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trade for a few hrs? Mine is Triumph STR. SF area. Thoughts?


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So I made it up to Marin Speed Shop last weekend to ride some Triumph Tigers.
 
They were VERY helpful and accommodating, one of the salespeople even suggesting that I ride their personal Tiger so that I could check out their aftermarket windscreen, compare XR vs XC, etc.
 
Score big points for the Madstad windscreen. If I don't like my next bike's stock screen, this is what I'm getting.
 
Anyway, I rode a 2015 XC, a 2014 XR, and another 2012? XR. XR preferable for me, because of ride height and (perceived) handling. The motor is silky and sounds beautiful...the ride is smooth...the bike is big without feeling awkward. But. The tank was too wide for my hips--and I'm a not small guy with not small hips, and I do my share of yoga. Seriously, it was uncomfortable and I was starting to get leg cramps. The bars felt a little too high and too far away for me--obviously not ape-hanger range, but didn't seem like it would be relaxing on a longer ride. And finally, it feels slow and bulky compared to my Street Triple R. And the ride is not as good as my friend's 2008 Multistrada 1100S. In fact, I think the 2008 Multistrada 1100S had the Tiger beat on every count, except for motor smoothness.
 
So then I rode a Hyperstrada...and all thoughts of Tigers went out the window. I forgot about all concern about smooth and silky, because this thing was just TOO MUCH FUN. Once I got past the feeling of being over the front wheel, kind of like in a VW Bus, I realized that this might be the one bike that could do it all...at least I assume the thing can tour, given its name? Anyway, it just begs to be ridden hard, which I couldn't really do, and it's got all the moves and sounds etc. It may not be the most practical tourer, but I think I'm in love. At $13.5k including side bags, and given that it only needs expensive valve maintenance every 18,000 miles, I am sorely tempted.
 
I still haven't properly ridden the FJ-09 yet though. I suppose I should wait til I've ridden one...?
 
PS: Comparing the Tiger with the FJ, given that there was a week in between the rides and that the ride on the FJ was very short, I would say that the FJ was more comfortable (narrower tank, more natural arm position), had a firmer front suspension (less dive), and was more of a baritone vs. the Tiger which was a melodious tenor.
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alejandro, I'm curious as to which FJ they let you test ride. I ended up buying mine from Berkeley, the gray one they had on display on June 6th. It had about 7 miles when I did my test ride. Perhaps you put on miles 2 through 7! :D
@toonbobo, hahah, that may have been the one! :-) Hope you're enjoying it. LMK if you'd like to try my Street Triple R...I may not have it for very much longer!
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@toonbobo, hahah, that may have been the one! :-) Hope you're enjoying it. LMK if you'd like to try my Street Triple R...I may not have it for very much longer!
 
Actually I've always wanted to try a street triple before getting my own 3 cylinder! If you are around on Tuesday night, I'll be joining this small group ride. Meeting at Twin Peaks SF and heading over to Berkeley, probably Grizzly Bear rd. and all that good stuff. Let me know if you can join, it would be fun to switch bikes!
[instagram url=http://instagr.am/p/31kFE7tutA]
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Great meeting you too, @toonbobo!
 
Yah, I was pretty sold on the FJ-09. I think I'm going to get one and sell my Triumph Street Triple R. When I was zipping back and forth between Oakland and San Francisco (20 minutes or so), the Triumph was just the thing, but as my trips get longer and I want to bring more stuff on them, the Triumph becomes less ideal. And it really doesn't want to have a topcase on it (it rejected it twice) never mind side cases. And the suspension is stiff, and the handing is sharp, maybe too sharp for cruising long distances on the highway. And my knees are too bent.
 
The FJ is very comfy, very adjustable, very fast, and doesn't give up anything in the fun department.
 
Only downsides I experienced were the ho-hum exhaust note, which can be fixed at some point or not, and the exactly wrong windscreen, which can be replaced (I'm thinking Madstad). 
 
One thing that I was very impressed by, and surprised by since it isn't emphasized much in the press much is the extreme configurability of the FJ. Seat height, peg config, bars, headlight, suspension, etc. Very adjustable! Knowing that there's so much to tweak makes "fit" less of a concern. Can play with things like seat height and peg position as time goes on without having to spend money and roll the dice.
 
Anyway, thanks again @toonbobo for trusting some random guy (me) with your new bike. Also thanks to others on the board for all the good info.
 
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