As my previous posts. I`ve just got back into biking at the tender age of 60. Only had a couple of sports bikes and a Pan European before that. I was always better at coming off them rather than staying on them. Anyway that was 10yrs ago, hoping i`m more sensible now as i won`t bounce the same. I fell in love with the Tigers first time i saw one and dived in and bought one pretty local to me. Now i`ve calmed down i have a couple of niggling problems i need to sort out. 1st is defo SEAT HEIGHT. i`m 5ft 7in. and a 29in inside leg. The Tiger is on the lowest seat setting (3 heights). It has also previously had a Hagon Rear Shock fitted which takes it down a further 30mm and the front forks were adjusted at the same time. I know this from previous paperwork. I still can`t quite sit comfortably on the bike as i`m sitting touching the ground but it`s with bent toes, ideally i`d like to be a wee bit lower and have more stability whilst sitting. I`d also like the wife to come on the bike with me next year but i feel unless i get more stability it won`t be possible. Are there any lower seats i can get for an 07, 955i. I also find the front brake lever a wee bit too far forward for me, resulting in when i brake there is a slight diving of the front, especially in slow traffic. Would adjustable levers help. If so do they fit straight in, without bleeding the brake system?. I know this is a NEWBIE section but please let me tell you about a scare i had. Took the bike out, took it into town for fuel first. The steering was heavy in slow traffic, and a couple of time decided to go it`s own way in ruts in the road. Anyway once i was out in the countryside going along, trying to get used to the new ADVENTURE BIKE RIDING position (which i am finding hard as it feels very top heavy). I went into a fairly sharp right hand bend when suddenly i had a BIG front wheel slide. How i caught it i do not know. I contacted the previous owner asking what he thought, and he said did you check your tire pressures. Something i seldom do as a car driver as well. There was my problem. Stupidly i didn`t check them, front was at 26 and back was at 40. Something i feel an idiot about but if it saves a twitchy arse to anyone else then i`m happy to admit it. CHECK YOUR TYRE PRESSURES BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE GARAGE GUY. Drive safe out there. If anyone can point me in the right direction re a lower seat than standard or a service that does this in the UK. Or if anyone has a super low seat for sale, please get back to me. Also any advice on the brake lever. Love my Tiger, love this forum. Regards guys Noddy
Welcome Noddy, nice looking bike. It sounds like the bikes been lowered a bit so the only thing I can suggest is getting the seat retrimmed taking out some of the foam, or reshaping it to give you that little extra lowering. As for your brake lever, there’s lots of adjustable levers on eBay which will cure this problem and they’re a doddle to fit. I bought a pair of levers for about £30 and they’re a vast improvement over the stock levers and a perfect fit. Have a search through the forum, there’s been lots of posts about ‘cheap Chinese levers’
This might sound counter intuitive , but you can lower the front end more , by stiffening the front suspension up. Add some extension's to the spacers ! First measure your current sag ! This is the natural droop in the front , the idea being , if your sag/droop is 30 mm , add 12 to 16 mm of spacer , sag will decrease by 8 to 12 mm , you can now feed the stantion's up through the triple tree's between 5 to 10 mm , 5 mm drop at the front can equal much more at the rider's seating position ! As much as 10 or more mm. The ride will be affected in the following ways, turn in might be much quicker , the bike won't dive as much , less change to steering geometry under brakes , and you will drop the height
I bought the Explorer and have the same dimensions as you. The bike already had a lowering kit on it which was shorter suspension links. I can put both feet down flat on the ground and also has an additional lowered seat. Lower links is the way to go but remember, you will need to drop front forks through the yokes for neutral steering imho
Noddy6560 Welcome to the family. Your bike I think has had quite a bit of work already. Your seat contact someone like RK LEIGHTON on the web and they will redesign your seat and do a fantastic job. There are others out there doing the design job but I use RK LEIGHTON as I have always gone that route and I trust them. Levers yes adjustable levers may give you a slight bit of movement on the brake but not a massive amount. And Like Capt said there is major bits you can do to the front end. Do let us know how you get on. Its a lovely machine by the way. You mentioned tyres and I know you think it's sorted but do make sure you don't have flat spots or the centres. are not squared of. Regards & Ride Safe. Joe.
Hi Noddy, I had a 2006 955i Tiger which on a day to day business was great, but I bought it for long distance touring and in that role she was disappointing for 3 reasons : 1. She was surprisingly tall (I'm 6'1"); 2. She was heavy - 240 kgs before luggage/fuel/bits & bobs; 3. She had a high centre of gravity so on mountain roads with tight turns she was NOT AT ALL reassuring. I dropped the forks through the clamps 15mm and that helped a bit, but not enough. I now have a Tracer 700 which is 45 kgs lighter, lower centre of gravity and total pleasure. Dave
Hi noddy, thanks for your intro and welcome in, there are threads in here specific to bikes and subjects so use them, it’s only polite. Not being nasty or anything but from my own experience when the wife’s on the back that’ll always lower the seat height by a couple of inches!
Hi and welcome. I run a 2006 Tiger....but am 6'3"...so it's ideal for me. A word of caution..if you're removing padding from the seat it doesn't seem to me like there's that much to skim before you hit the seat base . I have a friend who at 5'10" can manage the tiger...but he needs to climb aboard when it's on the side stand ..and he's on tip toe at traffic lights. He's used to it now
hi i think you have to look at the seat foam you can get a gel pad fitted also like most on/off roaders top heavy is the price you pay for ground clearance. If you want to be scared try a TDM 850 with a full tank runs wide and then loses grip.
Yeah that`s me tip-toe at lights. I think i may need to put more hours on this bike and gain a bit of confidence. Thanks guys. Noddy
It's well worth persevering......my friends had his a year now and no longer worries about height issues ....it's just ' his' bike now. Trouble is these bikes will spoil you. Every time I wonder about a new bike it comes back to " What would that bike do which the Tiger couldn't do as well...or better?"
Noddy6560. I got it. Next time I go home I will ask my brother to look through Mum's bits and pieces in the loft. Somewhere there he should find a pair of size 8 Elton Johns I had many years ago if memory serves me right they were about two three inch soles. There you go sorted. Mind you gears might hamper you a bit. Ride Safe & Enjoy Joe.