Triumphrat

TheHaymaker

After an invite from a friend of a fairly lengthy dirt ride, I figured "What the hay, I gotta get it dirty sooner or later."

Vast majority of the ride was dirt roads and an abandoned railbed with a few quad trails connecting the segments. It's doubtful I will do any thing this harsh again with her, but I had to see. For the rougher stuff, that's what my XR650R is for.

BUT, I must say, I am amazed with how well the XC handles in the dirt. The ride consisted of three DR650's and a DR400. They all asked the ride leader, upon seeing my Tiger, if "plans had changed and we were doing a road ride". I was more than happy to surprise them.

I was a lot of fun to take a 500lb bike with street tires in the woods and have it carve so well, giving a challenge to the boys, mounted on what should have been more dirt worthy steeds, a run for their money.

It's no "Portland to Dakar", the camera was aimed too low, and I stayed in front as much as possible to avoid roost, but enjoy.

stunod66

Awesome..... What a blast.

KingofZroad

Thanks... I want an 800xc EVEN MORE now!!

PixMan

Wow, nice. Were you able to keep the rubber side gown the whole time? That was some pretty rough stuff, but the sand seemed to be the biggest challenge for those tires.

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2011 Tiger 800 ABS. Crystal White

Farmer Jon

How Fun! It looks like you gained quite a bit of confidence as the day progressed. Great job of handling the big girl...

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Jon

cdubya

All new threads asking, "Is the Tiger 800XC "really" off road capable?" should be directed to your video. Awesome. Put it in the hands of a capable rider and she's very versatile. Nice work. Some great saves!

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'06 Scrambler: De-AI'ed, CARK/Pods, Emgo 12" Shorty's, 145mains, 40pilots, stock needles, no shims
'07 Bonnie Blk: De-AI'ed, De-Snorked, K&N + NH Peashooters, 118mains, 40 pilots, one shim
'05 Tiger 955i: No airbox plate, Debaffled stock exhaust

TheHaymaker

Barely. I tried to stay conservative, the bike it 1k on the ride, too early to have battle scars. Nearest call was in a stretch immediately after the 'wheelers. I rounded a corner with two of the DR's on my tail and found a slick spot. The front end washed. If it woulda been another foot to the raised edge, I couldn't have saved it.

For such a heavy, softly suspended, bald tired bike, I was very happy with her sand handling. A little more speed would've been the key. When I hit that whoop section, you notice me glancing down at the bare top of my tank. THAT was the sand issue causing the weeble-wobbling. There was supposed to be a tank bag there, but it was not being held between my knees and I could get into the right attack position for soft sand, nor could I apply speed.

Other than that, even the roots were a hoot. Am I happy with her? Very. She far exceeded my expectations for a bike that I only intend to do the occasional dirt road with.

Topcat59

As everyone has already said.. but i am going to repeat anyway - "Great Video review".. Triumph should reach out to you for feedback!

Thanks
Tom

TheHaymaker

Thanks guys! Can't wait to do some better ones.

Tom, not far from you as I type this. Shacked up in a hotel in Carlstadt.... Sans Tiger.

NORTY FLATZ

Impressive video!

You had everything that Triumph likely exposed that motorcycle to.

Water? check
Asphalt? check
Hardpack dirt? check
Soft sand? check
Steep inclines? check
Woods single track? check
Mud? check
Gravel? check



Well done sir!

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You can't put a price on a good time!