Tiger 800 Potentially an XCx owner

Hi biggy, I'm thinking the same as I want to do a bit of touring. Probably not so modern but along the same lines. Glassenbacken used to have a bonnie and now has a tiger so he might be able to give some feedback

 

I'll be very interested in your thoughts

 

I had a Tiger 1050 for a couple of years and I took an 800XC out several times as a loaner when my bike needed some work.

It was at the time I was going up to Basildon 2 or 3 times a week to see my Dad when he was ill so I ended up taking the XC on that journey 3 times and put nearly 500 miles on it over a few weeks. I know it wasn't an XCx but looking at the specs the x should be even better.

A very capable bike. Handled high speed on the motorway really well and and the smaller roads were a joy

The only reason I didn't swap my 1050 was that the XC was far too tall for me.

I hope the test goes well.

Cheers

Dick

 

I have a Tiger800 roadie, so that's like a Tiger800 XR 2013 model.

yes it will cruise all day at 85mph, it's a great all rounder with good pillion accommodation, esp. with a topbox and backrest. I've done 11,000m and overall fuel consumption is 54mpg (I record all fuel going in), that's a mixture of riding conditions about half with pillion.

the roadie (XR & XRX) is not as tall as the XC (& XCX), but seat to pegs ergos are similar, in other words the XC has more ground clearance. I've never scraped pegs on my roadie. They're both very capable road tourers, I chose the roadie because I wanted cast wheels and tubeless tyres, the roadie also gives more road based tyre choice - in particular radial fronts eg. Pilot Road 4 trails. They will both go off road, but that's not really their point, they're a bit heavy and the power delivery a bit too high end. They have a lovely broad /flat torque curve but they're not low rev luggers.

choose the version that you like, either will please!

NB your biggest problem will be sorting out the screen, entirely rider dependant but many change to aftermarket screen.

 

Interesting Dave - I'm having similar thoughts about getting a Tiger - for the same reasons - I'd like to do more touring on a more suitable bike.

Can't afford a new one but I might be able to stretch to a nice 1050 - the replacement Bonnie will have to wait until next year. Will probably have to sell the Trident then as I haven't got space for 3 bikes.

 

Hi I swopped my Speed Triple for a new Tiger 800XC SE in march 2014. I went for the XC purely on looks and being tall I wanted plenty of leg room. I used the bike to tour and had the Triumph top box and panniers fitted.
After the Speed Triple I found the performance of the Tiger 800 engine adequate but not super exciting, it would certainly hold 80 - 90mph on the French motorways fully loaded. Loved the smooth gearbox and over the 9000 miles I did on it I only had a stepper motor replaced under warranty.
After riding in the Alps I was disappointed with the way the bike handled in both high and low speed corners; I had already changed the duel purpose tyres to the most road oriented tyres available for the 21" front wheel but in the end I lost confidence after a couple of cornering 'moments'. My honest advice to anyone buying a Tiger 800 is if you don't intend doing any off road riding (its too heavy for any serious off roading anyway) then buy the road version with the alloy 17"wheels.
My other issue which became apparent when loaded was how top heavy the bike felt and even though I'm 6'3" tall and quite big I had a couple of near misses slow manoeuvring where I very nearly toppled over.
I perhaps should have gone for the Tiger 1050 sport, I did test ride it but found the leg position too cramped (the reason I sold my Speed) I also was not into the 1050's looks where as the 800XC does look a great machine.
Sadly I moved from the Triumph brand this year after being wowed by a Kawasaki Versys 1000 GT which I've now clocked 5000 miles on and still love.

 

I'm on my second Tiger 800 now, got rid of the T100 to do more two up touring. Only done 500 miles on the XRx
So can't help much, it's all day comfortable two up and great on the B roads. Cruise control won't be much use to
me as I avoid motorways, I do use rider mode set to rain when it's wet, it smooths out throttle response nicely.
I didn't get any extras with the bike even had to pay £25 for a tank pad!

 

Thanks Dave, I think I'll be closer to £4000 rather than the £5000 I'll need for the 800 as they are newer models. Just an idea at the moment - a mate has a new Explorer he's promised me a go on just to wet my appetite!

 

Cheers, that's a helpful bit of information - I'm 5' 11" so the 1050 shouldn't be cramped for me.

 

Hi Dave,

Somehow I missed this yesterday and it seems a lot of the questions have been answered! I found the XC fine on the motorway up to Essex. Cruising at 85-90 was not a problem but the screen was not great (are they ever?).

I got better fuel consumption on the 800 than I got on my Tiger ( around 50 mpg).

Handling was good enough for me but I never rode it heavily loaded.

I'd suggest you have a think about the Tiger Sport as I think the Tiger 1050 is one of the most underestimated bikes and incredible value for money.

The blog about the trip is now complete and I'm in the process of putting together a post about a new song I've just done. You might have seen the completed blog but I've added a few links since I posted the original.

Had The Weather Been Different

Cheers

Dick