Tiger 800 Buying An 800 ...in Africa

Hey all,

I'm new to the Forum and am looking for some advice. Bonneville-riding NY native currently living in West Africa, and I have the opportunity to buy a Tiger 800. Model year is between 2011 and 2015, bike has 21,000 km and runs very strong (test rode yesterday). Minor cosmetic damage, but spare parts included from current owner (a UN officer posted elsewhere). Unfortunately is not the XC variant, so has mag rims, road tires and I assume road-oriented suspension. No ABS. Have a good local mechanic.

Would use the bike for general transportation but also to try to get into adventure touring, including some off-road riding. I have lots of on-road experience but this will be my first foray into ADV.

Asking price is US$ 2,500. Several things depending, I'd be looking to hang on to the bike for a while and potentially try to convert it to a more XC-style setup, though I know there are threads on that elsewhere here and that it may be a pain. Would spring for an XC bike to start with, but supply is limited here in Bamako.

Welcome any thoughts, compelling reasons not to buy, or other bits of wisdom!

Thanks.

 

That's a great question Tig, thanks for pointing out. I think the bike was purchased in the Netherlands and brought down here by the previous owner, so hopefully had at least some of the scheduled maintenance performed prior. Unlikely to have happened here.

And thanks all for the replies. Sounds like the best course of action is to get the thing and put some miles on it, then worry about mods as I'm able to make them (very tough to receive mail here, so ordering parts a challenge).