Tiger 800 Too Big and Too Heavy Off Road

[Bladerunner99]

Originally Posted by 9w6vx

Wow.... i reckon that's logical since the Tiger 800 is rather heavy.

I'm 53 and I would not dare to take my XR off-road due to my bad back and my rather poor offroad skills.

I am 55, 90kg and 5'11 Problem is my head makes appointments my body can't keep. 

I am no expert off road rider but do have a reasonable amount of experience, having ridden trail bikes back in the 90's when I lived in the UK, also trail riding in NZ when I lived there. 

These bikes are great and I am sure that my XCA is far more capable off road than I am at least on the XCA.  They are extremely heavy, too top heavy and the 'lower 1st gear' is not low enough (from factory).  I will limit my off road activities (on the triumph), to less challenging trails and hopefully invest in a more suitable lighter bike (sub 140kg), sometime in the future.

[chuckxc]

Originally Posted by Bladerunner99

Funny you should ask that!  As I parted company with the crew member before he was winched back up to the chopper, I apologised for calling them out and asked how much was this going to cost me, to which he replied "No worries mate, it gets me out of the office, and there is no charge for this service"

So if we're going to get stuck K1W1, best if we are in NSW!

[K1W1]

Originally Posted by chuckxc

So if we're going to get stuck K1W1, best if we are in NSW!

Don’t tell Porepunkah Bruce that. He will spend the rest of his convalescence planning impossible rides. 

[Bladerunner99]

Originally Posted by K1W1

If you were planning on going up the main road (the Hume Highway) and just staying reasonably close to either side of that you will be okay. Any route you had planned around the coast or through the Alps will be closed so you will need to re assess your plans. Roads in those areas will be closed for months until firstly the fires are out and secondly they can be made safe from damaged trees falling and then have the actual road surface repaired and the signage replaced. The route inland from the Hume should be okay for most of the way but you may have issues getting into Sydney from the east through the Blue Mountains.

Yeah it is rather grim at the moment, these pics are of the approach to the trails I posted above.







What we need is lots of rain and that does not appear to be coming anytime soon!

[penry]

Great story and relieved at the result.

Thanks for posting. Valuable info there and you had a really good result, partly a big chunk of luck and partly good sense ( the sat phone ).
I had visions of you getting burnt to a crisp by raging bush fires ( here in the uk I have no perspective on the situation but it looks B scary ! ) .
You make a point that you already knew - 800 cc's of adventure bike isn't an off roader. Its a style of bike that is comfortable to ride, looks great, handles well and can cope with roads / tracks a dedicated sports bike or tourer cant.
Skilled off road riders can make it look good for adverts and even in challenging conditions ( I've seen one where the rider is racing proper off road bikes through stuff I could never dream of getting through ) but its a road bike when said and done. GS 1200's look good in adverts but put one half way down the track you were on and its game over.
I'm envious that you have such an expanse of terrain you can explore, nothing quite so adventurous and exciting here in 'Blighty' but my XCA won't be seeing anything more testing than a fairly level road with a bit of grass pushing through the tarmac here and there.

I know, I'm a wuss 

[Bladerunner99]

Originally Posted by penry

Great story and relieved at the result.

Thanks for posting. Valuable info there and you had a really good result, partly a big chunk of luck and partly good sense ( the sat phone ).
I had visions of you getting burnt to a crisp by raging bush fires ( here in the uk I have no perspective on the situation but it looks B scary ! ) .
You make a point that you already knew - 800 cc's of adventure bike isn't an off roader. Its a style of bike that is comfortable to ride, looks great, handles well and can cope with roads / tracks a dedicated sports bike or tourer cant.
Skilled off road riders can make it look good for adverts and even in challenging conditions ( I've seen one where the rider is racing proper off road bikes through stuff I could never dream of getting through ) but its a road bike when said and done. GS 1200's look good in adverts but put one half way down the track you were on and its game over.
I'm envious that you have such an expanse of terrain you can explore, nothing quite so adventurous and exciting here in 'Blighty' but my XCA won't be seeing anything more testing than a fairly level road with a bit of grass pushing through the tarmac here and there.

I know, I'm a wuss 

Penry, you are not a wuss, I pick my trails very carefully and consider the weather conditions and trail surfaces.  Problem was on this occasion I was too focused on getting to the end of the trail and not stopping at the top of the hill as I usually do, to survey my options for getting down and also back up if I need to do so.

I would not have taken a bike like this onto most of the wet muddy trails you encounter in the UK, as dropping the bike is inevitable but picking it up is the issue. It was a struggle to pick up on the incline even though there were two of us.

[tony-the-tiger]

Take a look at my signature pic....my XCx has never been in dirt nor will be.  All you blokes are right about "top heavy",  my only complaint. I learned about that dropping it in my driveway,  realizing I could never get it out of the tight spot as you describe.  We ride our 56 miles of twisties most every Sunday AM as the sun rises, before Officer Hayes rises and before the tourists and bicycle idiots take over. During winter,  you learn to do it in the dark.  This bike is phenomenal on the payment.  In my 3 years, my rider skills improved significantly.  I'm sure there are better sport bikes for this kind of riding,  but I love it and will not change it.  Remove your top box and panniers, ditch the dead weight and let her rip....she'll do anything asked of her.