[krishnaprasadgg]

What an epic review. And going through each photo of every ride you took was such bliss and painful at the same time, painful because we are in a situation where we can only dream of this right now.

The Black and Blue color scheme on the Tiger works so well, much better than the white, alas we had to settle for the white when we took delivery of the XRX Dec 2019 for my brother. No other color option was available.

Is it just me or seeing the delivery photos of a big group felt so weird right now. It almost had me being nostalgic in a way like those "back in my day" references we often hear
This lockdown has definitely played a number with my head I guess.

Here is one pic from one of our recent rides. My R1 and my brothers XRX


Here's to wishing you many many more happy miles with the Tiger. Like Anand said in the above post, she is a keeper for sure.


Cheers
Ride Safe
Krishna

[GoBlue]

Amazing ownership review, //M! It was a joy to read your experiences, which were summed up perfectly by the lovely/expertly framed pictures. A bike/travel lover who is also a great photographer tends to bring out the best in ownership reviews, as you have so amply demonstrated.

The part where you mentioned the undulating Pune roads as the motivator for opting for an ADV bike (longer, plusher suspension) over a dedicated street-bike (naked/faired options) resonated with me. While there are states in India that are blessed with roads where one can enjoy riding tautly sprung street-bikes, MH isn't one of them. The awful road infrastructure which makes it seem like roads are perennially under construction with no end in sight, tends to take the joy out of riding a street-bike for anything longer than a weekend ride. You made an extremely wise decision.

Wishing you the very best in the years to come and hope you share more of your riding adventures with us via this thread! The bike looks lovely and IMHO, has much better road presence than the newly introduced Tiger 900.

PS: Let's hope and pray that the our country (and the rest of the world) heals from this pandemic and riding for leisure becomes possible once again.

[saket77]

Great thread Arunabh! Very nice pictures of the machine. The good thing is that you’re touring extensively with your bike. That is, in fact, true for all the vehicles that you own.

Keep touring safely.

Regards.

[Axe77]

This is just not done. Posting a review like this on a Monday. Awesome threads like this must only be released on a Friday evening for weekend binging.

I am going to go through your post slowly as time permits through this week. But please do keep the updates coming. i love the fact that you have toured in such wide ranging parts of the country on your Tiger. Such a lovely range of touring pics thanks to that.

One quick Q. Seems like you took the stock tyres into the snow. How did that go?

You've reminded me that I need to also pen down my own big bike thread on the Street Triple and the Tiger. Mostly Tiger though.

[anshumandun]

Thanks for this awesome thread and photos! A thread like this makes it easier to start the week.

Seeing your photos of Himachal and Uttarakhand made me so jealous!
I am from Uttarakhand and have been dreaming of riding in the Himalayas but I am settled in Bangalore. The Western ghats are amazing too but the joy and adventure of riding in snow and extreme cold is something I am longing to experience.

The Tiger is an amazing bike for touring. I got a chance to ride it once when I was looking to upgrade and the triple engine was a hoot to drive. I think of the Tiger as a sports adventure tourer.

[adityasiera]

Awesome thread and lovely photos. This is what the tiger is supposed to do instead of grocery shopping like mine

[surjaonwheelz]

Hey //M,

Super stuff to beat Monday blues! You deserved the Tiger and nothing else.

Few observations: "Couple of solo rides around Pune", who takes your pic on a solo trip?

That air filter looks completely blocked with muck in the pic. Do you have a story behind it? May be you should start using a pre-filter.

How was your experience riding on snow with a heavy bike and Tourance tyres?

Simply, if you revisit the places you visited with your Desert Storm (CL500) you would clock a lot of miles.

Wish you a very happy touring experience with this machine!

/surjaonwheelz

[//M]

Originally Posted by krishnaprasadgg

What an epic review.
.
.
This lockdown has definitely played a number with my head I guess.
.
.
Here's to wishing you many many more happy miles with the Tiger. Like Anand said in the above post, she is a keeper for sure.

Thank you so much Krishna. I love the Jet Black paint option on the Tiger and always wanted to own the same. But I do agree, blue looks fabulous as well. I also like the matte silver paint option.

As you said, lockdown is probably taking a toll on our brains. Even when I see a movie or a TV series these days, I constantly wonder how come nobody is practising social distancing.

Your R1 looks beautiful, the 2010 crossplane has to be the best version of the R1 in my books. I had a friend's 2008 R1 at disposal in Bangalore sometime in 2010-11. Since this friend of mine was abroad due to his office commitments, I got to use the R1 for almost 6 months. I was barely 20 and so much power in hand felt really nice back then. Late night runs on the NICE road used to be exhilarating !

