That Darned Tiger: Stalling issues on a Triumph Tiger 955i

The Tiger worked for a couple of months this spring but started recently stalling again.  The engine was getting rougher and any time I came off throttle quickly, such as downshifting, the engine would 'fall' right through where it normally idled and stall.  If I didn't downshift and let it drop to idle on the clutch it wouldn't stall.

If you're familiar with the blog then you know this isn't my first dance with Triumph's early fuel injection systems.  I've replaced the vacuum housing for the idle control system (a plastic piece that looks a bit under-engineered) and all the hoses and gaskets last year when chasing this thing, but looking over the deep winter maintenance I did I don't think I rebalanced the fuel injection after taking it all apart to clean it.

Balancing the FI on these 955i Triumphs is tricky because you have to take apart a lot of the bike just to get at the adjusters.  I've been in and out of this so many times that I'm quick - I don't even have to keep the fasteners sorted because I know where they all go.

To balance the fuel injection on a 955i Triumph engine, take the fuel tank and airbox off.  On the Tiger, if I put the fuel tank next to the bike the fuel lines are just long enough to connect so I can run the engine with the tank attached but off the bike.

I was going to use the Tuneboy to balance the injectors this time but couldn't figure out how to do it so just went back to good old-fashioned vacuum balancing.

Evidently you can balance throttle bodies off this but it jumps around so much I found it easier to use the vacuum balance I use for carburetors instead.  Perhaps the Inj #1, 2 & 3 P/W can be used to balance?

The Triumph triple is quite easy to balance once you've pulled it all apart.  The left side throttle (#1) isn't adjustable so you use it as your reference.  With that hose plugged in I balance the one next to it to #1 and then did the same with the far one.

I got this TecMate Carbmate Synchronizer from Fortnine last year and it makes the job quick, accurate and easy.  Just keep adjusting the screws between the throttle bodies until you have equal vacuum between them.

Don't balance two to three, just two to one and then three to one, so you don't need a non-existent three cylinder vacuum synchronizer.  I ended up buying the extender so I can do up to four carbs, but it isn't necessary for the Tiger, though it did come in handy on the Fireblade.

It took me about ten minutes to get everything from way out of whack to right on the green balanced light on the CarbMate.  Once I had it done the engine sounded less rough even with no airbox and missing sensors.

Running it like this pisses off the computer and throws up a whole bunch of warnings because you're not getting readings from the airbox sensor or the vacuum to engine management computer.  If you don't have a Tuneboy to clear the computer errors it takes a few runnings for the ECU to reset itself.  I just reset the errors in the Tuneboy system and then put it all back together again.

The bike immediately felt smoother and there were less backfires and hesitation when turning the throttle.  I took it out today and went for an extended ride and couldn't get it to stall even when doing things that caused frequent stalls last week, like down shifting to a stop and pulling the clutch as the engine was dropping in RPM.

If you're having stalling issues with a Triumph 955i fuel injected triple, balance the throttle bodies before you start chasing other issues.  Unbalanced throttle bodies cause stalling once the engine is hot.

I put some LockTite on the throttle body adjusters this time so hopefully it won't 'fall' out of adjustment again this riding season.  I'm still very concious of rubber parts perishing on this nearly twenty year old high-mileage bike.  Last summer's issues revolved around vacuum leaks in the idle control system so I'm going to keep a close eye on other rubber bits if I run into stalling issues again, but this time around it was just throttle body synchronization that seems to have done the trick.  Maybe next time I can work out how to do it with the Tuneboy so I can get it even more precise, though the CarbMate seems to have done the job with high fidelity.

