Tried a Triumph Tiger 800 and Yamaha Super Tenere today

[Tobers]

Stop the juvenile flapping please.

Tiger 1200 hitting the stores end of this year or early next year apparently according to a dealer I had a chat to. That will be good timing for me. Very interesting.

 

[RichieS]

Stop the juvenile flapping please.

Tiger 1200 hitting the stores end of this year or early next year apparently according to a dealer I had a chat to. That will be good timing for me. Very interesting.

If we go in holding hands, do you think they will give us a discount for His and His bikes? !!

 

[Rasher]

I am sure I have heard several reports of gearbox failures and clutch issues (including my own) on the GS, but perhaps they are rare occurences? I have also noticed that in traffic the clutch gets a bit smelly, I got stuck in a load of congestion (bloody cycle race) on the Galibier on Holiday and constant stop start uphill made the clutch overheat, the same happened in a traffic jam we encountered on the Motorway during our return, when a clutch starts stinking after a couple of miles of slow riding I assume it is not all that robust.

My mistake on service intervals, I thought he Yamaha's were 8k, it may be the VFR motors Honda are fitting in the Cross-Tourer are 8k then, I know something I looked at was 8k intervals.

Anyway the BMW services are between £250 for the most basic, rising to about £450 for the 24k, so over a 24k cycle amount to about £1300 - plus any extra charges for the annual items not included in the mile schedules (which I believe is likely to be a couple of fluid changes) - maybe £1500 based on 24k over 4 years?

I am pretty sure even the Honda was a bit cheaper than the BMW when I added up the figures (assuming same costs as the VFR) and I would guess the new Triumph will be somewhere between the Tenere and Cross-Tourer.

I reckon both the Honda and Yamaha will prove to be pretty bullet-proof, not so sure as to the Triumph, is this their first attempt at a shaftie??? Then again even with a long track record for shaft driven bikes BMW managed to totally bugger up with the GS FD.

One thing I do prefer is a single sider, I have to admit the second best practicle feature of the GS (after the really quite excellent luggage) is that wheel removal is by far the easiest of any bike I have ever owned, even the front is a doddle.

I had a closer look at the Tenere luggage today and took along my Vario panier liners to compare sizes, the Yamaha stuff is about as narrow as the Vario's in the retracted state, but they are quite a bit deeper, at a guess I reckon it is very close for capacity to the Vario's and definately considerably less than the GSA boxes.

Extra marks for being top loading though, the one thing that is a pain on Vario's is getting them to close up and I think being able to ram stuff down from above is a better system, anyone gone from Vario to Metal cases who can confirm?

What is great is that there is soon going to be a lot more choice with some real contenders to the GS allrounder crown, the Stelvio is very nice (for the brave) the Yamaha comes pretty close from what I can tell from a test ride and Honda and Triumph have yet to place their cards on the table.

I think the Honda and Triumph may be a bit pricey, the Yamaha at current deal prices is pretty good value even if you do consider the GS reliable and cheap to service, a new kitted Yamaha is a good few grand cheaper on a like for like basis.

 

[Stonker]

not so sure as to the Triumph, is this their first attempt at a shaftie???

I've never adjusted the chain on my Rocket 111

 

[Tobers]

If we go in holding hands, do you think they will give us a discount for His and His bikes? !!

Well they should definitely give us a discount for the novelty value alone. Maybe we will get more if we let them take pictures.

Popped a new clutch in the KTM today. After 25k miles the old one was getting a bit snatchy when cold but nothing that really had to be replaced. However seeing as I had a clutch set in the garage it seemed rude not to.

Took 30 mins from start to finish using just one single tool. Lovely again now. Its amazing how a couple of tweaks makes a bike feel like new again - in my case new pads, throttle cables and clutch. Yum.

Note to self - dont forget to open the fuel taps after refitting the tank otherwise range becomes quite limited.