Originally Posted by GoBlue

Amazing ownership review, //M!

Thank You GoBlue, glad you liked the pictures. I absolutely agree on MH roads, they still have a long way to go as far as surface of roads are concerned. It indeed takes away some pleasure of riding specially if you are onboard a street motorcycle or a supersport.

I am yet to see the Tiger 900 in flesh. The Gurgaon dealer is yet to get their first 900, but I am really looking forward to ride the 900 for a comparative analysis.

Originally Posted by saket77

Great thread Arunabh! Very nice pictures of the machine. The good thing is that you’re touring extensively with your bike. That is, in fact, true for all the vehicles that you own.

Thank you sir. I do try my best to do as many roadtrips as possible but due to work commitments, the frequency of such trips have gone down significantly ever since I relocated to Gurgaon. With the current scenario, even regular weekend riding has gone down. Hope to keep the flame alive once things are more favourable !

Originally Posted by Axe77

This is just not done. Posting a review like this on a Monday. Awesome threads like this must only be released on a Friday evening for weekend binging.
.
.
One quick Q. Seems like you took the stock tyres into the snow. How did that go?

You've reminded me that I need to also pen down my own big bike thread on the Street Triple and the Tiger. Mostly Tiger though.

Many thanks, apologies for bombarding touring pictures on a Monday morning.

I was using stock tyres on snow and to my utter surprise, these performed quite well. The black ice stretches were tricky but glad the Tiger managed through those sections. I had to keep a lot of patience though. Any slight twist of the wrist or usage of brakes could have resulted in a slide.

Eagerly awaiting your ownership threads now !

Originally Posted by anshumandun

Thanks for this awesome thread and photos! A thread like this makes it easier to start the week.

Thank You. I must say Uttarakhand is heavenly, truly a preferred place for celestial existence. While Himachal Pradesh feels very commercialised these days, so does the Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand, but the Pauri Garhwal and remote Mana / Malari / Munsyari are so picturesque and scintillating throughout the year. I really wish to explore more of Uttarakhand in the near future.

Originally Posted by adityasiera

Awesome thread and lovely photos. This is what the tiger is supposed to do instead of grocery shopping like mine

Many thanks adityasiera. I have done some grocery shopping on my Tiger as well, thankfully the top box is roomy enough to accommodate a lot of stuff. But ofcourse, most of the riding happens outside the city limits.

[prithm]

Originally Posted by //M

Price & Accessories:

This is one helluva cracker deal. Amazing negotiation skill I must say. Well done.

[VijayAnand1]

Now I understand where the Dominar got its derriere from. For a moment, in some of the pics I mistook it for the Dominar. Great log.

Make sure you do provide the same TLC for chain. Good luck.

Cheers!
VJ

[Red Liner]

Brilliant report peppered with even brilliant snaps. Sitting in Delhi has its perks, the entire Himalayan range is at your disposal! Now we all know your full birth name

Just one quick comment: try and have your lid hung around your mirrors, as opposed to having them sat on the bike. They are extremely susceptible to take a fall from where you seat them. Don’t ask me how I know...

[i@M.S.K]

WFH...Monday morning... And this brilliant review on home page...How on Earth was I supposed to concentrate on my work!
Amazing bike getting a worthy review. Each pic does speak a thousand words.

Going by the distances you cover, in the time frame, it looks not far away when you'll venture international!

Also tell us, if you use this as your daily commute? If yes, can you elaborate on that front?

[alphadog]

Fantastic !. Those were some amazing pictures and truly inspiring.
You have used the adv-tourer bike, the way its meant to be used. Thank you for sharing those great snaps.

Couple of things I noticed amongst your pictures - in a few of them, the beak of the bike seems to be missing. What is the story there?.

I also spotted what looks like an Australian / Austrian registered low displacement dual sport / dirt bike in one of the pictures, is there a story behind that?.

I am sure that with this amount of travel on our bike, you would have had loads of interesting experiences. Pray, do share a couple of them on this thread. It will be great to read I am sure.
In addition to your bike, the protective riding gears you used also seem to be top class.

As do all bikers and motoring enthusiasts, I am hoping that this pandemic runs its course soon and we can get back to being back on the roads, enjoying what we do best.
Keep them coming.

Cheerio!

[//M]

Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz

Super stuff to beat Monday blues! You deserved the Tiger and nothing else.

Thank You sir. The pics on my solo rides are taken by strangers or by strategically keeping the phone camera / DSLR on timer.

The air filter is murky during to multiple slushy monsoon rides, I just had to get it replaced. The pre-filter is a nice idea, I shall explore this possibility.

Riding on snow was challenging but with a lot of patience, the weight was manageable. I would love to do such snow rides again, really wishing the riding days are back soon !