NOTES & RESEARCH

955i Triumphs stalling links:

http://tkmotorcyclediaries.blogspot.com/2020/06/throttle-control-sensor-system-on-2003.html
http://tkmotorcyclediaries.blogspot.com/2020/07/triumph-955i-engine-stalling-next-steps.html
http://tkmotorcyclediaries.blogspot.com/2020/07/triumph-955i-stalling-issues-part-3.html
http://tkmotorcyclediaries.blogspot.com/2021/01/triumph-tiger-955i-old-rubbers.html

https://www.triumphrat.net/threads/955i-engine-stalls-need-help.16567/

Throttle balance?

https://www.thetriumphforum.com/threads/955i-stalls-and-wont-start-until-cold.27123/

https://www.thespeedtriple.com/threads/my04-speed-triple-stalls-the-engine.26192/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Triumph/comments/b45o3s/rough_idle_and_stall_out_problems/

Throttle balance (again) - do it with TUNEBOY this time!

Check rubber parts for perishing:

https://www.triumphrat.net/threads/stalling-and-fuel-adaption-problems.973460/

Installing LED indicators on a 2003 Triumph Tiger 955i

I've done a few LED light upgrades on motorcycles to date, so updating the indicators on my trusty 2003 Triumph Tiger 955i isn't producing many surprises.  Unlike the Kawasaki Heavy Industries ZG1K project bike last time, the Triumph doesn't use standard automotive blinker relays, so the cheap and cheerful option I went with last time from Amazon doesn't have the same pinouts.  Fortunately, the blinker relay is easy to get to on the Tiger (pic right).

The stock, German made Hella blinkgeber 4db 003 750-36 indicator relay swaps the positive and negative terminals from the Japanese standard ones, so it isn't a plug and play swap for a cheap, Chinese relay from Amazon.

Like most relays built for standard bulbs, it speeds up when it senses a lack of resistance (ie: a blown bulb) so you know when you've got a bulb out because it ticks fast.  LEDs are so much more efficient than standard bulbs that they act like a blown bulb, so you end up with hyper-flashing where your indicators are blinking silly fast.

While looking around for a plug and play alternative that wouldn't have me making a rat's nest out of a neat wiring loom, I came across superbrightLEDs.com and their primer on hyperflashing...

Looking through their site, I found an indicator relay that would be a straight swap on my Euro-awkward bike.  The price is pretty much the same as the Chinese part on Amazon, but then you get stung with shipping that is more than the cost of the part (Amazon shipping was covered).  They promise that this will work with LEDs, which I'm a bit cautious about because the other ones I've purchased have a potentiometer (dial control) on them that lets you adjust to the speed you want, and this one doesn't.

It's suggested in places that you can swap the power and ground, but a number of people seem to have had problems with that on various bikes, so I bit the bullet and ended up with a $24USD bill where it would have been $12CAD (shipping included) on Amazon.  I'm hoping I'm getting a higher quality piece for all that extra outlay (the superbrightLED one has a 2 year warranty on it whereas the Amazon one didn't).  The part is on its way, so I should be able to finish the indicator upgrade in early January.

The rest of the wiring has been pretty straightforward.  The LED set I purchased from AliExpress (my first time using them - shipping wasn't quick but everything got here eventually and the prices are amazing), worked fine when the system was doing 4 way flashers, but went into hyperblinking when I indicated.  It's an easy wiring in, but again the Euro-awkward nature of the bike means it didn't have standard sized spade clips and I had to cut the old ones off and use replacements which were way harder to find than they should have been.

Your 21st Century Hardware store sells you things, just none
of them are tools or, you know, hardware...

As an aside, have you noticed that hardware stores don't carry hardware any more?  A trip to my local hardware shops was more like going to home decorating shops with lots of pretty things but no actual hardware.  I ended up at an automotive specialty retailer to find electrical connectors.  Hardware stores are now just glorified department stores.  You can't survive as a hardware retailer in a world where no one fixes anything.

Anyway, onwards and upwards.  After the Tiger, the Honda CBR900RR Fireblade project is getting the same treatment, so I'm going to have to figure out what indicator relay Honda went with.  Hopefully it isn't as Euro-awkward as the Triumph.  I've always wondered why they don't include an LED friendly relay in the LED lighting kits for motorcycles, but with everyone using different variations on the indicator relay, you'd be selling people parts that might not fit their situation.

