Joined Jul 2007
43 Posts | 0+
Central Indiana
I swung a leg over the '07 Tiger today. 
I've been giving some thought to a more adventure/touring style bike for the past few months and my recent gap trip only highlighted that I'm enjoying sport bikes less and less. At the very least, I enjoy a pace that makes having a sharply focused sportbike irrelevant and possibly more of a hindrance than a plus. The Ducati Mulitstrada, Buell Ulysses, Vstrom, etc have all started drawing my eye. I was riding with a friend today and she mentioned checking out some new bikes. Indy Triumph had a black Tiger ABS on the floor and were more than happy to roll it out for me.
WOW, WOW, WOW!!!!!!!! I still want to try the Multistrada, but I REALLY liked the Tiger. More importantly, this is the first bike of this type I've ridden so more than anything the test ride told me that I would get along very well with an adventure touring machine. The upright seating postion is very comfy and gives a commanding view of the world around you. I found this to be confidence inspiring in traffic. The 1050 engine is smooth as glass on acceleration, though I did find the throttle response to be a bit abrupt at times. Not a big deal though, I've had the same criticism of every FI bike I've ridden. TONS of torque, just gobs of usable power everywhere. No matter what gear I tried, roll on the throttle and the bike moves out with no lurching or bogging.
Initially I found the bike's height to be a bit awkward, but soon I found that I didn't even think about it. The steering is very light for a bike it's size and it loves to be tossed into a corner. It's got a ton of suspension travel, so rough pavement doesn't seem to upset it at all. In fact, it had me thinking some hooligan-esqe thoughts...like going looking for potholes and thinking that jumping a curb or two might be fun...
I didn't brake hard enough to activate the ABS, but I found the brakes to be very good. Not as nice as my aprilia's Brembos, but better than any other bike I've ridden. The nose does tend to dive a bit on the brakes, but that could easily just be my not being used to riding a bike that tall. Not an issue anyway, I didn't notice it nearly as much the at the end of the ride as I did the beginning. FWIW, the bike can also be had without ABS for ~$800 less.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to do any real highway riding. I did take it up to 65 or so on a back road. At that speed I found the wind protection to be good. I noticed no buffeting.
Looks are a very subjective thing, but I think the Tiger is easily the best looking bike in it's class. Adventure touring bikes aren't usually known for their beauty, so this may be a bit like saying "the best looking ugly girl". Whatever you call it, I like it.
If I had to look for shortcomings, it might be fit and finish. This bike was the same sort of detail items I found on the Daytona 675 I rode a few months ago. That is, cheap looking switchgear, rough cast sidestand with no heal peg (hard to find with your foot without looking down), etc. Not really serious problems, but this is an $11,500 bike.
Other things I'd change are the high mounted exhaust and the pillion seat, which slopes toward the front of the bike. I'd have to let the GF take a ride on the back to confirm if these are real issues or not as they have no effect when riding solo. The luggage does not come with the bike and costs over $1000. On the bright side, aftermarket racks are available for the bike so other brands of luggage can be used. That's a big deal for me as I already own a complete set of Givi's. The center stand isn't stock either, so that would be an additional cost for me as well.
In case it wasn't clear at the beginning of this post, I REALLY LIKED THIS BIKE. Anyone want to buy a Mille? :biggrin :biggrin :biggrin
I've been giving some thought to a more adventure/touring style bike for the past few months and my recent gap trip only highlighted that I'm enjoying sport bikes less and less. At the very least, I enjoy a pace that makes having a sharply focused sportbike irrelevant and possibly more of a hindrance than a plus. The Ducati Mulitstrada, Buell Ulysses, Vstrom, etc have all started drawing my eye. I was riding with a friend today and she mentioned checking out some new bikes. Indy Triumph had a black Tiger ABS on the floor and were more than happy to roll it out for me.
WOW, WOW, WOW!!!!!!!! I still want to try the Multistrada, but I REALLY liked the Tiger. More importantly, this is the first bike of this type I've ridden so more than anything the test ride told me that I would get along very well with an adventure touring machine. The upright seating postion is very comfy and gives a commanding view of the world around you. I found this to be confidence inspiring in traffic. The 1050 engine is smooth as glass on acceleration, though I did find the throttle response to be a bit abrupt at times. Not a big deal though, I've had the same criticism of every FI bike I've ridden. TONS of torque, just gobs of usable power everywhere. No matter what gear I tried, roll on the throttle and the bike moves out with no lurching or bogging.
Initially I found the bike's height to be a bit awkward, but soon I found that I didn't even think about it. The steering is very light for a bike it's size and it loves to be tossed into a corner. It's got a ton of suspension travel, so rough pavement doesn't seem to upset it at all. In fact, it had me thinking some hooligan-esqe thoughts...like going looking for potholes and thinking that jumping a curb or two might be fun...
I didn't brake hard enough to activate the ABS, but I found the brakes to be very good. Not as nice as my aprilia's Brembos, but better than any other bike I've ridden. The nose does tend to dive a bit on the brakes, but that could easily just be my not being used to riding a bike that tall. Not an issue anyway, I didn't notice it nearly as much the at the end of the ride as I did the beginning. FWIW, the bike can also be had without ABS for ~$800 less.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to do any real highway riding. I did take it up to 65 or so on a back road. At that speed I found the wind protection to be good. I noticed no buffeting.
Looks are a very subjective thing, but I think the Tiger is easily the best looking bike in it's class. Adventure touring bikes aren't usually known for their beauty, so this may be a bit like saying "the best looking ugly girl". Whatever you call it, I like it.
If I had to look for shortcomings, it might be fit and finish. This bike was the same sort of detail items I found on the Daytona 675 I rode a few months ago. That is, cheap looking switchgear, rough cast sidestand with no heal peg (hard to find with your foot without looking down), etc. Not really serious problems, but this is an $11,500 bike.
Other things I'd change are the high mounted exhaust and the pillion seat, which slopes toward the front of the bike. I'd have to let the GF take a ride on the back to confirm if these are real issues or not as they have no effect when riding solo. The luggage does not come with the bike and costs over $1000. On the bright side, aftermarket racks are available for the bike so other brands of luggage can be used. That's a big deal for me as I already own a complete set of Givi's. The center stand isn't stock either, so that would be an additional cost for me as well.
In case it wasn't clear at the beginning of this post, I REALLY LIKED THIS BIKE. Anyone want to buy a Mille? :biggrin :biggrin :biggrin
