As those of you who have been on the forum a long time know. I had a Lemon of a Tiger, most definitely not representative of the fine motorcycle. After many hours of working on it instead of riding, I decided to buy a new bike. I waited until there was enough information about the 07 Tiger before making my descision. It was moving in the wrong direction for me so I had to jump ship.
Last week I bought an 06 R12GS Adventure. I thought I'd give it a write up for those of you who are curious.
NEGATIVES:
(I'll start here as that is what most of you will be looking for
)
Seat Comfort:
The germans can build mechanical items perfectly, but making them comfortable is another story. The seat is closer to a midevil tourture device than than it is to being something usable. This will be my first modification. My miles will be drastically limited until I can get this replaced. My butt hurts just thinking about it...
Vibration:
Being that it is a large dispalcement twin, there is definitely larger vibrations that the Tiger. They are not harsh, but definitely distracting to any Tiger pilot. Most notable is the side to side vibration when sitting still or coming to the last few feet of a stop. It's a bit unerving at first. I will say that the more miles I put on it, the less I notice it.
Ergonomics:
The seating area is more cramped that the tiger, especially riding two up. I have made modifications to my tiger (Corbin saddle & Bar risers.) to make it more to my liking. I am also a big fan of Freeway pegs to give me an alternate place to put my feet when on long highway sections. The BMW does not accomodate them as well as it is incredibly wide in the fornt end. I was able to mount pegs on the included engine guards, but it is noticably wider and less comfortable.
All things concidered I would like to sit half way between the rider and passenger seats in order to be the most comfortable. (I'm 6'1" tall)
User Servicability:
I feel myself to be a very competant mechanic and do not have any trouble performing any maintenace or repairs on the Tiger. To say I would be intimidated to work on the BMW would be an understatement. I will definitely be taking this to the dealer for repairs. The electronics on this bike are as complicated as the space shuttle. (Hopefully more reliable)
Tele-leaver Front end:
Not as stable when cornering. The tiger is definitely more fun in the twisties.
Price:
I could have bought two Tigers for what I paid for this beast. That is not an exaggeration. When properly equipped, (ABS, computer, fog lights, luggage) the cost is over 20K USD. A Tiger can be had for 10K.
POSITIVES:
Wind Protection:
My biggest complaint about the tiger has always been the buffeting. I have tried four different wind screens, homade braces, lips, edging, etc. and have never come close to the calm I find behind the Adventures windscreen. It is sheer bliss to be able to ride without the feeling that I have a tribe of Natives banging out a drum solo on my helmet. I almost wept at the calm and peace. The body fairing and cylinders also provide protection for legs and feet when rinding. Last evening I rode through a terrible section of rode that was innundated with flying insects. At the end of the ride, the bike was covered and I did not have one on me.
Seat hight/adjustibility:
The seat is easily adjustable for not only highth, but for and aft camber. I quickly was able to set the seat for my leg height and was still able to safely touch the ground. On the tiger, I'm on my tip toes and have dropped it twice due to stopping on uneven ground. I feel more confident standing over the GS.
Power:
The power band on the GS is incredible. The 1200 engine runs like a tractor would if it were made by Porsche. It has incredible low end torque and just continues throughout the powerband. No dead spots, no hiccupts in the fuel map, no missing at certain RPM's, Nothing but usable power any place you put the throttle. (Take not on this point Triumph)
Instrament Console:
Readible in any light conditions. The tigers console is blinding at night and light are invisible in sunlight. None of that on the GS. Everything is readable at all times and well laid out. The computer is brilliant. It's wonderfuil to know your Milage and range at a glance as well as all the other features the computer has to offer.
Preload adjustment:
No more taking off the seat and fiddling with tools when I want to take my wife to the store on my bike. A few twists of the pre-load knob and off we go. Easy peasy.
Tele-leaver Front end:
No brake dive! The awsome braking power of the ABS is completely tamed by the GS's from suspension. It's quite amasing actually.
Range:
With an 8+ US gallon tank you can easily range 400 miles on one tank if you are frugal with the throttle use. I'm averageing 40 MPG during break in, I imagine it will go up when as the engine loosens up.
Wheels:
Tubless parimiter Spoked wheels are rock solid. I have ridden motocross bikes that had more frgile wheels than these. A very nice upgrade.
No Chain to Adjust:
The single sided shaft driven rear end does not require any service and makes changing a real wheel as easy as can be.
Fit and Finish:
The german definitly know how to build mechanical devices. When I stand back and study the machine, I'm desitinctly aware for how well everything fits together. At first glance, nothing looks out of place. All seams are small and uniform. Most notible is that you are not forced to see how the bike is put together. It's very clean.
OVER ALL THOUGHTS:
You get what you pay for. For the price, nothing beats the tiger as the perfect commuter bike. It's adgile, fun to ride and can give almost any sport bike a run for it's money. But on the negative side, it is quirky (fuel mapping) and requires more maintenace, and most of all it has an atrocious lack of wind protection (Terible head buffeting). I will have to ride the new Adventure for 10K miles before I make a final determination, but for now, I'm as happy as can be.
Every where I would go, people would always mistake the tiger for a BMW (obviously not othercyclist, but the average non rider). I always would correct them, not any more.
Ed
p.s. If you have any questions, just ask. I'd be happy to compare the two bikes. I can also post pics of them side by side. It's insteresting to not how similar the setup is.
[ This message was edited by: Hayduke on 2006-06-18 13:23 ]
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