The middle block is the indicator relay on a 955i Triumph Tiger.  It's easy to get to
with only a black, plastic cover to remove.  With any luck, my expensive LED indicator
relay will do the trick and plug right in there.

The 1, 2, 3s of why Tigers are Awesome

I've been putting miles on the Tiger and have a developed some ideas about why it's awesome in comparison to what I've come from.  Here they are in no particular order:

1... The tiger growls.  The Ninja had a nice snarl to it with its 270° twin, and the Concours' massive inline four thundered like a Norse god, but the tearing silk growl of the Tiger can be virtually silent (less noisy than the wind) when I'm cruising, or growl like its namesake when you twist the throttle.  It has enough presence to make people jump when you give it some revs - maybe because it's so quiet otherwise.

The 955i Triple (an epic engine) has that same lopsided warble that the Ninja had, but amplified by a third cylinder.  I've had a twin and a four, but now that I've gone triple I don't think I'll ever go back, it feels like the best of both worlds.

2... Lithe tigers are fun tigers.  At 50 kilos (almost 110lbs!) less than my last bike, the Tiger does everything better even though it's taller.  From backing it out of the garage to winding it through corners, I don't miss an ounce of that chubby Concours.  While the Connie hid its weight well in motion, it was always lurking in the background.  There is no substitute for a lighter bike.

3... Hot tigers aren't so hot.  The cowling was nice on the Concours, but the volcanic heat that came off that engine cooked my man parts.  I might be hanging more out in the wind on the Tiger, but that's kind of the point of motorcycling.

The engine barely seems to produce any heat at all and what there is is so well managed that I only occasionally feel a breath of warm air.  Time spent in the saddle is cool and comfortable, and much less like meatballs in hot sauce.  

The one place I'm warmer are my hands.  Between the hand guards and heated grips I've been able to ride the Tiger in near zero temperatures with no issues and without winter gloves.  My legs went from getting cooked to being one of the coolest parts of me when I'm out on the bike.

4... It's not wise to upset a tiger.  Between that radical weight loss and an engine that puts out 7 more ft/lbs of torque 2000rpm lower than the Concours, the first time I wound out the Tiger it almost wookie-ed my arms off.  It's amazing what a small bump in engine grunt and massive weight loss can do to a bike's forward velocity.  The Tiger will comfortably lift a wheel in the first three gears, and it isn't a little bike.

5...  Suspension that soaks up lousy Ontario roads.  Kawasakis have a rep for budget suspensions.  Between that and the barely paved roads of Ontario, I'd often hit bumps that would lift me out of the seat and rattle my bones.  This led to constantly worrying about knocking something loose on the bike.  The long, pliant suspension of the Tiger makes Ontario's wonderful roads ride-able without any such worries.  Another benefit is that I'm able to corner and brake more effectively because the bike is never juddering over potholes, it just soaks them up.

6...  Lucifer Orange is magical.  I've yet to own a bike that a coat of spray paint didn't radically improve, but there is only so far you can go with a can of spray paint.  The clear coated, metallic, red-orange on the Triumph is mind-bendingly brilliant.  Sure, the tiger stripes are a bit over the top, but that paint can manage it. When my eleven year old first saw it he said, 'oh yeah!'.  Pulling up behind a school bus creates an avalanche of kids in the back window giving me thumbs up.  It's the opposite of the too-cool-to-care leather clad biker pirate, but I'd rather give an enthusiastic thumbs up back than sit there trying to look indifferent about everything.

I picked up my first ROOF helmet last summer, and it has quickly become my go to lid.  The combination of an open face or fully safetied close faced lid (most flip up helmets only pass open face standards, the chin guard is ornamental) makes this a brilliant all-rounder.  I got it in orange because I liked the design, but it happens to look splendid and intentional with Triumph's Lucifer orange.  It's a happy accident, but I'll take it.

