that money would fund.

On the other hand, if you're looking at weekend travels to some dirt or gravel roads without steep hills, and much of the mileage will be on the highway where you love the comfort and carrying power of the 1200, you can always save even more money and equip the RS with a skid plate, radiator guard, and perhaps some of those semi-knobby "adventure" tires. 5 inches of suspension travel is plenty, if you don't go crazy.

If you're really interested in some back-country camping, here's a post from a pretty talented rider and photographer (RTWPaul.com), who has evolved from "Adventure" to dirt bikes as he travels the world the last 9 years since his bike accident and stroke. (Hint - his website has packing lists for round-the-world travel for 40 liter and 70 liters.)

The video - I believe shot in the White Tank Mountains - shows off his KTM 500 EXC with 18 kg (40 pounds) of kit in 60 liters.


Of course, I'm also reminded of a world traveller who outfitted his liter superbike with luggage and outrode other riders through some of the sand of northern Afica. In the end, one should go with what makes them comfortable.

Thanks for taking our minds off the day-to-day(-to-day-to-day...) that SARS-CoV-2 has imposed.

[Grumpy Goat]

If you're really interested in off-pavement travel for camping, and a bike to complement your RS, lighter is usually better, easier, and a lot less expensive.

Yes, that is certainly what I have heard. Less expense is always good too.

(By the way, this from a guy who cracked an oil filter cover on his new 1986 K100C trying to wheely it up the half-dozen concrete step to his front porch.)

WOW! I am impressed at the attempt although not the crash.

You might have read in the August and September issues of the MON the article by Jocelin Snow and the head-to-head competition between the 310 and 1250 GS through 16 challenges. Weren't you thinking of adding a 310 to the garage? Think of how much money you'd save in bike, parts, gas, etc. Think of how many weekend camping trips that money would fund.

I did read that article as I typically do every article in the BMW ON Magazine. The 310 acquitted itself very well.

I did take a 310R (not the baby GS version) for a test ride just to see what a 300cc inexpensive BMW was like, and while it was great it was a little weak on the highway. It would be a lower cost BMW alternative indeed as there is not much to it and what there is, is easy to reach.

If you're really interested in some back-country camping, here's a post from a pretty talented rider and photographer (RTWPaul.com), who has evolved from "Adventure" to dirt bikes as he travels the world the last 9 years since his bike accident and stroke. (Hint - his website has packing lists for round-the-world travel for 40 liter and 70 liters.)

The video - I believe shot in the White Tank Mountains - shows off his KTM 500 EXC with 18 kg (40 pounds) of kit in 60 liters.

Thanks for the link. I will have a look later on. I am pretty well squared away when it comes to what to bring, although if I start going on BDR trips my packing would have to change, and be less luxury oriented. But there is a lower probability of that happening. One of the concerns I have is crashing and being stranded in the middle of nowhere, and away from quick emergency response and cell coverage (am aware of satellite communicators).

Of course, I'm also reminded of a world traveller who outfitted his liter superbike with luggage and outrode other riders through some of the sand of northern Afica. In the end, one should go with what makes them comfortable.

Sounds like Teapot One; I am a subscriber.

[MrVvrroomm]

Don't buy a 310 GS. The bike is a toy, literally.

Dawn rode one in Romania in 2018. It was a mistake. She was supposed to be riding 700GS, but tour company overbooked. She overrode the motor, brakes, suspension all day, every day.

I could hear her bouncing off the rev-limiter in every gear through our Sena's. Made me laugh.

I don't believe we're bike snobs. Hell, we ride 150cc scooters and enjoy the hell out of them. My daily rider almost every day is a 350cc scooter. I'd take it over a 310 any day.

[Ray]

Don't buy a 310 GS. The bike is a toy, literally.

Dawn rode one in Romania in 2018. It was a mistake. She was supposed to be riding 700GS, but tour company overbooked. She overrode the motor, brakes, suspension all day, every day.

I could hear her bouncing off the rev-limiter in every gear through our Sena's. Made me laugh.

I don't believe we're bike snobs. Hell, we ride 150cc scooters and enjoy the hell out of them. My daily rider almost every day is a 350cc scooter. I'd take it over a 310 any day.

Probably one of the most succinct reviews I've read in a while. Thanks.

[Grumpy Goat]

Don't buy a 310 GS. The bike is a toy, literally.

Dawn rode one in Romania in 2018. It was a mistake. She was supposed to be riding 700GS, but tour company overbooked. She overrode the motor, brakes, suspension all day, every day.

I could hear her bouncing off the rev-limiter in every gear through our Sena's. Made me laugh.

I don't believe we're bike snobs. Hell, we ride 150cc scooters and enjoy the hell out of them. My daily rider almost every day is a 350cc scooter. I'd take it over a 310 any day.

Looking at the specs for the Piaggio BV350, it is a faster vehicle than the 310 and could be more punchy too.

Yes, I agree that the 310 would not be the bike for me at all, but is a perfect starter bike for many. Dawn is a very experienced rider so I am not at all surprised at here experience and her frustration during her time riding it. When I test rode the G310R I had a good laugh at its pokiness, and I also found it toy-like, but what it did, it did well and at that price point it would be a success where speeds are slower like in Asia or in downtown city commuting here.

[Olgry1]

Don't buy a 310 GS. The bike is a toy, literally.

Dawn rode one in Romania in 2018. It was a mistake. She was supposed to be riding 700GS, but tour company overbooked. She overrode the motor, brakes, suspension all day, every day.

I could hear her bouncing off the rev-limiter in every gear through our Sena's. Made me laugh.

I don't believe we're bike snobs. Hell, we ride 150cc scooters and enjoy the hell out of them. My daily rider almost every day is a 350cc scooter. I'd take it over a 310 any day.

Having seen Dawn ride up close and personal I am sure there are other bikes she can also override.

[MrVvrroomm]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/motorcyc...i-BB12CQW4

[Grumpy Goat]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/motorcyc...i-BB12CQW4

For the same price as the GS310, this is a better bike I think. Only vibrations might set them apart.

[Lee]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/motorcyc...i-BB12CQW4

Sounds like a lot more bike compared to the BMW 310.
40 HP at the rear wheel is nice.
The 310 has 34 at the crank, so what's that at the wheel, 30 HP??

We have friends in Texas that have a 390 and 690 KTM besides several BMWs.
They like taking them in the toy hauler because they are so lite and easy to load.
They live in the Hill Country so they have a lot of skinny little chip seal (no markings, 1.5 lane wide) or gravel to ride on.
The wife rides the 390 to work most days. Her commute is 50 to 60 miles round trip.

[SauRoN]

I found the Tiger 800 much less boring for road use than the GS which would literally put me to sleep the engine is so boring and the bike all round just too utilitarian.

For the guys who plan to go off-road the GS is the better bike, but if you aren’t lying to yourself about doing that then Tiger all the way.

It also doesn’t set your ass on fire like the GS.

However one really odd thing for me personally was that the handlebars were maybe too high or too wide or something because the bike absolutely murdered my upper back and shoulder blades which I never experienced on any of the BMW’s.

I was very keen on trying the Tiger 1200 before I bought the RS but then Triumph here in South Africa had a change of ownership and after terrible experience with my Street Triple I opted to rather stay away.


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