The Trophy Might (Will) Have To Go

I think it's true that I've been spoilt by having the Trophy. It's a big comfortable bike with everything on it (which was why I bought it in the first place). Maybe everything else will seem inferior in comparison. There's one thing though, I'm not going back to BMW again. What a nightmare of ownership that was.
My previous Triumph (a Street Triple) also had a lovely gear change like the Trophy, so maybe there was a fault on this particular Tiger, I'm not sure.
There's nothing Japanese I particularly fancy, so perhaps I should just try to manage with the Trophy.

 

Tomorrow, subject to the weather, I've a test ride arranged on the new Tiger Explorer. Looking forward to see what this is like. I'm hanging on though before signing up for any new bike until I've had a go on the new T120 Bonnie

 

wash your mouth out. we'll have none of that sort of thing here

 

I do have a Yamaha Virago 1100 under a sheet in the garage but I doubt I would stoop so low as to get a Harley
So you were almost correct

 

so as yesterday (Friday) was peeing it down here I didn't get to try the Tiger Explorer. Today was a different kettle of fish and I got chance to try out the Explorer XRT. What a lovely bike that is. Handles nicely (very flickable), lovely engine and gearbox and compared to my Trophy, feels much more lively when opening up the throttle. The mirrors are good but I found the standard seat a little hard. I liked the fact that you can change the modes on the move and found the computer stuff much more intuitive than on the Trophy. The general quality of the bike felt first class and well put together.
With the standard seat on it's lowest I found the bike still quite high for me. I know they do a low version but only on the XRX version. I would prefer the XRT as it has all the extras including the electric screen. My dealer is going to order up a low comfort seat for me to try on his XRT demo bike and I'll take it out again to see if that works.

So I have 2 ideas.

1. Trade in the Trophy for the Explorer (either XRX Low or XRT with low seat)
2. Keep the Trophy and trade in the Burgman for a Bonnie T120 (I'm going to be trying that out this week sometime)

What do you guys think ??

Nikki

 

if only

 

Please tell me. I won't tell anyone - promise

 

Steve, the bike I tried was the XRT version, with the electric screen. Whilst not as good at keeping the wind at bay as the Trophy I thought it did a pretty good job. It was very blustery here yesterday so not perfect for test riding, but I thought I got a good feeling for the bike. Gear change felt the same as the Trophy which is fine and worked well. I didn't notice any extra noises on the Explorer going from 1st to 2nd.
I really liked the extra oomph over my Trophy when opening the throttle. I do think that this will be my next bike, as a weight saving of 50kgs will make such a difference. Providing I get a good deal from the dealer.
I absolutely love the Bonnie T120 but if I'm honest it won't be suitable for touring.

By the way I think I know the secret bike. Is it the BMW R1200GS ??

I'm extremely loath to buy another BMW as the R1200R I bought new was a lemon.

thanks guys for your thoughts

 

I was looking at that one too, but ruled it out due to seat height. I'm looking for height up to 770mm. It does look like a great bike and with it being a Honda it should be pretty reliable.