7... It fits.  Less bend in the knees, my feet just go flat on the floor, less bent forward riding position with no weight on the wrists with a comfortable, upright stance, the Tiger fits like nothing I've ridden before.

Those wide bars mean I let me leverage corners easily and with precision.  Other than keeping you tight to the bike aerodynamically, I'm not really sure why sportier bars are considered better, the wider geometry encourages finer control.

I also look like I fit on the Tiger.  I looked like a circus bear on a tricycle on the Ninja.  On the Concours I still looked like I was too tall for the bike, but the Tiger fits my 6'3" frame like it was made for me.

Ready for my first night ride -
those lights work great.

8... the bad things aren't.  The first owner seems to have addressed every shortcoming on this Tiger.  Last night was my first time out with it after dark and the supposedly anemic headlights were as good as the Concours' lights ever were, and when I hit the highbeams it was like having a football stadium light up in front of me.

The fueling is smooth and perfect, and I haven't even fine tuned the Power Commander on it yet.  The front fork does dive a bit under heavy breaking, but some adjustment seems to have resolved that and made the bike respond to my weight perfectly.  I have no trouble getting the Tiger to chase its own tail around corners.

With the second wing on the windshield adjusted I have at least as much upper body wind protection as I did from the fully faired Connie, so I'm not missing all the plastic of my last bike either.

9... a made in the U.K. success story.  Riding a British bike fills me with pride.  Riding such a good British bike makes it even better.  Triumph's rise from bankruptcy in the 1980s to a multi-million dollar, international success story suggests that British manufacturing is anything but history, and that British habits around manufacturing can change and become competitive in a global economy.  It's nice to ride such a fine machine made in the same place I was.

10... brilliant panniers.  I've enjoyed built in luggage since the Concours, but the Tiger panniers are totally next level.  Unlike the finicky attachments on the Connie, the Triumph panniers slip on and off effortlessly and lock into place as well as locking closed.  They are a good size and look right on the bike.  That they're colour matched is just another bonus.

As you might have gathered, I'm enjoying Triumph ownership so far.

Triumph Tiger 955i Valve Clearance Check

I just measured the valve clearances on the Tiger.  They're supposed to be checked every 20,000kms, I've put 27k on it since I've had it and who knows when they were done previously, so this was well past due.

Getting to the valves isn't that problematic since I've gotten gas tank removals down to under 10 minutes while I try and trace down this frustrating inability to idle.  Here are the numbers:

Cylinder             Intake                     Exhaust
      1         .13mm & .10mm       .20mm & .23mm
      2         .13mm & .10mm       .20mm & .20mm
      3         .13mm & .10mm       .20mm & .23mm

Intakes are supposed to be 0.10-0.15mm, so they're all within spec.  Exhausts are supposed to be gapped at  0.15 to 0.20mm, so a couple are on the cusp, though they're a tight 0.23mm (you have to push the spacer in there like you mean it - the .2mm is still snug, just not as).

Turning the engine with the rear wheel in top gear was pretty easy - don't grab the spokes, use the tire, you get more torque and it turns pretty easily.  As you turn the back wheel you get the cams pointing up, which is when you check clearances by sliding a feeler gauge under the cam and above the shim.

This Spurtar 32 blade feeler gauge from Amazon is a nicely made thing that offered me a full range of tapered ends that covered what I needed for checking valve clearances on this 955i Triumph Tiger. 

With the Tiger's timing pretty much to spec valve clearance wise, it suggests that my intermittent stalling problem isn't related to valve clearances.  Working on older bikes (and watching Car S.O.S.) has me well aware of what fails on older vehicles:  RUBBER!  Perished rubbers are Tim's go-to in Car S.O.S. when it comes to restoring an old vehicle - this Tim is thinking that's the issue with this 17 year old Tiger too.

