Just wondering if anyone has made this move? I'm pretty content with the Zed for touring and 1050 S for everything else, I think it's a fair mix of tools for different jobs. BUT I had a go on a Explorer while away with mates in the Black Forest in August and quite liked it. But not sure if an 800 might be something to consider. I'll sort a test ride on both but just looking for comments from anyone that made this move. I'm thinking I'd miss the Zed performance too much with the 800. Not a problem with the 1200 and at 5'10" imagine I'd be ok with the explorer height and weight. Interested to hear your thoughts
Don’t know about the power but height wise you could be borderline for the tiger/explorer. I’m just over 5,10 and can get caught out sometimes. Look at the low versions
I've got a Speed RS and a Bonneville currently and have tried the 800 and 1200 Explorers recently as I want to switch the Bonnie for something more touring orientated. As Crispey says, the 1200 is a lot of high up weight, similar to the Tiger Sports I've owned before, On the move it's fine but can be a bit of a pain moving around at low speeds (dropped my TS twice, once on gravel and once on a wet ferry deck) I found the 800 a bit more manageable and still with plenty of poke Only problem I found with the 800 was the screen caused some vibration (I'm 5'11"), but that's easy enough to sort out if I get one. A low one is an option, but I could get the std Explorers scraping the pegs just on the demo ride, so ground clearance might be an issue on the low ones. As with anything though, a lot is down to personal preference, so road testing, as you mentioned, both is the best way to decide.
I have the 800 but have ridden the old 1200 Explorer and the new 1200 Tiger. At 5' 10" you are on the limit for the standard height 1200, plus it carries it's weight high. They are a bugger to push around and my mate is terrified of dropping his and wishes he'd bought the 800. I don't miss the extra power with the 800 and advice I've had from the guys at two Triumph dealers is to stick with the 800 unless you are doing fully loaded two - up touring.
Iv'e had an sx,3 tiger 800's & a 1200,firstly the explorer is an absolute tank and like most triumphs really top heavy and the performance is nowhere near an sx,the 800 is an all round much better bike where you can use all the performance all the time,but either triumph is nowhere nr the kawasaki in performance,also remember you will get 3 kawasaki services for the same price as 1 major triumph one.
Thanks for your comments guys, good advice in there. Will sort out test rides but sounds like it's the 800 if I can live with the loss of umph!
Hi Hogi, I am awaiting the imminent arrival of my Tiger 1200 XRT tomorrow to sit beside the 2018 SX in the garage. After doing 10,000 miles last year on the SX I thought it best to have a designated touring bike for the Croatia trip in June and all following yearly trips.
Not sure if you've been out on your Tiger yet what with the snow. But I found the Explorer to be real easy once moving, really nice ride. Hope it's what you are after and you're right about sharing the miles between bikes - it's nice to have the option to fit the mood. Good luck with it. Now I've spotted the Speed Twin I'm like a tart wanting the nice glittery thing ha ha
Interesting as Bike mag, while testing the 1250 GS and rivals said "the 800 is perfection but 1200 tiger was an ok bike". Go figure!! I've no problem with IL4 - smooth machines
