The Tiger revisited

1967 Triumph Tiger 650

2007 Triumph Tiger 1050

Two weeks ago I rode my Suzuki V-Strom 650 over to Hansen’s Motorcycles in Medford to buy a new hat.  Somehow I’d recently lost most of my baseball caps and thought I’d get one with a motorcycle logo: Hansen sells BMW, Ducati, and Triumph.

I found the Triumph cap I wanted and also got into a chat with the salesman about new bikes.  I like the line of Triumph 800cc triples but can’t afford the entry fee, so I told Russell I’d sure like to find a used Tiger 1050.  Then I rode back home across the Cascade Mountains, seventy miles to my house in Klamath Falls.  I was cold, but I had on good gear and the roads were clear.

The next week I saw on Craig’s List a 2007 Tiger 1050 at Hansen’s for $8,200.  It was the only Tiger I could find listed in the region, so I thought I’d go over and take a look.  I took my checkbook just in case.

There was snow in the passes by now, so I loaded up my riding gear in my truck last Saturday and drove over.  After an hour talking to the Hansen people and taking the bike for a brief test ride, I bought it for $7,900.

I got a good price: the bike has 24,000 miles and is in exceptional condition.  It has hard bags, a custom Meyer saddle, heated grips, and Triumph tank and trunk bags.  Non-ABS, which was a demerit, but I loved the bike.  It’s general set-up is about the same as my V-Strom, but it has an engine that just rips and an exhaust note that makes the bike worthy of its name. It''s way fast.

About 4pm I started thinking about riding it home, and Craig said, “You want to take it home today?”

Well, yeah!

I’d accidently brought my summer gloves, so Craig loaned me a pair of winter ones.  I had no way to plug in my electric vest so he installed a BMW accessory plug on the Tiger.  I was wearing light-weight socks but I had some toe-warmers, which I put into my boots.  Then I was off on the exhilarating but coldest ride I’ve ever had, and I’ve had some very cold rides over the years.

I crossed the Siskiyou Mountains and headed south towards Mount Shasta, a much longer ride home but over lower passes.  It was almost dark and the temperature was just above freezing.  I was riding faster than traffic at about eighty-five, but I wanted to get home as fast as possible.  Up to now I was cold in certain places but overall comfortable.

Once I got across the mountains, I turned towards home and rode up the east side of the Cascades.  The temperature had dropped to below freezing, and I could tell my core temperature was starting to struggle to keep up.  Since this is a good road, mostly straight and wide with little traffic, I was now riding at over 100 mph in the dark.  I did see one deer but figured hitting a deer at 100 couldn’t be much different that hitting a deer at sixty-five, the legal speed limit.  I just wanted to get home.  I took my chances with the deer and the cops and was lucky.

I rode in after three hours on the road and headed up for a hot bath.  Despite the cold introduction, I love the bike, although it has a few issues to sort out.  Part of the fun of starting out on a new bike again is getting it set up just the way I want it.

This now brings me full circle.  My first grown-up bike was a ’67 Triumph 650, and after a dozen or so other bikes over the  years, I’m now back on a Tiger.

Triumph is now a completely different company as the old Triumph went out of business in the 70s but was  resurrected in 1984 by John Bloor, who bought the name and the old plant in Hinckley, England, which he gutted and refit with modern manufacturing equipment.  Today, Triumphs are very competitive with Japanese bikes and completely modern.  They make a line of retro-styled vertical twin models, including the much-revered Bonneville, but also make a range of modern sport bikes like my Tiger, an inline triple that is designed for touring but will almost hold its own against the fastest and best handling sport bikes out there.  It’s a lot more comfortable than a full-on sport bike, and it’s plenty fast enough for me, At sixty-three, I didn’t want to end my riding years on a merely practical motorcycle like the V-Strom.  I ride motorcycles in part because they get my blood up.

I know I’m going the enjoy the new Tiger as much as I did that old classic.  And now I’ve got the bike to match my new hat.