I would love to take the Tiger to the places where I took my Desert Storm. Spiti is definitely on the cards but I would love to re-visit North Sikkim again.

Originally Posted by prithm

This is one helluva cracker deal. Amazing negotiation skill I must say. Well done.

Thanks to the 2018 Tiger which was just around the corner so I could manage a sweet deal on existing inventory.

Originally Posted by VijayAnand1

Now I understand where the Dominar got its derriere from. For a moment, in some of the pics I mistook it for the Dominar. Great log.

Make sure you do provide the same TLC for chain. Good luck.

Yes the tail-lamps of the Dominar are quite similar but the size difference is noticeable.

I use Putoline chain greaser and lube every now and then. I understand that the pictures show a dusty chain and sprocket, but I do keep a keen eye on the chain and lube it at regular intervals.

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Brilliant report peppered with even brilliant snaps. Sitting in Delhi has its perks, the entire Himalayan range is at your disposal! Now we all know your full birth name

Just one quick comment: try and have your lid hung around your mirrors, as opposed to having them sat on the bike. They are extremely susceptible to take a fall from where you seat them. Don’t ask me how I know...

Thank You Red Liner. I do agree with you regarding the proximity to the himalayas from NCR. I have spent the past decade in Bangalore and Pune so I was really glad when I had to relocate to Gurgaon. The only motivation were the mountains. However, I have not been able to ride as much in the hills as I would have liked to. Hope to cover a few more places in the next couple of years, as long as I am in NCR.

Regarding the lid, well yes point taken.

[//M]

Originally Posted by i@M.S.K

WFH...Monday morning... And this brilliant review on home page...How on Earth was I supposed to concentrate on my work!
.
.
Also tell us, if you use this as your daily commute? If yes, can you elaborate on that front?

Thanks for the appreciation !

I wish I could venture international, my first priority would be to cover Central Asia - Iran and the Five Stans.

As regards to commute, I usually don't commute on the Tiger but once in a fortnight when the weather seems pleasant, I do use it for short runabouts within the city. Usually no office commute on the Tiger. This is primarily because riding a big motorcycle won't go down well with the colleagues at the workplace and this might raise a few eyebrows unnecessarily.

Originally Posted by alphadog

Fantastic !. Those were some amazing pictures and truly inspiring.

Many thanks alphadog. I am glad I have been able to ride the motorcycle the way I wanted to.

The beak is not a standard fitment on the Tiger 800 XR and XRx variants, I have got it installed as an accessory from the Triumph dealership in Gurgaon at around 10000 kms during the second servicing. Hence it is not present in all the pictures.

The Aussie registered motorcycle is a Suzuki DR650. A gentleman was doing an overlanding trip to Europe from Sydney via India last year. The picture was clicked at a short meet-up during a Sunday morning ride.

I do have multiple interesting experiences to share. Let me pen down few of my favourite ones with the Tiger -

• I was riding from Pune to Ranchi and somewhere just after Nagpur, I had stopped for a tea break. I saw a few people around my motorcycle so I got up to check what these guys are up to. I realised that they were measuring the radiator with their palm to check how it compared in size to the ones in their cars.
  
  
• I was on my way from Ranchi to Lucknow and somewhere around Varanasi, road widening / flyover construction work was on. I took a diversion and I was following a truck, barely 20 kph with the panniers and top box mounted. Suddenly a motorist came in the wrong side and due to the size of the truck, I couldn't notice this guy. At that moment, the road had a lot of undulations so I was standing on the footpegs. The motorist came suddenly and while I reacted quickly and negotiated him, the guy got scared on seeing a big motorcycle and a huge man standing on it bang in front of me. Seeing this, he fell off. Almost suddenly, a dozen villagers surrounded me and started to pull out the key of my motorcycle stating that I had hit the other motorist. While I was trying to convince them that I was not at fault, suddenly a heavily built man walked in and the crowd made way for him. Some local goon, I suppose. He observed my motorcycle, touched my riding jacket and felt the armour on my shoulder, asked me to rev the motorcycle to which I simply obliged. He then cleared up the mess and said, "Ye itna bada bike chala rahe hai tumlog kyun panga lete ho koi chota mota aadmi thodi hai, neta ya thekedaar honge chalo hato inko jaane do" (Translation - This guy is riding such a big motorcycle, he must be a powerful man either a minister or a big contractor. Why are you guys messing up with him, move aside and let him go). I was very impressed, I thanked him and just rode on.
  
  
• Somewhere in rural India, people got confused if the panniers and top box is some kind of mobile ATM machine. There were atleast three separate instances wherein I've been asked whether the boxes have cash inside them.