800gs Vs Tiger 800

[MGJ]

I guess you didn't hear about the issues that Triumph had with fuel couplings on the triples. It took them 6 years and a lot of pressure from the authorities before they eventually did a recall. Or the problem with 4th gear going bang on the early 955 engines and Speed triples which they denied was a problem and wouldn't do much to help those whose gearboxes had gone bang out of warranty, even though they were aware there was a problem. Or the spongy brakes on Sprint ST's and Speed triples which they denied there were any issues with them.

And if you buy a Triumph let's hope you won't have to deal with their warranty department at the factory

Is this a BMW 800 GS/Triumph 800 XC thread or a Triumph thread ? and are we talking now or in the past ?

Nothing but trouble with my 800 XC, I've had to adjust the chain once in nearly 10'000 miles

 

[EmmettC]

Nothing but trouble with my 800 XC, I've had to adjust the chain once in nearly 10'000 miles

I had to change my chain twice in 10,000 miles

I think the biggest difference will be the engine, do you prefer twins or triples?

The only thing that bugged me about the Tiger is the filler cap is in front of you, not beside the seat as is normal. wierd eh??

 

[BBB61]

Is this a BMW 800 GS/Triumph 800 XC thread or a Triumph thread ?

If it's a Triumph forum you want then try www.triumphrat.net. Last time I looked this was UKGSer.

 

[EmmettC]

I think it's still good to have open informative discussions about different motorcycles and how they compare to GSs. The Tiger is clearly a good bike, and there's not going to be much to seperate the 800GS and the Tiger, mostly opinion, and there's no wrong opinions.

Anyway, we should be united as motorcyclists against the common enemy...........................1200GS riders

 

[ianran]

I think it's still good to have open informative discussions about different motorcycles and how they compare to GSs. The Tiger is clearly a good bike, and there's not going to be much to seperate the 800GS and the Tiger, mostly opinion, and there's no wrong opinions.

Anyway, we should be united as motorcyclists against the common enemy...........................1200GS riders

Envy is a terrible thing

 

[Dave Ett]

PITY is a terrible thing

Fixed it for you...

 

[GS TRV]

The Triumph cheapo finish would be enough to swing it for me - they look cheap

 

[mediamark]

Took the F800GS out this afternoon. Absolutely loved it! The height terrified my at first but once I'd got used to it there was no stopping me. 3 hours later I didn't want to take it back. The Tiger will have to be something really special to tempt me away. Taking the R1200GS next weekend!

 

[Barty]

Own an 800GS and done the "Long Way Round" in 2009 and had a three hour test on an 800XC. The Triumph engine is "sweet" but do you need a 10,000rpm screamer off road in Mongolia? No of course not. Build quality on the Beemer is fantastic. In 21,000 miles on that trip I had two rear flats and a headlight bulb go plus it weeped a bit around the rocker gasket. One guy on the trip hit a flock of Canada Geese at circa a ton and put the bike down the road. Got up unscathed as was the 800 ex the screen. They are tough as the proverbial boot. Be interesting to see how the Triumph fares on a similar trip.
Standard Triumph bars are way too low when standing up but they don't have the same immediate throttle response that the 800GS has which can catch you out in the claggy bits.
The standard position fuel tank on the Triumph raises the C of G quite noticeably when full and whilst they claim 200mpg plus I know the GS can do 260 as I ran out at that mileage in the Turkmen desert not something I recommend doing especially at midday in 40C heat........
They'll sell a shed load of Triumphs as people let themselves be ruled by their hearts and not their heads. I've got a Thruxton too so I am doing my bit for the flag wavers but if you want a serious adventure bike and not something you only ever park in a field at a bike meet it's a GS every time.

 

[rml]

First up I'd had never heard this:

(FGUIR = Fucking Good Until It Rains)

made me laugh.

My 2 pence worth:

I had a F800GS for a year and 20,000 miles, loved it, it is
a cracking bike, just traded it for a 1200GS I know I know
but Triple Black ummm.. anyhoo had a look at the 800XC and it looks
good, I think it is a great position to be in F800GS or 800XC
both are lovely bikes, it is not as if you are going to buy a
"bad" bike.

Buy one, both will make you smile, & will take you round the planet,
(both might need some attention on the trip or not)

Cheers
rml

 

[ash_gs]

Own an 800GS and done the "Long Way Round" in 2009 and had a three hour test on an 800XC. The Triumph engine is "sweet" but do you need a 10,000rpm screamer off road in Mongolia? No of course not. Build quality on the Beemer is fantastic. In 21,000 miles on that trip I had two rear flats and a headlight bulb go plus it weeped a bit around the rocker gasket. One guy on the trip hit a flock of Canada Geese at circa a ton and put the bike down the road. Got up unscathed as was the 800 ex the screen. They are tough as the proverbial boot. Be interesting to see how the Triumph fares on a similar trip.
Standard Triumph bars are way too low when standing up but they don't have the same immediate throttle response that the 800GS has which can catch you out in the claggy bits.
The standard position fuel tank on the Triumph raises the C of G quite noticeably when full and whilst they claim 200mpg plus I know the GS can do 260 as I ran out at that mileage in the Turkmen desert not something I recommend doing especially at midday in 40C heat........
They'll sell a shed load of Triumphs as people let themselves be ruled by their hearts and not their heads. I've got a Thruxton too so I am doing my bit for the flag wavers but if you want a serious adventure bike and not something you only ever park in a field at a bike meet it's a GS every time.

