New bike!

[andreis]

Well, I've been waiting to post this thread for the past year or so!!!
It's finally coming together!!!
I've just returned to Romania after a brief visit to Greece to purchase a.... Triumph Tiger 1050 !!!!!
There I met with the (now former) owner, inspected the bike, said it was ok, gave the man the money, boxed the beast in a wooden crate and shipped it to my country. It's not here yet, but I'll serve some photos from my visit :

Here's the beast:

http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/5815/dsc00268z.jpg
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/9706/dsc00269gg.jpg

Here's the former owner with the beast :
http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/622/dsc00270i.jpg

And the packaging:
http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/3493/dsc00271ja.jpg


A list of current farkles:
- ABS (it was a very important thing to me..)
- Full box set (GIVI topbox and Kapa[I think] side cases)
- Centerstand
- Engine crash bars
- Bagster tank leather protection
- Gel seat
- The button mod : a button on the handlebar that allows you to scroll through the onboard computer functions (yes, Triumph did NOT include this)
- Renthal bars
- 3 available screens (short, normal, touring)

A list of immediate farkles:

- HIDS / better lights
- Suspension : the stock one is very plush and comfy, but not up for 2up and gets out of shape easily when doing fast S-es
- Longer chain guard


I'd like to say that the former owner was a really nice guy, helped me A LOT with the purchase (he arranged a lot of things like the carpenter, driving me around etc.)
I'm still waiting on the gentle beast, but when it gets here, I'll post a review and some more pictures (you know, not because you're asking, but because I want to :D)

Well then, cheers and hope to post some pretty pictures soon :smt040:smt040:drink:

[Specialone]

Nice one mate, enjoy the new beast :)

[Springbokki]

Very nice, nice blue as well!

[Reeder]

It's very blue

[andreis]

It's very blue

Hm... I thought it was quite happy to see me :smt019 :D
But yes, that blue really shines in the sun :D
At first I really wanted a scorched yellow one, but in all honesty, I didn't find one for the money I had. Plenty of black or blue ones though. So, I gave it a try with this blue beauty and I've really taken a shine ;) to it once I saw it in the flesh, in the sun.

And for those that noticed, yes, I will tuck that Bagster cover properly (it's like that because before taking the pictures, I took it off to see if there was any damage to the tank that was being hidden)

[Specialone]

I think its a cracking colour tbh, im more of a black bike person in fairness but it still looks the nuts :)

[andreis]

I think its a cracking colour tbh, im more of a black bike person in fairness but it still looks the nuts :)

Thank you! Keep the compliments coming :cool: (hm... sounds like something my gf would say)

I've talked to the transport firm and it seems like I'll probably have to wait until Thursday to get it :smt009
Boy, it's always like this: time moves proportionally slow to the amount of excitement

[Reeder]

Spose it is actually quite a nice colour. I can imagine it looks better in that blue than a black one would, but for most other bikes I'd choose black.

[rictus01]

not really my thing (I don't get the "off road tourer" thing), but those engines are very nice, hope you have many enjoyable miles on it.

One question those, obviously I've no idea exactly where you got the bike, but I would have seen it as a prime excuse to ride it home, or was it a paperwork issue ?

Cheers Mark.

[andreis]

not really my thing (I don't get the "off road tourer" thing), but those engines are very nice, hope you have many enjoyable miles on it.

One question those, obviously I've no idea exactly where you got the bike, but I would have seen it as a prime excuse to ride it home, or was it a paperwork issue ?

Cheers Mark.

Well, first of all, it's not an off-road bike. It's only a sport-tourer with a bit longer suspension. The previous generations did try to pretend that they go off-road (who takes a 250kg bike off-road?), but the 1050 Tiger really doesn't try to: it's got 17inch wheels, a powerful engine and the ergonomics are bad for standing up on the pegs (but it is comfortable for sitting down).

Regarding the riding home part: I had to de-register it from Greek circulation so that the former owner could stop paying tax on it and they took the plates and invalidated its road registration, so I could not ride it legally. Even if I could, I doubt I would have: I do not have riding clothes for temperatures as low as those that were at the time in Romania and Bulgaria (the high was 5 Celsius during the day).
But yes, you are right, I'm a woos for not riding it home :roll: It would have been an epic journey :)

Cheers

[rictus01]

Oh I agree it's not an off road bike but it's given that look , although triumph aimed it sqaurely at road use (the last of the "bugeyed" tigers came with alloy wheels rather than spoked) , but why the soft long travel suspension? the more traditional tourers manage perfectly well without it? so you end up with a high COG without the lightness to make real use of it :smt102

A style thing I can understand, after all we're all different, having ridden the current crop of 1050's (Tiger/Speed/ST) all are good bikes but if I was into touring (and could manage the weight) I think the ST would be my choice for the function although would agree the tiger looks better.

