Hi all,after five years i sold my GS Adventure a bike which has served me well,i bought it as an ex demonstrator and put 40,000 miles on it,,,,,a fantastic machine but not without faults which always had to be replaced by BMW as they don't repair anything! so at 37,000 the shaft drive disintegrates and at 39,000 the ABS pump packs up the heated grips and tyre pressure sensors gave up about two years ago. I had a few quid saved so set about testing everything similar on the market except the Explorer which i discounted without a second thought. Eventually i decided to give one a go and couldn't believe how i took to it within about two miles,it was a close run contest with the super tenere but i decided the Explore XC was for me,its early days but what a great machine,,,smooth,powerful although a tad top heavy but I'm sure i"ll live with it. First trip booked in May to Mugello for the GP Grant
Grant and welcome to the Triumph Playground. The Explorer is an extraordinary bike for doing long-distance work on, you won't regret it. ENJOY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Welcome from another Explorer XC owner. Great bike with superb styling - waiting to test drive new model next month.
thanks thebiglad,I've only just had my first 500 mile service and the longest I've ridden it so far is about 45 miles,,looking forward to getting some miles under my belt,the tex has as far as I'm concerned big boots to fill to get near to my GS riding experience but time will tell,roll on the good weather
Hi and welcome, on my second Explorer from a GS, no contest you will love it. Have you done Mugello before?.. If not it's amazing, nuts but brilliant. Teejay
Hi Grant welcome to the forum, I'm just down the road from you and also an Explorer rider. You might find this other forum useful. http://www.tiger-explorer.com Specific for the Explorer, quite an active site and often has adverts for members selling of various accessories.
Just out of interest how old as your gs1150 when you owned it? I only ask as I had an old r1150r and found it an enjoyable bike. I had a few dislikes as it was just too fat to filter and the characteristics of the engine when riding through tight traffic gaps used to steer it which I didn't like. It also was like being married to a right old ugly fat woman that did the dishes well. On the flip side, it rode very well over all shite roads and was a brilliant weight carrier two up. I got to like the shaft drive when driven hard. So my verdict was good but then again it was a budget bike.
I had a few BM flat twins : R1100GS; R1150GS; R1100S; R1100RT and finally an R1150R I thought the GS's were brilliant as was the R but the RT was a great whale of a thing. Eventually I got a bit bored of the lack of soul in the flat twin so bought an ST2 Duke which was a truly amazing machine - and before anyone asks, 100% reliable.
Maybe that's the problem bikerman, you bought it new and it had too many things to live up to. I bought a hd sportster1200 nightster new in 2008 and its was the same. It did have soul though but the rest was such a flop. It's the fact that when I paid full up for it I had very high expectations so I'm very happy having cheap bargain bikes as the expectations now are simple pleasant suprises.
I have always liked the look of a BMW flat twin and have considered in the past owning one but have heard that it has strange handling characteristics that you have to adapt yourself too.
Hi Grant, and welcome Mugello is fantastic last time I went was when Rossi fell of right in front of me. Could not believe it all the women started crying their eyes out and wailing. Great track but very big and can be very hot enjoy. Regards Lou