MCN Long term test - Tiger GT Explorer

[T1200GTE]

Not sure if this has been linked already, but here goes...

[pahiker]

Interesting review. Noticed he also had issues with air in the clutch line.

[Meese]

Originally Posted by pahiker

Interesting review. Noticed he also had issues with air in the clutch line.

And there's now a Service Bulletin 604 released for clutch issues.

[Robin]

Had a go on the Rally version a few weeks ago and was seriously impressed. What was a deal breaker was the bad vibrations at motorway + speed.

Is the GT version any better?

[jjscsix]

Originally Posted by Robin

Had a go on the Rally version a few weeks ago and was seriously impressed. What was a deal breaker was the bad vibrations at motorway + speed.

Is the GT version any better?

I don’t know if it’s better or not, but I’m now over 7,000 miles on the GT and the vibrations don’t bother me. I can understand though that they may bother some folks.  I love the bike.

[Meese]

Originally Posted by Robin

What was a deal breaker was the bad vibrations at motorway + speed.

Same T-plane motor in the Rally and GT. There are variations between individual bikes, and it does tend to smooth out some as the motor breaks in, but all Gen 4 Tigers will have some level of “character”.

I wish they’d have gone with T-plane on the more off-road focused Rally, and left the smooth 120° triple in the more road/focused GT bikes. Give us more differentiation than just front wheel size and an inch difference in suspension.

[Robin]

Originally Posted by Meese

I wish they’d have gone with T-plane on the more off-road focused Rally, and left the smooth 120° triple in the more road/focused GT bikes. Give us more differentiation than just front wheel size and an inch difference in suspension.

  My thoughts exactly

[Robin]

Poking around on the tinternet revealed the the 900 owner are experiencing the same issues. Various things have been tried and on there those who suffer find the vibes through the bars to be the issue.

My experience was that but there was a lot of uncomfortable vibes through the seat. Hence my original question Rally V GT or Larger knobbly tyre V road based tyres.

Interestingly after the usual remedies, grip puppies, anti vibe bar risers and bar end weights. Someone discovered that having the bike in sports mode at high speed helped. There was also a marked improvement after the 10k service.

So after explaining this to the wife who like the Triumph. We have had a demo ride on the Honda NT1100 and The Versys 1000 at the weekend she suggested we go and have a go on the GT version so she can see what its like for herself.

[Bjorn_OW]

Originally Posted by Robin

...
My experience was that but there was a lot of uncomfortable vibes through the seat. Hence my original question Rally V GT or Larger knobbly tyre V road based tyres.

Interestingly after the usual remedies, grip puppies, anti vibe bar risers and bar end weights. Someone discovered that having the bike in sports mode at high speed helped. There was also a marked improvement after the 10k service.

...

I have the TT1200 GT Pro. Through the previous summer season, I've been under the impression that this bike has vibrations. February 20th, we had a short spell of fair weather here, so I had to take the bike for a spin. Riding some 70 kilometers, 50 of them at 120km/h (70mph) and the rest back roads at various lower speeds, the vibrations wasn't a nuisance to me. Of course, this can be PMS kicking in at it's fullest but still! My bike is on Conti TKC 70 front and TKC 70 Rocks rear. I can't remember changing from the OEM tires to this set gave any change for the vibe feeling last May and June. I ride sport mode unless the road is wet from rain or when riding gravel/dirt. I never felt vibrations from the seat, just from the handlebars. I really don't know what has happened to the vibe feeling as it now maybe isn't so obvious anymore? 

I recall the Kawasaki Versys 1000 being prone to giving some owners numb hands due to superfine vibrations on the handlebars. For those scenarios, heavier handlebar weights often is a cure giving happy owners and riders.