Tiger 900 vs 1200

I’m contemplating getting a Tiger for touring (no, my Speed Triple is staying), and was wondering which would suit me better. @stevelovatt thoughts? Obviously I’d do test rides, but just thought I’d put it out here. No pillion, just me.
Ideas appreciated.

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Personally if you are mainly solo riding then I would say that the 900 (or 800 for that matter) is more than up to the job.
I know that the latest 1200 model is lighter (apart from on your wallet) than previous models - the Explorer I borrowed for 2 weeks was horrendous to move around, but the weight just puts me off.

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Price does chime in - and weight too. It’d be predominantly solo riding, and I gather the 900 is easier to move around, but not less quick. I’d probably go for a bike a couple years old, so the initial investment is somewhat lower. Food for thought, cheers Steve!

I had 2 800’s back to back, an xcx and xrx… road and offroad biased. I’d say stay away from a 21" front wheel. Its too much of a compromise for road use.

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That’s useful, Andy. Cheers.

Speed Triple and Tiger sounds like the perfect combination to me :grinning:

I considered the 1200 when I bought the 900, but having ridden both versions of the 900 (GT and Rally) I decided that the 900 was about as big and heavy as I’d want a bike to be. The 1200 was huge and after trying it on for size in the showroom I declined the offer of a test ride.

The 900 has 94hp. My Speed Triple has 180hp, but I find the performance of the 900 absolutely fine, it has plenty of grunt for a road bike.

I chose the Rally Pro over the GT in the end purely because I preferred how it looked. I’m a bit vain like that :smile:

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The 900 is lighter than the previous 800, not by much but it has a lower centre of gravity so feels much easier to move around and get up on the centre stand.

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My 2005 speed triple has 130 bhp, which is more than enough for me. I have toured with it, and was fine, but I reckon getting a bit older and stiffer I might benefit from a more relaxed riding position. Also panniers would be welcomed.

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Those were pretty much my thoughts as well when deciding on a Tiger. To be honest the 180hp in my Speedy is way more than I could ever use on the road and completely unnecessary - If you actually fully open it up you’re into three figures speeds (mph) before you’ve left second gear - Crazy fast :smile:

I did actually put together a video on my thoughts on the Tiger and reasons for buying.

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Very nice Neal, thanks for that. I did see reviews about complaints of wind noise due to the smaller screen in comparison to the 1200? Does that bother you at all?

Wind noise - no it doesn’t bother me, but I always wear ear plugs. With Regards to wind buffeting, all I can say is that it’s a lot better than the Speed Triple.

There’s a large collection of after market screens available, but it’s not something I’m tempted to spend money on.

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When I tried the old 1200 and 800 I was surprised to find that in normal riding the difference in performance wasn’t that big. Had I been in a similar situation to you I’d have gone for the road version of the 800, but I wanted something that would do everything and carry a pillion in comfort so went for the GS in the end. The 1200 obviously has moved on a bit now but if not having shaft drive (which is one of it’s advantagescover the 800/900 for touring) doesn’t bother you save some money/buy a newer lower milage 800/900. Might also be worth trying the Tiger 660 too? As you say test rides will help you decide…

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Don’t forget the tiger sport 1050 Wim. Really capable touring bike or just going for a blast.

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If they’d put the 1050 engine in the 800 frame no one would have ever bought a 1200!
(or an 800 for that matter :rofl:

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Agreed. The 1050 is underrated by many.

It has crossed my mind Steve, but I want something completely different looking, a bit more “adventurous” if you like.

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Fair play, good luck with your search.

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I have a test ride on a 1200 booked for saturday.

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Could be an expensive weekend :+1::grinning:

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Possibly - if I buy new (expensive) or demo (still expensive) I’ll also need some time to ride it in and get it through first service (expensive again) before I take off for the balkans with it mid August…
If I like it it’ll be my first (and probably last :laughing:) new bike ever… Full support from the mrs. though :heart_eyes:

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