What owners say…
MOST TIGER OWNERS seem to be relatively mature and pretty experienced, often coming from big sportsbikes (looking for more comfort), big tourers (looking for less weight) or big adventure bikes (looking for lower seats and better day-to-day economy).
At 27, Tim Dubber’s at the younger end of the scale but he’s already had 14 bikes, mostly big Triumphs and BMWS. He’s clocked up 10,000 miles so far on his 2011 Tiger 800 XC.
“I live up in the Highlands of Scotland, and do very high miles,” he says, “so the Tiger was well suited. I like the superb triple engine. Revvy but with plenty of torque and makes an incredible noise with the standard exhaust. The chassis is perfect for UK roads, and the light weight makes it handle brilliantly on B roads. A bit more power would be nice, but it’s swings and roundabouts. Overall, love the thing.”
Peter Norton is at the other end of the scale. At 74 he’s got a long biking history: “I started on a knobbly-tyred Excelsior 125 at age 17… The predecessor to this 2011 800 was a Yamaha MT-01: what a super engine, but too stiff. The Tiger fixed all that. Its flat torque curve meant that I didn’t need to work the gearbox and I could deliberately seek out the worst of our UK road surfaces with no complaints from my ageing back.
“With occasional fast A-road blasts and motorway runs of 300 miles plus, I see fuel consumption beyond 50mpg with 60mpg-plus not uncommon despite the tall Triumph screen. At 26,000 miles I’m still on the original pads and drive chain set.
“The chain oiler I use is a simple model-aircraft fuel tank and is now fitted to its third bike. It will take the chain to the 50,000-plus miles I got from my Honda CBX750 and VFR750K.”
Dave Cusdin’s another experienced owner, with 40 years’ riding including instructing for CBTS and training with the IAM. “The Tiger is the ultimate utility bike,” he reckons. “It’s economical to run, light on tyres, has fantastic headlights, a comfortable riding position and is adjustable for short arses like me. The seats are easy to remove and it has a really useful 12v socket as standard. Triumph accessories, though pricey, fit the bike well.
“The engine has excellent fuelling and is very tractable. It sounds great with the Arrow exhaust and is fast enough to keep up with most bikes on the public roads. Handles well enough for me.
“Bad points? The engine can be vibey… I fitted the thicker footrest rubbers to damp the vibes down. It also uses a bit of oil - 500-750ml between services. The rear tyre pressure sensor has been replaced under warranty because it kept giving me false alarms. It’s a bastard to keep clean – too many nooks and crevices, and the predominantly dark finish doesn’t lend itself to shiny bike syndrome. Overall, though,
“It’s revvy and makes an incredible noise” Tim Dubber 2011 Tiger 800 XC owner
I’m happy with the bike.”
So is Stan Shires. He got his 2013 model to replace a Honda Blackbird. “It started to give me neck pain and when that combined with my first ever points on my licence I decided to get something slower and more comfortable. Enter the Tiger 800. I have owned the Tiger for just over three years and my licence is now clean so it has done its job!
“I use it for Sunday blasts and have also done some weekend tours in Wales with friends. People moan about the seat being hard, but I have ridden all day and it never bothered me. It looks great, and has never missed a beat. I think I will keep it forever.”