I spent today putting things back together and double checking everything.  The vacuum system that feeds the idle control wasn't plugged in 1-2-3 (I had it 1-3-2).  That's something stupid enough that it might be the culprit.  At this point I don't care what it is, I just want the bike to idle to the point where I can depend on it to not stall on me and leave me hanging.

If I get it all back together and find that I'm still stuck with an intermittent stall I'm going to start systemically replacing all the rubbers in it.  Doing a deep cleaning on the fuel injectors is an idea too.  I ran into an old guy at Canadian Tire who swore by Sea Foam for cleaning fuel systems, so I got a can.  I've got some in the Tiger tank for the rebuild which will hopefully be done by tomorrow.  In a perfect world the Tiger will be back to normal and I can go after the valves in the winter if I'm so inclined.  If it's still stalling out on me, It'll be a perished rubber hunt next.

I'm already on it, replacing things as I find them...

It seemed like an extraneous expense when I got this set from our local NAPA auto parts shop, but having o-ring replacements at hand saves a lot of waiting.

A very shiny valve cover going back together again.  10Nm is all you tighten the valve cover down to.

Replacing the o-rings at the fuel inputs (I replaced the original terrible plastic ones with these aeronautically sound stainless steel ones shortly after getting the Tiger). 

I was hoping to get it all together, but I'm fabricating rubber grommets and trying to look into details as I go, so this is as far as I got in the 35°C heat.

A Winter without Winter

These little imaginings are a nice escape, and if I ever become pointlessly rich, I'll be able to torment friends and family who ride with ridiculous Top Gear like challenges.

I've been monkeying around with Furkot and have come up with a themed trip to the end of South America and back.  Starting in October, just as the darkness and cold is closing in on Canada, we head south.  Over the next six months while ice and snow reign in the north, we enjoy equatorial heat and spring in the southern hemisphere.

We reach the southern terminus of our trip in mid-winter/summer (December 21st) on the longest day, and then begin the climb back up the globe on the other coast of South America before finally stopping in Rio and shipping the bikes back to NYC.  With the best part of three months to get south, this isn't a ragged rush to the end and should offer time to really get a sense of the places we're passing through.

We'd be in Buenos Aires two weeks after Ushuaia, coincidentally, just when the Dakar Rally kicks off, which would be an exciting thing to try and follow on lightened motorcycles (we could store most of our luggage in B.A. while we chased the race).  

The Dakar wraps up in mid-January after we follow it into the Andes and through Bolivia before coming back to Argentina for the start/finish.  We'd recover in Buenos Aires and then begin making our way north into Brazil.  A tour of Brazil would have us seeing the Amazon before coming back down to Rio.


If we left South America from the port of Rio and headed back to New York City, it would take about three weeks on a slow boat; a good time to rest, recover and write!

The final piece would be the two day ride home from NYC to Southern Ontario in April, just when we're ready for spring in Canada.

The Five Thousand Dollar Challenge

The evil-rich me would offer to pay for the trip, but we'd be riding the whole way on bikes that cost less than $5000 Canadian (Top Gear style).

I'm still crushing on Tigers.  I think I could talk this one down to $4200 to get it under the $5000 limit with taxes.

An oil change and a check of the obvious bits (chain, tires, cables) and I'd be ready to go.

The North American bit will be a lot of tarmac, but the Central and South American bits will take some tougher tires, which I'd aim to pick up en route.

A quick trip to Twisted Throttle (who have a whack of 1050 Tiger gear) and I'd be ready to take on the escape from winter.

With a $5000 limit on the bike (taxes in), what would you take?

