When Is A Bike Too Heavy?

I did see a demo of just that at last year's Motorcycle Live. The guy (name escapes me) made it look really easy with a BMW 1200GS, but he is a professional stunt rider. He rescued it from half way up big heaps of earth after (pretend) stalling it. Problem was, 10 minutes after leaving, I'd forgotten everything he said. Same bike, but different demo - it was left standing like that for a good 5 minutes, unsupported, before it fell over.

 

Hieght is more of an issue with me being a short arse I have an america and is easy to handle and have never dropped it but definitely could not handle anything higher when the weight does become an issue

 

My Striple is a whole 5st lighter than the Street twin that preceded it, and I notice that difference not just wheeling it around. It's more responsive and more "flickable" when riding too.

I'm not a big guy, and for me weight is definitely important.

 

Heaven

 

How a bike carries its weight is very important. Some fairly large bikes are easy to stand up of the stand, some that weight less feel heavy when pulling up off of the stand. To me the SM feels pretty light. But there’s more to the equation. Moving a bike around the garage, low speed parking lot maneuvers, backing the bike into a spot. You need to find a bike that is comfortable for you! Only a good demo or three can determine that.

 

When you loose confidence that you can wheel it about at parking speeds and pushing it around.
But seeing as it's close to resolution time you could build up core strength to combat!!

 

Its true, the weight of a bike is purely a personal thing. For some reason I've always gone for heavy bikes, not because of the weight but because I've liked the bike.

a few years back I attended a training day when each attendee had to lay his / her bike over and pick it up. Anyone who could not pick up their bike on their own was told by the instructor that their bike was too heavy for them. I was riding the Trophy SE at 301 kilos and managed to pick it up having seen a video of how to do it. Also dropped it at a service station, slipped on spilt diesel I was carrying full holiday luggage. and had just filled the tank. not sure how heavy it was but still managed to right it.

My next bike, a Bonnie, which I collect on 1st March 2019, is a bit lighter I'm pleased to say.

Phil

 

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Wessa

 

Having had different sizes, I prefer lighter bikes. I get more feedback from the road; they feel quicker; they're definitely more nimble; and they're easier in traffic and easier to park in urban areas.

Right around 400 lbs is my sweet spot.

 

Whoa guys!!
I just sold an ST1100 Pan European as that loaded with full top box panniers and Mrs B weighed the best part of half a tonne. Surprise surprise I couldn't hold that thing upright so thought I'd get me some lightweight Tiger 800,,,,
Now I read someone dropped theirs twice manoeuvring it around.....
I'd hoped at 200kgs it'd be like a feather compared to the Panny.
Can I get some reassurancefrom my Triumph buddies...???
Do I need to get my 19751 CB125 back again. Are Tiger 800s top heavy...??? My CB550K4 had a CoG just under my chin so I know what a high CoG is likeI can tell you!

 

My BMW F800ST seemed to have a high centre of gravity and just pushing it out of the garage was a chore although it wasn’t a particularly heavy bike,

The Street Triple however seems to carry its weight very low and is exceptionally well balanced. It must be it’s sports bike roots.

 

Some bikes have low centre of gravity, some have high. Some bikes are lighter than others and some people are too.
Maybe I'm just being a grumpy old git but this just seems to be going round and round with the occasional over.
Other than do you have the correct technique to pick your bike up/ enough people around to help/ breakdown cover does it matter as long as the bike you chose does what you want it to do in the way you want it to do it?

 

Hi SAMZ have you seen the 2019 Street Twin? 196Kg dry with quite a hike in power. I reckon Triumph heard your complaint and focused on exactly that. I've got a deposit on one, and am hoping it lives up to expectations.

 

Phew, that's a relief to hear Mr Cyborgbot, although I'm not the T-800 latest version I am a well looked after T-700so should cope well enough. The T-700 is well known for tearing apart paper bags with ease - almost like a knife through quite hard cheese....
The difference in weight between the Tiger & Pan is the best part of 100kgs. I've a Yamaha Thunderace which is very similar weight to the Tiger so I guess the answer is try one from a dealer and see how far from the perpendicular I can get it before we crash to the ground and legging it.

 

Good to hear, keep us informed how it feels/rides.
Have you ridden any of the previous variants to compare with?