 

[garthy73]

Triumph1200 adventure

For some info, a mate had a test ride on the 800 Tiger at the weekend, but found he wanted a bit more power. The dealer told him that the 1200 Adventure will be available from early spring next year

 

[Tobers]

Thanks. That timing is useful - bonus due at the end of March...

 

[RichieS]

1200 triumph

No bonus, but the timing sounds right. All we need now is a price !!!

 

[Tobers]

Dude - one of us could get the Yam, and the other the Triumph. We could then swap them around, like wife swapping but not as messy.

 

[RichieS]

1200....

I popped into Destination Triumph today, and the salesman confirmed a public viweing in November with it going on sale early next year. reckoned a price of abot 10.5k....and then all the toys.
So whilst i was there it would have been a shame not to test a few toys.
Tried the 800XC. Super smooth, but needs more punch and far better front brakes. Steering also seemed a tad slow with the 19" front, and i dont like the idea of a tubed tyre. If the 1200 has more punch and better brakes, it could be a serious contender.

And from the sublime to the ridiculous. Next came a Speed Triple. Looks wise, its the mutts, but too small, far to hard. Every bump in the road jarred my back! Front brakes awesome, but for a naked bike i would sooner have the KTM Super Moto.

So far, i think the Super Tenere is edging it,for speed, and brakes, but still a few more to try.

 

[AndyT]

Well I bought a Tiger 800XC earlier in the year and have enjoyed riding it immensley however I agree with a few of the points stated regarding power. On its own theres adequate power but loaded up with full panniers and top box I had a few "moments" when over taking as you need to drop a few cogs. Its a hoot to ride though and the sound of that engine is pure music to your ears.

One thing nobody has mentioned yet and it may be a quirk of my bike is the fact that I get terrible pins and needles on my throttle hand due to the vibes coming through so much so that on some of the Apline passes in Austria and Slovenia it was difficult to keep going. I've had a recall about a fuel mapping issue which may help it but I recon the 1200 is the way to go when it arrives.

Pound for pound they are fantastic value and of course British which cant be a bad thing

AndyT

 

[RichieS]

The hunt continues....

Well, another sunny day, so another test ride.

Today was the turn of the KTM 990 SMT

Having ridden Tobers 950SM and knowing what a razor blade it is, i was expecting more of the same.

Alot of people have cvomplained that the 990 engine, being fuel injected is snatchy when in town and at slow speed. I have to say, i found none of this

Now conpared the the GS, the SMT does feel very small and a tad cramped at first.

The saddle, for the short length of time i rode it seemed comfortable enough, and the small screen certainly appeared to deflect most of the wind, although i think i would need to check this on a sustained high speed motorway run to really have an opinion.

The engine is a peach and the niose at 4k revs is intoxicating and only encourages hooligan behaviour!! The brakes are fanyastic front and rear and haul you up very easily indeed.

The wheelbase being shorter than the GS i did find myself tipping in to corners too early, but i am sure if i owned one i would sort that issue out.

According to the dealer, riding sensibly would get you 180 miles to a tankfull, and if hooning around nearer the 130 mark. The trouble is, i cant see you riding this bike sensibly anywhere!!!!

The trouble with owning a GS is that you get spoilt with all the toys that you tend to take for granted, and as such, the SMT seems short on luxuries like a fuel gauge to name one!!

Having said all this, at under 10k for the standard bike, it is a very good left field alternative.

Of the bikes i have so far tested, this is the front runner, and apparently in 2013 there is a 1200 version coming out which may prompt some deals....but i am looking at changing by June 2012.

watch this space

 

[Bryn]

A couple of weeks ago had a test ride on a Super Ten down at the national bikesafe show at Gaydon... liked it a lot

Had an email this week from Martin Cole at Alf England ( Yamaha ) offering me the demo bike for £8999 .... thats a good saving for a low mileage example ( no boxes or heated grips though)

Sadly got to wait til next March before my next bike purchase

 

[Rasher]

Sounds like a fair deal, they are available at £9999 all over the place and Yamaha are giving 0% of 18 months, I even got offered OK px on stock GS, if it were not for lack of work I would have chopped it in, put difference on credit and then sold of GS bits to repalce the standard deathwings / fill the tank a few times.