Some 1050 Tiger Farkling

Engine Guard
http://www.twistedthrottle.ca/sw-motech-crashbars-engine-guards-triumph-tiger-1050i-07
Skidplate
http://www.twistedthrottle.ca/sw-motech-aluminum-engine-guard-skidplate-triumph-tiger-1050-07-black-or-silver
Tires for Central/South America
http://www.twistedthrottle.ca/continental-contitrailattack-2-dual-sport-front-17-inch-size-120-70-17-90-street-10-dirt-58w-tubeless-bias-ply-tire
Hand guards
http://www.twistedthrottle.ca/barkbusters-vps-handguard-triumph-tiger-1050-with-28mm-diameter-barkbusters-aluminum-handlebar-installed

Discontinued Tigers and Triumph Supporting its Riders

If you follow the blog you'll know I'm on a mission to get my 2003 Triumph Tiger 955i to roll over into six figures on the odometer. I picked up the bike with under forty-K on it and have done the majority of the now high miles on it. Over that time I've had an ongoing battle with the early fuel injection on the bike, but other than that it has been my preferred ride even as a series of other bikes passed through the garage.

Once again the fueling has gone off on the bike just as I was hoping to push it over the 100k mark in its 20th year on the road. If I lived somewhere where the weather wasn't trying to kill me for four months of each year this would be an easier goal, but trying to do it in Canada where the bike has to sit through minus forty winters and then navigate the frost heaved results in our too-short riding season? It's technical a flex I'm up for, but it's a shame that Triumph isn't.

I tried the usual solution of rebalancing the fuel injectors, but the bike is still stalling out and running rough. I checked the valves less than 15k ago so that isn't likely it. If it isn't throttle body balancing, which the bike is prone to needing, perhaps it's time to, at over 90k, to finally replace the o-rings and gaskets in the fuel injection system, but Triumph tells me that the majority of these parts are discontinued.

One of the reasons I enjoy the old Tiger is that it still catches eyes and prompts conversation when I'm out and about. Another reason I like it is that it can pretty much do anything (I've trail ridden on it and done multi-thousand mile two-up road trips too). It fits me better than anything I've ridden, is fun to chuck around in corners and has handled axle deep mud when I needed it to. The engine is full of character and pulls well even two up and, considering the miles it has done, the amount of TLC needed isn't unreasonable. I'd love to keep this bike going indefinitely, it's a shame that Triumph don't feel the same way.

I had a chat with the dealer (who isn't particularly local, it's a 170 mile round trip to go there physically - I usually get parts delivered), and they said that this is a problem with Triumph - they don't support their older machines. He then went on to say I couldn't use generic o-rings because the Triumph parts are strangely size specific. I'm going to try anyway because I really want to be able to jump on my old Tiger and ride.

Suzuki runs a successful vintage parts program so I'm not sure why Triumph wouldn't want to do the same to keep their bikes on the road, especially when they lean on brand heritage marketing so much.

Here's Nick Bloor's take on it:

Never standing still, always pushing to get the best from ourselves, for our riders. Building iconic motorcycles that celebrate our past while embracing the future through bold design, original styling, purposeful engineering and a genuine passion for the ride.
Always focused on delivering complete riding experience, creating bikes with the perfect balance of power, handling and style that totally involve the rider and bring out the best in them. 
This is our passion and our obsession. 
We are chasing the same thing as our riders THE PERFECT RIDE.
Nick Bloor
CEO Triumph Motorcycles

All good stuff, but maybe focus a bit more on celebrating Triumph's past, Nick? That includes the bikes your reborn Triumph have been making since the nineties. For some of us you created that perfect ride a while back.

When you market on brand history and provenance, shouldn't you support brand history and provenance? I'm coming at this hard because I want to believe... and keep my (not so) old Triumph rolling.

West Coast Siren Call

I came up with the idea of setting up motorcycles down south in rental storage units to access over the winter a while back.  This is just the sort of thing I'd do if I had that kind of disposable money laying around.

To set up San Francisco bike storage I'd need to get an Ontario bike down there and parked up in the storage facility.  The idea is to have a ready to go bike that I can fly to with minimal luggage.  I'd eventually be able to fly in to San Francisco with only a carry on bag, take a cab to the storage unit and be on two wheels in one of the best motorcycling locations in the world within a few hours of flying out of the snowbelt.  For the setup I'd take known, works-for-me gear for the ride and then hang it up in the storage unit along with the bike.  Flights back at the moment are one stop, seven hours and about $700 Canadian.

