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Tracer 1000??


Dark&Stormy

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I owned, for a short time, an earlier Tiger Sport 1050 SE, in a retina-searing orange colour (but I liked it!).   The SE designation included colour-matched panniers.   The SE was a nice bike, with a great triple engine, albeit at a wet weight of 245kg a little heavy for me even then, but its seat was - if you can believe it - even worse than on Gen 1 Tracers.   Being an extreme sort-of banana shape when viewed from side-on - the screen-shot below shows it well - it made the rider fall into the bottom of the 'dip', with not much ability to wriggle around and find that 'sweet spot'.   I spend over $400 getting the seat modified - it didn't help one little bit. 

I didn't keep it long enough to be able to comment on servicing costs!   And I cannot understand why Triumph does not market the newer Tiger Sport in the US!

 ge5544703577700391282.jpg?width=1024&height=683&aspect=pad

Edited by wordsmith
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Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia.   

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On 2/16/2019 at 12:28 PM, micah2074 said:

Looks nice. I hear maintenance on triumphs gets expensive?

I think with any brand, service cost depends on the dealer you use and whether you do some/all servicing yourself.

I had a TT600 and it was pretty cheap to own. Some Triumph parts were oddly expensive, yes. For example I remember Triumph wanted $50 for a fuel filter, but I could buy exactly the same filter at a BMW dealer for just $15. 

I would also note that the TT600 was obviously designed for serviceability. Oil and filter could be changed without removing any fairings; the radiator mount had a nice hinge for sparkplug access; all fairing fasteners were the same; etc. I can't say if any of this applies to modern Triumphs, but the one I owned was easy and cheap to live with.

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On 2/16/2019 at 12:42 PM, wordsmith said:

...but its seat was - if you can believe it - even worse than on Gen 1 Tracers.   Being an extreme sort-of banana shape when viewed from side-on - the screen-shot below shows it well - it made the rider fall into the bottom of the 'dip', with not much ability to wriggle around and find that 'sweet spot'. 

 ge5544703577700391282.jpg?width=1024&height=683&aspect=pad

I had the same issue on a Tiger 800XR that I rented two years ago. Awful, awful seat. And compared to my FJ-09 the Tiger 800 engine was, uh, "tame" to put it mildly. I was glad I bought the Yamaha.

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On 2/16/2019 at 8:28 PM, micah2074 said:

Looks nice. I hear maintenance on triumphs gets expensive?

I had a Daytona 675 for 5 years and 58,000 miles. Nothing more expensive than any other motorcycle. 

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'15 FJ09

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Old thread but having put about 30,000 miles on a Tiger 1050 in about 20 months I can tell you it was a very good but not great bike. Everyone said the same thing, terrible aerodynamics. No service issues whatsoever. The FJ-09 doesn’t have the same torque as the 1050, go figure it’s a smaller engine but it is far and away a better bike.  Don’t need no stinkin’ Tiger Sport for me. 

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On 2/16/2019 at 12:28 PM, micah2074 said:

Looks nice. I hear maintenance on triumphs gets expensive?

Yeah I was quoted $1700 a month ago for the 36k service on my Tiger 800 XCx. I love a Triumph (I've owned 3), but honestly I don't think I'll ever buy one again because of the service costs and how hard it is to get parts quickly in the US.

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On 2/8/2019 at 6:03 PM, tktplz said:

Betoney, I hear you and I love my 200 mile range on the FJ. That being said.......I'm an ole VMax guy and a longtime member of the VMOA. I rode Gen 1 VMaxes, owned 3 of them and wasn't a big Gen 2 fan. On gen 1 VMaxes you got 127 miles out of a tank. And a Member John Furber made rear ends with Venture gearing. They got 165 miles out of a tank and only dropped the RPMs by 500. And on hard acceleration still yealded a long black strip all thru 2nd gear. But now I ride with quite a few Gen2 Vmxes at 3 meets a year I make. With some of their reflashes, they get 90 miles on a tank, reserve and all. Totally out at 90. But hey we've known each other for about 25 years and really enjoy the visit every year, makes it easy to make lots of gas stops. I'm in that 60-year young group now. I was riding a 1996 ZX11 Ninja before I bought the FJ09. It has a 6.5 gallon tank and got 43 miles to a gallon. I used to get gas every other time we stopped, LOL! I'm more than happy myself with 108 RWHP but those Gen2 VMaxes come out of a corner and nail it with 196 RWHP. They just zip past 150 MPH like the FJ09 zips past 90. Now that I think about it I'm pretty happy they need gas every 75 miles or so. As I get more seasoned, as in a seasoned citizen, holding focus for more than 75 miles of twisties is getting harder. 😵 I almost went with the FZ10 as we call it here when it 1st came out. Then I checked the insurance. $376.00 every 6 months...The FJ09 costs me $78.12 every 6 months.  I don't have to have 143 RWHP and 463 lbs. anymore but 5 years ago I would have. If they could put an FJ in front of it my insurance guy says FJ means touring, FZ means naked bike/hooligan. I can tell I'm almost past the point of entertaining the thought of owning a sport-touring 143 RWHP lightweight bike. A little less hooligan these days.......Still, love the light weight power to weight ratio of this FJ. It puts the sport back in sport touring.....don't tell my insurance agent, LOL!

I need to shop for insurance. I am paying $789 a year on my 17 FJ-09 through safeco! 

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18 hours ago, Willie17FJ-09 said:

I need to shop for insurance. I am paying $789 a year on my 17 FJ-09 through safeco! 

I use State Farm and I have liability and uninsured motorist. I already have healthcare so I don't need that.  And if I buy a close to new bike I pay mostly cash and take out a signature loan so I don't have to buy collision. I'm covered for most things unless I screw up and wreck myself. If that happens I buy another used bike. It works for me. Same with my cars. If I screw up I'll buy another but if anyone else hits me I'm covered even if they are un-insured.

Edited by tktplz
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Ain't no fun when the rabbit gets the gun!

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On 2/16/2019 at 8:20 PM, micah2074 said:

Meh, A major selling point for my Fj was the triple. I wanted a triple. Now, If they came out with a triple in the 1000 to 1200 range...

One of my friends has a Triumph Tiger 1250 Explorer and he says it is the best bike he has had for town and long distance riding.

He got it when his Kawasaki GTR1400 chewed a shaft gear on a round the country trip so he traded it in on the Tiger and hasn't looked back.

757121097_Triumph1250Explorer.jpg.4b806fc9da758c395596119a9387e0db.jpg

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