Tiger 900 poll

[Djairouks]

Originally Posted by pugwash

My opinion for what it is worth as a revisiting member and former owner of a Tiger 800 which I ran for 20000+ miles and really liked before being lured over to the boxer world (RS not GS) and now looking for something lighter and more upright in riding position.
I've dismissed the Multistrada 950 as being too expensive to buy and service as well as the 3 friends I have with recent Ducatis suffering electrical niggles.
The Africa Twin is too big and off road orientated. Does look nice though.
The new 1050 V Strom has been hit with the ugly stick with an engine from the 90's.
The front runners for me ended up as the T900, Tracer 900 GT and F900XR.

The Tracer was easiest to cross off. It was great fun to ride but looked cheaply put together. I've no doubt it would never go wrong but it didn't give me a warm glow inside, the screen was noisy, the seat was hard and the standard side cases were tiny.

I had high hopes for the BMW. Looked good, purely road biased with 17" wheels and premium sports touring tyres as standard, a lot of crossover with luggage and things from my current bike to save on pennies and decent power, on paper. I enjoyed the test ride but found the screen noisy, the seat too hard and felt a bit cramped in terms of closeness of the bars (legroom was fine). It went well enough but needed its neck wringing to go anywhere fast. I think this is why all the magazine reviews report fuel consumption higher than BMW claim and a poor range from the small tank. On a positive note it went round corners well and was pretty confidence inspiring. It was a decent bike but I didn't feel it was up to long distances or touring. The lumpy v twin feel they have given it would get wearing after a while.

The Tiger (GT Pro spec) felt good from the off with smooth drive from low revs, no wind noise and a comfortable seat. It's down on power compared to what I'm used to but what there is is very usable; I tried a couple of top gear roll ons alongside a friend on 125bhp 1200 and didn't get left behind (I realise gearing will be a factor). The handling wasn't as confidence inspiring as the BMW though. I wasn't aware of any vibes until I remembered they were a reported issue and focussed on looking for some and noticed there were some but after 4 years on a BMW boxer not of any significance to me. Others may feel differently.

I came away thinking that, for my own needs as a single bike solution, able to do a bit of everything without compromising too much in any particular area, the Tiger does it.

I am now in Italy, did Dolomites and now around the lakes, getting tomorrow back to Switzerland, loads of Germans everywere on BMWs, 1200 and 900, also plenty Multistrada from Italians.
On my small loaded 800 I "measured" my poor 95hp against the others on mountain peaks and really I had no problem leaving 1200 behind multiple times, seems all the bigger guys know is going fast on straights.
I am just a bit scared now scrapping the footpegs so easily on the triumph, this chassis is ridiculous  who needs 120hp !

As I did ride a lot, seems the 800 vibes the most also around 5000rpm, so that might be a component of all Hinckley's middle cc triples I guess, it's just less present on my bike.

[mcinlb]

Djairouks , couldn't agree more, I covered the same ground on my 800 Tiger and it's nimbleness in the twisties more than made up for the"lack" of hp.
After testing the 900 and it's additional torque and even more nimble , I'm told.. I think it will surprise even more on the road. If only that high freq. vib was not there at m'way cruising speed...
Oh, and what mirrors are these you've got fitted??

[Djairouks]

Originally Posted by mcinlb

Djairouks , couldn't agree more, I covered the same ground on my 800 Tiger and it's nimbleness in the twisties more than made up for the"lack" of hp.
After testing the 900 and it's additional torque and even more nimble , I'm told.. I think it will surprise even more on the road. If only that high freq. vib was not there at m'way cruising speed...
Oh, and what mirrors are these you've got fitted??

These are "Chinese Rizoma", I have seen the "proper" Rizoma and other than the badge, these are absolutely identical, the colour had not even faded after years on my Honda, search on AliExpress that's where I've got them, the mirror is a nice blue tint that doesn't blind as much with car lights reflecting.
https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32749347900.html?trace=wwwdetail2mobilesitedetail&spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4dlRgbNu

I had the Africa twin before and fully farkled it was 247kg, also 95hp, I feel I can actually handle these to the fullest, for exemple I have a 2nd mistress, a Fazer 8 106hp and allready that girl has enough to maybe throw me off.
You're so right the nimbleness is key and I won't buy anything so heavy as my Honda anymore !

[Aussie Tiger]

I know that there is a horse power number that is smaller than a more powerful bike but I don’t find the 900 lacks power at all. It’s there exactly when you need it. I can accelerate as fast as any situation requires, pop the front wheel easily (if I want to, and sometimes by accident) and if ever I find I’m in a taller gear than I really should be, with the quickshifter I can just knock it down a gear or 2 and away I go. More hp would just mean more hp that I wasn’t using.  The power and especially the torque (curve) are way more than adequate in my opinion. Add that to the nimble handling and it would take a pretty amazing rider to get away from me on a more powerful machine on anything other than a long, flat straight. I’ve had bikes that were all about the power but none of them were a complete package like the Tiger.