The weather is already closing in here.  We've had dustings of snow multiple times.  This would be one of my last chances to make the ride out west before the white wall of winter descends on us.  In trying to make good time to SanFran, I'd also aim to get a motorcycling bucket list item done:  an Iron Butt thousand miles in twenty-four hours:

Day 1:  Elora to Hampton Inn Portage IL.  Just under 500 miles over the border and to the edge of Chicago.  Make sure everything is ready for the big push on Day 2 (the Iron Butt 1000 miles in 24 hours).  Make sure everything is good to go on the bike, get in early, eat and rest up for an early departure.

Day 2:  Portage IL to Denver, CO.  Be on the road by 5am for the big push west.  Cross Chicago before rush hour picks up and then thump across the plains.  1027 miles in 24 hours.  Get in to Denver overnight and then 2 days at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Denver Stapleton.

Day 3:  Rest day in Denver.

Day 4:  Denver to Grand Junction.  Into the Rockies, 333 miles to the Hampton Inn Grand Junction.  A lower mileage day means this should be as much about enjoying the mountains as it is about making time.

Day 5:  Grand Junction to Ely.  429 mountain miles to Ely and the Ramada by Wyndam Ely passing through 3 national parks, so it should be a pretty ride.

Day 6:  Ely NV to San Francisco.  554 mile day to wrap up the trip.  Get into San Francisco late, park up the bike and put everything into hibernation mode.  Load up a carry-on bag with the essentials and take a cab to the airport.  Retrace the four thousand plus miles back in five hours.

I should be able to take the bike out, park it up and be back home within a week, then I'll have a bike on-call on the West Coast.

For this trip I need something that can cover big miles effectively but is still a useful tool on twisty roads.  The big Triumph Tiger 1200XRx is a long distance capable bike that fits a big guy like me.  It's also easy to maintain (shaft drive, fuel injection) and comes with many long distance handy abilities like long suspension to soak up bad roads and luggage for the long trip.

A big Tiger in this format costs just over $24k Canadian.  It's a pretty thing, I saw the new ones in the flesh at the Triumph Tiger ATLAK meet up last summer.  Many magazines describe the bike as very large, but I didn't find it overwhelmingly so.  In fact, I was surprised at how svelte it was for a 1200cc adventure bike.

But there are some things about the big Tiger that I'm not a fan of.  I've never gotten excited about the big aluminum panniers thing on adventure bikes, or any bike for that matter.  I like the colour matched lucifer orange ones on my old Tiger.  I think the aluminum ones look half assed and unfinished, and I get to pay hundreds more for the privilege of having them because others think they're a fashion item.

The other issue is a recent BIKE Magazine review in which their Tiger developed a number of electrical issues.  Whatever is waiting for me on the West Coast would need to work when I opened that storage unit roller door.  The Tiger is also a reasonably sensible choice, but it'd be nice to have something a bit more come-hither waiting for me in San-Fran.

For surprisingly similar money there is something that I'd describe as more of a dream bike:  the Kawasaki H2 supercharged demon bike in sport touring form.  The H2 SX is an efficient, powerful, supercharger-chirping-as-it-breaks-the-sound-barrier thing of beauty.  It weighs about as much as the big Tiger but produces prodigiously more power and looks like a Japanese super model.

On top of that it has beautifully designed and colour matched panniers that practically disappear into the stunning looks of the bike, rather than looking like tacked on, low-rent metal boxes.

Having the SX sitting in a storage unit in San Francisco would be a constant West Coast siren call.  If I wanted to go far, it could handle it, if I wanted to canyon carve in and around San-Fran, it'd do that to.

As much as I love adventure bikes for how well they fit me, I think I'd have the Kawasaki super model waiting for me on the west coast.  It'd be a blast to ride on the trip out there and would fit in with Californian bike culture much better.