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A couple of weeks ago I found a neat little dirt road that linked the Obi Obi Valley with Witta near Melany on Queensland's Sunshine Coast hinterland. Just your typical Aussie bush road, dusty, tight, steep and twisty with plenty of bumpy ruts on the inside exit of every uphill corner. The type created by the sacked out rear suspensions of farm utes and buggared old station wagons.
A single lane enduro track it wasn't, but this country "road" was a good test of the 1050's dirt road ability especially since my wife was along for the ride. While due care was taken with the pure road orientated 17" rubber in some of the downhill dips, where the bike really shone was it's ability to claw out of the steep uphill corners in 2nd or 3rd gear. Using the prodigious torque from very low revs enabled smooth strong drive while maintaining great traction. I have no doubt that with a few simple mods and a confident off-road rider, the new Tiger would hold its head proud amongst the smirking GS brigade!
On the other hand, if you wanted to get really serious, replace the plastic "cow-catcher" with an off-road style bash plate, lace up a couple new wheels with a 19" front and a narrower 17" on the rear, fit some Conti TCK80's then go show the Beemer crowd who's the new daddy! Griz
PS Wouldn't it be nice if Triumph brought out just such a tool but with a 675 motor, 108hp heaps of smooth torque and a dry weight of... lets say 165kg, and called it a Tiger Cub. You'd have to buy one wouldn't you?!!!
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Only a biker knows why a dog sticks it's head out of a car window
Last edited by Aussiebikerdave : 08-07-2007 at 03:20 AM.
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