Cheers Mark.

[andreis]

I pondered long and hard about the very same decision. In my eyes, both the Sprint and the Tiger look great. I think the Sprint has the better engine, mainly because of the forged pistons (the Tiger has cast pistons and they tend to go bad after 100k miles) and most likely, out of the box, the Sprint out-handles the Tiger.
BUT the Tiger has a better position for me (I have a bad knee and need to have a large knee angle), better brakes, it's lighter than the Sprint and with some mildly serious investment can be made to handle like or better than the Sprint (better suspension and moving kgs from up high to down low). Plus, I needed the stock pothole soaking ability of the Tiger because the roads in my country are REALLY bad.
As an extra, I think the Sprint would have given me trouble with the heat management.

In the end, I had to go with the Tiger mainly because the first things I would have done to a Sprint, had I bought one, would have been to make it more like a Tiger. I tallied the costs of each and the Tiger came on top for the long run.

But I do have to admit that had this Tiger purchase fallen through, my next bike on the list would have been a Sprint that I could have bought locally (for quite a bit less too, but not enough to tilt the tables).

Cheers

[rictus01]

fair enough, we all have different factors governing our choices, and I can't dispute the choice of the new generation Triumphs as I've had 10 of them myself.

Now all you have to do is plan your adventures on it.

Cheers Mark.

[andreis]

True, true. Different factors for different people.

The first adventure will be to get it registered with Romanian authorities. That always seems to become an adventure, no matter how well planned.

The second will be getting used to the bike and I think I'm gonna take it on short-medium trip to get it to stretch its legs.

On a side note: I very much appreciated your thread about the miles you've done last year. You say you owned 10 Triumphs. I say you should get ready to own one more : I've heard that next year they're bringing out a "Tiger 1050 Sport". Rumor has it it will have the Speed engine, in a Tiger chassis with revised suspension... Now how's that for a great mile munching, grin inducing combination?

[rictus01]

I take it registering involves more than a form then? do you have to do something like an SVA?

unfortunately my knee can't take the weight anymore,I love the T5 engine and most of mine were speedtriples (although I had a Daytona and a T595, but turned both into nakeds) I've a modified 955 speedtriple in my front garden with 17 miles on it which if I could would be my weapon of choice, but then the tt600 was fun and the Tbird sport a different type of riding but in the end got the Speed four as my daily ride, I miss the engine, but IL4's ridden right have their own charm and of course I have the superduke* for that "big power" kick when needed.


* a very light and narrow big bike

Cheers Mark.

[Sid Squid]

:cool: Very smart! Congratulations Andreis.

Question: What is a farkle? :)

[andreis]

Yep, registering the bike will involve taking it in for "authentication" - a process in which the serials are checked, its history searched to see if it was stolen and also a technical check. The thing is, although this all sounds just fine, in real life I can only take it to one place in my city which can do this procedure and the person there is an absolute ar*ehole who will stop at nothing to degrade you while you're there and to make you aware that he always has the power to deny your paperwork on made-up reasons.
Also, there will be a rather large amount of paperwork to be done, which is redundant and usually takes a lot of running around.
But it is worth it in the end. It's just sad because it doesn't have to be this way, it's just some self-important pric*s that make it so.

In any case, I know what you're saying about the duke. I very much fancy the new 690 duke which I'm sure is the dogs bolloc*s in the way only a very light (160kg wet weight!!!) bike with a tremendous torque-to-weight ratio can be... I'm sure I'd love a 130kg 400 duke as well :D Great times to be a biker :D

[Dicky Ticker]

Rictus-----have you seen the state of some of the roads in Romania and Bulgaria once you come of the main drags----------The Tiger will be the tool for the job.

Enjoy your new toy and many many happy miles

Stupid law in greece regarding the tax and number plates.

[andreis]

:cool: Very smart! Congratulations Andreis.

Question: What is a farkle? :)

Hehe I'm glad you asked.

"FARKLE

n. an aftermarket accessory or gadget installed on a motorcycle to make it more functional, unique or aesthetically pleasing.
v. to install a farkle onto your motorcycle."

I picked it up somewhere on the forums :)

[Sid Squid]

Cool! We have a new word - I can't wait to use it!

[The Idle Biker]

As in "Idle Biker knows farkale about engines".

it is pronounced fark all