MrBig
Grey Hound
For those interested.
I sold the AT a while back (still wake up crying some nights) and got myself a lumo green Tiger â?? quite a difference.
In itself the Tiger was quite a revelation. Completely different from the big old V-Twin Iâ??m used to. Power delivery is incredibly smooth and thereâ??s loads of torque throughout the gears. If you donâ??t watch it itâ??s easy to stay in 5th or 6th and never change down.
The 19â? up front does make a slight difference but itâ??s fine for my application. I find 1st gear a bit tall to my liking in the really slow stuff and the FI make it really easy to overcook things.
First thing I changed was the floppy handguards.
Fitted a pair of BMW guards which went fairly simple. Looks a lot better too.
Got a center stand from SW-Motech which makes things a lot easier.
Say what you want but nobody wants to work on a 200kg+ beast without one.
Next up was to sort out the auxiliary electrics.
I fitted a switched relay - rerouted the aftermarket heated grips as well as the Autocom system through it.
While at it I added a little charge indicator LCD on the dash (it burns red on a circuit voltage lower than 13V, dead between 13 & 14 and burns blue when over 14.5V). Also fitted a little stereo socket to jack the mp3 player into the AutoCom unit. This input can also be used to record the intercom onto a video camera.
The standard screen is quite short â?? especially with the seat on its highest position.
I experienced quite a lot of buffeting with the worse case being a slight helmet shake and vibration.
I scored a couple of pieces of 3mm perspex from a friend and went about making a taller screen. Came out ok â?? will redo in the new year and this time go find a proper (huge) oven as mine heated the sheet unevenly and left a small spot with bubbles on the one lower side.
Ended up being 100mm taller than the stock and it makes a HUGE difference. I also fitted an Aerotrim which I saved from the AT. This adds to the comfort levels tremendously. I find it really start coming into its own at speeds over 130.
While messing with the perspex I also made a simple headlight guard.
Unfortunately Iâ??m not completely happy with the final shape but it will serve the purpose for now.
Itâ??s so little effort to make that Iâ??ll redo it along with the screen later.
To make the seating position more comfy I fitted some handlebar risers and also added a Pooratech cruise-control in the form of a giant o-ring. Works brilliantly.
I still had my Motech panniers and got the Tiger Quick-Lock racks to match. A great system that Iâ??m very happy with. (Also added the Motech Quick-Lock tankring for the tankbag).
Availability of aftermarket protection proves to be a real problem for the Tiger. Nothing is available locally and most of the systems I saw was rather pricey to import. The problem with the Tiger is that there is no lower frame â?? the engine hangs in upper mounts. This means thereâ??s no easy way to affix something like a bashplate or engine bars.
For a bashplate one has to manufacture a frame and Iâ??m still thinking of a good solution. Clearly not having the benefit of a lower frame such a concept will never be as sturdy as it should be. It will be more like a guard than a skidplate. So the jury is still out on this one. I might consider something simple so that the oil filter is at least protected from odd flying objects.
After looking at some existing designs for engine bars I decided on a very simple combination design.
Use the same lower mounts as the Touratech bars but shape them like the Happy Trail bars.
The end result is untested and I hope it stays this way!
Lastly I made a simple mesh guard for the radiator and oil cooler which bolts straight onto existing mounts.
Still have loads to do but itâ??s starting to become a proper touring machine.
Watch this space..
I sold the AT a while back (still wake up crying some nights) and got myself a lumo green Tiger â?? quite a difference.
In itself the Tiger was quite a revelation. Completely different from the big old V-Twin Iâ??m used to. Power delivery is incredibly smooth and thereâ??s loads of torque throughout the gears. If you donâ??t watch it itâ??s easy to stay in 5th or 6th and never change down.
The 19â? up front does make a slight difference but itâ??s fine for my application. I find 1st gear a bit tall to my liking in the really slow stuff and the FI make it really easy to overcook things.
First thing I changed was the floppy handguards.
Fitted a pair of BMW guards which went fairly simple. Looks a lot better too.
Got a center stand from SW-Motech which makes things a lot easier.
Say what you want but nobody wants to work on a 200kg+ beast without one.
Next up was to sort out the auxiliary electrics.
I fitted a switched relay - rerouted the aftermarket heated grips as well as the Autocom system through it.
While at it I added a little charge indicator LCD on the dash (it burns red on a circuit voltage lower than 13V, dead between 13 & 14 and burns blue when over 14.5V). Also fitted a little stereo socket to jack the mp3 player into the AutoCom unit. This input can also be used to record the intercom onto a video camera.
The standard screen is quite short â?? especially with the seat on its highest position.
I experienced quite a lot of buffeting with the worse case being a slight helmet shake and vibration.
I scored a couple of pieces of 3mm perspex from a friend and went about making a taller screen. Came out ok â?? will redo in the new year and this time go find a proper (huge) oven as mine heated the sheet unevenly and left a small spot with bubbles on the one lower side.
Ended up being 100mm taller than the stock and it makes a HUGE difference. I also fitted an Aerotrim which I saved from the AT. This adds to the comfort levels tremendously. I find it really start coming into its own at speeds over 130.
While messing with the perspex I also made a simple headlight guard.
Unfortunately Iâ??m not completely happy with the final shape but it will serve the purpose for now.
Itâ??s so little effort to make that Iâ??ll redo it along with the screen later.
To make the seating position more comfy I fitted some handlebar risers and also added a Pooratech cruise-control in the form of a giant o-ring. Works brilliantly.
I still had my Motech panniers and got the Tiger Quick-Lock racks to match. A great system that Iâ??m very happy with. (Also added the Motech Quick-Lock tankring for the tankbag).
Availability of aftermarket protection proves to be a real problem for the Tiger. Nothing is available locally and most of the systems I saw was rather pricey to import. The problem with the Tiger is that there is no lower frame â?? the engine hangs in upper mounts. This means thereâ??s no easy way to affix something like a bashplate or engine bars.
For a bashplate one has to manufacture a frame and Iâ??m still thinking of a good solution. Clearly not having the benefit of a lower frame such a concept will never be as sturdy as it should be. It will be more like a guard than a skidplate. So the jury is still out on this one. I might consider something simple so that the oil filter is at least protected from odd flying objects.
After looking at some existing designs for engine bars I decided on a very simple combination design.
Use the same lower mounts as the Touratech bars but shape them like the Happy Trail bars.
The end result is untested and I hope it stays this way!
Lastly I made a simple mesh guard for the radiator and oil cooler which bolts straight onto existing mounts.
Still have loads to do but itâ??s starting to become a proper touring machine.
Watch this space..