 

[Rasher]

Doing a bit more research and came across an interesting article comparing the real weights of the GS models and the Yamaha:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12836924&postcount=2381

Although real weight Vs how a bike feels is not the same, if I did not know the Yamaha was heavier before I rode it I would have guessed it was the same, or maybe lighter then the GS - probably would notice the pushing it up my driveway though!

 

[BBB61]

A couple of weeks ago had a test ride on a Super Ten down at the national bikesafe show at Gaydon... liked it a lot

Had an email this week from Martin Cole at Alf England ( Yamaha ) offering me the demo bike for £8999 .... thats a good saving for a low mileage example ( no boxes or heated grips though)

Sadly got to wait til next March before my next bike purchase

£4k below list and that is at a dealers. What PX's would owner be offered if a demo bike is being knocked out at £9k??

 

[Rasher]

£4k below list and that is at a dealers. What PX's would owner be offered if a demo bike is being knocked out at £9k??

I am guessing no more than £8k, about what my GS with all its luggage and Wilburs setup is worth, so if anyone has an under 12 month old Tenere with less than about 6k on the clock I will swap it for my GS right now!

 

[BBB61]

Yes, but your GS is three years old.

 

[Rasher]

Yes, but your GS is three years old.

Yeah, sounds like a great deal to me!

I think at Today's prices my bike with the BMW extra's (but excluding all the other bits I attached) would come to just over £13.5k, so I would guess the original owner probably paid £500 - £1,000 less, so had he kept it for the full3 years and sold it privately he would have lost about £5.5k.

I don't think many people (anyone?) actually paid £13k for theYamaha, the first edition ones came with boxes, sump gaurd, headlight protector etc so would probably still be worth close to £10k at a year old.

Was it about £6k less than Stretch paid for his Adventure that BMW dealers were offering him one year on? and even as a private sale I think he lost about £5k on it.

Buying any bike new and selling it a year on is always a huge loser, sure Yamaha dropping the new price by £3k has not helped, but unlike BMW dealers, Jap dealers do discounts on new bikes and IMHO you have to be mad to pay full list on them, I have only bought a few new bikes but have always got some discount, often with low finance and sometimes with extra's thrown in as well.

Not forgetting the peace of mind of of new bike, where every component is new, a "proper" full 2 year warranty (3 years on some Honda's I believe)

Most used bikes have half worn tyres, are half way to a service and do not have such a good warranty (and still depreciate as soon as you buy them - especially if from a dealer)

Pays yer money and all that, and at £10k the Yamaha looks like a bargain, ABS and Traction control are thrown in, as is an onboard computer - so similar to a GS with Dynamic and Comfort packs.

I see Nick Saunders has just gone up and down America three times on one - 51,000 miles in four months, bike mag have stripped it down and the motor is like new, I am sure a GS motor would still be OK, but it would almost certainly have killed an FD with that type of use - and if he had tried it on an early model GS it would have covered more miles on the back of a recovery truck with EWS, FPC and multiple FD failures.

The one thing I am still not convinced about is the Yamaha luggage, why do the Japs never take this area seriously, the metal boxes are at best the same size as Vario's and nowhere near the Adventures league, and they are so slim, it would be easy to offer a wider option of about 50% larger (and they would still be smaller than GSA kit.

Also a little dissapointed they did not get 120BHP from the thing, should have been easy with the far more modern motor and I am surprised one of their targets was not more power than the GS.

 

[Bryn]

The one thing in the luggage's favour is that they are top loaders ( I believe) so will be easier to open without everything spilling out.... I suppose you could get a Tenere without the boxes then look at after market alternatives made of sterner stuff... but saying that they did Nick Sanders alright ( assuming he used genuine luggage)