Was thinking of a ride after work but time was against me. Did a quick intro about my Triumph. I'm slightly mean about him, but he's a good sport and I'm happy with him.
I don't think Joe's horrendously ugly at all, I think it's a nice looking bike!!! (Although appreciate I have a bike with a "face" that is very divisive of opinion myself.....).
We're grateful, Mrs Visor. I naturally have a self-deprecating and often dry outlook. I think the RS is superb value and much less likely to be abused than other 20 year old bikes. I always look forward to taking it out.
Had some Road 5's fitted to the RS Gives me some time to scrub them in before Scotland at beginning of June. Feel much better already than the worn Pirellis
Started my favorite nearby dealership hunting to find me a Tiger 900 Rally Pro. Cause: I took my Tiger 1200 Alpine to Big Bend National Park for a ~1500 mile trip over a week with a couple of friends also on big adv bikes. (One was on a KTM 1290, and the other on a Harley Pan America). All great bikes, and we had a great time in the park. One thing we all chalked up as an experience, though, was that these bigger bikes are way out of their element in deep sand and pea gravel, of which we encountered a *lot* in the several hundred miles of backcountry trails we were riding in the park. To be clear: the bikes were probably capable of riding through what we tackled, but we failed them as riders. And, in particular, picking up a ~650lb Tiger for the third time in 108F heat in the west Texas desert was the tipping point for me to decide that I need a bike that's a tad slimmer if I'm going to continue to tackle things like this that push me out of my comfort zone as a rider. Which I fully intend to do. However, I also don't intend to go fully over to the "use a truck and trailer to haul my toys to the place I'm going to ride them, and then back" crowd. I want to ride the bike there and back, and I like long trips, so I'm not at all intending to swap my Tiger 1200 for a dirt bike. Thus: dealer search for a Tiger 900 Rally Pro I spent the vast majority of this trip in the saddle and riding, and took very few pictures, but here are a few for the "pics or it didn't happen" crowd...
Hey, Aaron! Good to see you on the forum again. And with some terrific photos. Sounds like you and your buddies had a great trip. Although neither Mr. Sandi nor I ride an adv bike, we have a couple of friends who do (BMW 1250GS and Pan America). We've always thought to be the case what you found--that the big adv bikes seem just too big for much of the actual off-road stuff that we see in the West/Southwest. Good luck with your search for Tiger 900 Rally Pro.
Nothing wrong with Joe at all, really good looking bike. And if he makes you smile when you open the garage door or take the cover off then it’s all good.
Went for a ride out on my (new to me) Tiger 1050....on the Bikesafe course. It's a little unnerving initially being observed by a bonafidda police motorcycle rider.... But a really good, useful, informative day. You know...you CAN cross a solid white line... I would recommend the course to anyone who wants a bit of a spit n polish on their riding skills...or even a full eyeoppener. Of the 15 of us, there were about 11 BMW GS 1200s or similar... What is it about slightly more mature men and BMWs!?? I'm not judging.... but I feel I've missed the memo.
Run up through the Lakes to Keswick for a brew at Bridge Cafe, highly recommended, then back down the coast. Lovely weather, roads not too busy except for a cycle event, new tyres officially scrubbed in RS is a fantastic bit of kit but I miithe comfort seat off the old one! No pictures from ride out but now all polished and tucked away
Other than to avoid an obstacle or traffic going slower than 12mph? Or to enter or leave a road or property etc? (I'm reciting those from memory, so may be wrong!)