Good to hear someone on here praising the qualities of their bike. Normally it's moan moan moan....but then I'm guilty as charged. I think we can easily get warped views of ALL bikes when most people only make an effort to post when they need help because something's wrong.

 

[robmw]

Good to hear someone on here praising the qualities of their bike. Normally it's moan moan moan....but then I'm guilty as charged. I think we can easily get warped views of ALL bikes when most people only make an effort to post when they need help because something's wrong.

That's it - when one isn't having any problems, what do You have to talk about!?

Love the F800GS very much - don't know about the 800XC, but shurely it will be a nice bike to ride on. The reliability will have to be proofed.

Made a tour last week with 34 other bikes - steering with the F800GS is excellent, compared with all the other bikes. No one maneged to keep in track of me. Off course it has something to do with my driving experience, but never the less.

Most important:
Very reliable bike;
Very good steering and riding conditions;

And last but not LEAST - very high mileage 1:26 [even 1:27] = 73.45 mpg (British/Imperial) on home/work traffic.

NO WAY a 800XC is going to beat me on the mileage !!!! So, with the other good points of the F800GS, I'm not so very impressed of the 800XC and surely not going to buy one.

Rob

 

[mediamark]

Decision Time!

2 hours on the 800XC this morning; great bike; smooth power delivery; nice display; well built, not whiny, no spongy suspension.

Great bike BUT it didn't excite me like the GS did. The triple hasn't got same character has the GS. I just found it a bit......flat.

So the decision is easy for me in terms of which I really want however, Triumph have offered me a far better deal, which will be easier to get past "the fun adjuster", so what to do?? Could I live with second best? Hmmmm.....

 

[mediamark]

Forgot to add, for those interested, my test rides can be viewed on my Youtube channel...

http://www.youtube.com/m3d14m4rk

 

[Dean]

2.30

well built, not whiny

Mind you my brother in laws Tiger8 is in for repair soon the plasticky black panel by the tank was falling off (left side) other than that he is chuffed, but when he first had it the whistling bothered him to me its like a high pitched drill (aparently its the triple ) every time he came near i could here it first . reminds me of the dentist

Im going away with him later to play in the pyrenees, one of the other guy's also coming along just picked up his new tiger8 on the test ride he said same thing whistling. I supose an end can might help time will tell

6 days away yippy be interesting with 2 tiger 8's just have to turn up the Ipod and leave the AKRA un baffled, (I hate the dentist and that drill )

 

[mediamark]

Well, made my mind up. Going to do the deal on friday - F800GS.

Only question is H.P or BMW Select finance?

Your advice please?

 

[BBB61]

If via BMW then their interest rates should be studied carefully. I have never found them to be that competitive, unless they have a god offer on at the moment.

Personally I would go the HP route rather than the select because at least you know when you have finished the payments that the bike is yours and fully paid for.

 

[mediamark]

I'm thinking H.P, although Select would mean I wouldn't have to put any money in the pot and the monthly payments are less than £15 a month on top of what I've been paying for my current bike(which is on 0%)!

I know I'll pay for the pleasure with the amount of interest I'll pay over the term but it'll free up cash on a monthly basis. By the time the term is up I'll be able to pay the bike off.

 

[solidstate100]

If via BMW then their interest rates should be studied carefully. I have never found them to be that competitive, unless they have a god offer on at the moment.

Personally I would go the HP route rather than the select because at least you know when you have finished the payments that the bike is yours and fully paid for.

Wot E said

I studied this till I was blue in the face a while back and did the HP thing on my 800GS in the end for the reasons mentioned - I didn't fancy the idea of being limited to a certain mileage and being required to make an obligitory keep, sell or trade decision in 2 years (with an attendant "final installment" of circa 5k on my deal for keeping the bike), plus the APR overall was a lot higher than straight HP - would have paid about 2k more (had I kept the bike) at the end of the term. Ouch.

In my understanding, the select scheme, whilst making things more affordable (and it does work for some no doubt if you are certain to want to trade up within the scheme timetable) is really a cleverly engineered sales tool that gets you on a bike, but in effect ties you to the dealer by almost having to trade up as the residuals offered against the final purchase installment make it financially inefficient to keep your bike, but more efficient to buy another one (more profit for the dealer thanks very much......) or something like that......

If you are doing HP via a BMW dealer make sure you push them hard - we are in a period of the lowest interest rates in history - I was recently (1 week ago) quoted an APR of approx 13 percent at a nameless BMW dealer on a pre loved fully specced GSA when I thought I wanted to PX the 800 (I didn't in the end, I saw the light), but I whinged, sorry "negotiated" and eventually they offered a shade over 10% which according to them was the "staff rate" and the "lowest that BMW would allow them to offer".

Good luck (and welcome to the fraternity!) - im off from London to Scotland for a weeks wild camping on mine this weekend, cant wait!

Cheers

 

[BBB61]

If you are borrowing £7500 or more you can get a rate of 6.6% APR, but if you are borrowing £5000 this will rise to 8.1%. Despite the base rate being 0.5% the cost of personal loans is far higher than what it was in 2007 when the base rate was up to 5,75%. I took a personal loan of £5000 in October 2007 at a rate of 6.3%, which is far better than you can get now.