What is not to like? Handling and performance of a sport bike. Confort of a touring bike, and decent offraod ability too. The inline triple cylinder engine makes me happy =)

I bought this bike new in 2007. The new 1050 Tiger was out and this was the last 2006 on the floor. I rode both and I liked this one much better. Good price. $10,000.00 out the door including tax. I changed the windshield (CeeBaily) ($45.00) and the seat. A custom Rocky Mayer (Ojai, CA) Saddle @ $450.00. Tour Tech crashbars @ $225.00 and can save the plastic tank in a crash. Center Stand (in the US it is not standard) At this point I have ridden this motorcycle for 29,000 miles. Longest trip was to the Arctic Circle and back. 8400 miles in 22 days. Lots of oiled gravel and some hard packed dirt roads and the bike did very well in everything from blistering 100 degree heat to heavy rain and some light snow. A Tourmaster heated vest can be a life saver. The 12000 mile service was done before this trip and I put Motul oil in the bike. It did not like the stuff. I changed the oil back to Mobil One motorcycle oil and it was much happier.

Good Points: I fell over a long way from nowhere and broke the right side foot peg. The passenger peg is almost identical and will fit the driver's peg (whew).

The bike will run on just about any fuel. I have had to use everything from 86 octane to Avgas with lead and since it doesn't have a catalytic converter it was happy.

Almost 30 thousand miles and absolutely dead reliable. One head light bulb went out. It has duel headlights (also good - two highs and two lows)

Things it doesn't have that it should. Gear indicator. A left and right turn indicator. Decent instrument lighting - Hard to read the numbers at night. Passenger foot pegs spaced for a person who is taller than 5 foot. A lower seat height for us short guys.

About that headlight bulb. It is a pain in the ass to change. You would think that a bike that is intended to go to nowhere, would be designed so things like that could be changed easily.

Fuel filter. Triumph original is priced about 3 times what it is worth. A replacement Mahle filter (BMW GS 1150) works just fine and is 1/3 to 1/4 the price.

Same with brake pads. A twin piston brake caliper would also have been nice.

Garmin Zumo 450 GPS was added and mounted on the left handle bar to the back of the rear view mirror bracket with supplied extended bolts and hardwired to the battery with a fuse that was supplied.

A Givi top box added and a Remus exhaust - sounds a lot better and cuts off about 7 pounds and adds a few ponies. The chip was adjusted by the dealer for $20.00 for the exhaust. Tank bag was also added.

I only get about 45 mpg. I put on the 19 tooth countershaft sprocket that did cut the cruising RPM but all that did was make me drive faster. Gas with Ethanol doesn't help the Mpg either. Open road this bike will cruise nicely at 80 to 85 with the taller windscreen.

A sporty two-wheeled SUV

I have owned my Black tiger for about six months, since this time I have ridden around Tasmania (Australia) did about 4000kms in 2 weeks. I brought the bike with only 10500 kms on the clock. Overall I am happy with the bike. I have had two problems so far.

Problem 1. The battery went a week after purchase.( this happens not really an issue, but wasn’t very happy that it went , I was in the middle of nowhere.

Problem 2. I was riding back from a day out with mates, and it was raining very heavy. My blinkers stopped working so when I returned home I checked the Triumph Blogg sight ( very handy) said it may be “relay 7” gone ( this is the blinker relay) as the fuses were good. I also got some electrical repellent spray cleaner, and air pressure hose pump, spray out blinker connections relay connections and fuse box connections after this all worked. So the front blinker wire connections hang down abit, cable tie up under fairing.

Items to buy to improve bike (all off eBay)
1. Adjustable levers ( if you have small hands or fingers)
2. Radiator / Oil coiler guard protectors
3. Headlight protector
4. K&N air filter ( smother power)
5. K&N Oil filter ( has built on nut easy to remove)
6. Indium Plugs ( more power, last longer, )
7. Taller screen ( for winter or touring there are many different types’ I used a Cee Baileys)
8. Engine crash bars ( I used Thunderbike, just make sure you use high temp sealant CRV, for bolts that go into crankcase, and don’t over tension)
9. Front and rear fender extenders ( can use from 94- 2001 Yamaha XJ 900 Division will fit with minor mods)
10. 19 front sprocket will lower revs by 500 rpm ( better for open rd)

MODS

1. I moved the rear shock adjustment from under the seat to the inside of the RIGHT passenger peg mount area ( means you don’t have to take the seat of ever time you adjust the shock)
2. Front forks harder progressive springs (haven’t done this yet. But front is quite soft and on Triumph Blogg sights is a common Mod.


Overall I am happy with the 955i ( All I have done cost my about & 1000.00 AUS ) and some of my time, They are a great bike with heaps of power 105 HP ( more than a BMW 1200 GS ) and handle very well. Seat high is a problem for shorter riders (like me) but after 43 years I get used to that. They have a great tank size 24 Lts and very comfortable on long trips

I do most off my own servicing, I agree with another blog that getting to the air filter is a big job. Make sure you have a work shop manual; when you change the air filter do the plugs at the same time (kills 2 birds with the one stone)

I loved this Bike form the first model untill the last cast wheel model.
I have owned a 2005 955i in Black ( bought new with full luggage ) and exchanged it for a 2006 Fazer then part ex'ed the Fazer for a low milage 2004 cast wheel model, that's how much I love this bike.

Slow speed riding can be jerky and you must fit a Vario screen for higher speeds.
I'm a big bloke 23st and need a big bike and this fit's the bill.
23st, luggage full, and my son on the back and the bike was faultless.
I have had nearly 60mpg riding sedate.
The popping on the over-run is second to none.
I think these bikes are under-rated and can frighten sportsbike riders in the bends.


BIG BILL

I've used my Tiger for the following tasks so I thought it would be useful to justify my 'one liner';

2-up touring (UK & Continent)
Great comnfort. OE luggage is very neatly tucked into the bike to allow filtering. Top box takes 2 lids. Tank range well over 200 miles. Replacement suspension unit (Hagon) allows for better load adjustment. Typically 52-55mpg here, though I did manage 58mpg in the Pyrenees

Long distance commuting
Topbox swallows laptop, shoes & suit. Heated grips, power leads for heated insoles and auxilary lights are all great in winter (but the alternator only just copes). Great on the fast M-way stretches and nimble in traffic, for it's size. Typically 50mpg

Weekends away solo with mates on sports bikes (!)
Let's just say that my mate on his KTM990ADV and I left the much faster sports bikes for dust on the roads such as the Isle of Skye - the Tiger engine sings like a proper sports bike when you nail it. The aerodynamics aren't the best and I have experimented with a couple of different screens. Triumph could take a leaf out of BMW & Moto Guzzi here, because both the GSA and the Stelvio have much better wind protection.

Trail riding
Yes, it does work off-road and I've discovered how it gets heavier and heavier as the day goes on! It's easy on stuff like Claerwyns reservoir but I have taken it on much rougher stuff and you soon discover the limits of the dual purpose tyres. If you are going to do this on your Tiger, I would suggest the following upgrades: crash bars, replacement shock with better damping adjustment, serrated footpegs and BMW R1150GS handguards. Touratech make a bash plate but I have not bothered - stupid/brave (delete where applicable). As a comparison, I rode my mates R12GSA off-road a couple of weeks back and it was the same as the Tiger - great on the dry stoney trails but all over the place in wet mud - I've stuck with Anakees because most of my riding is on tarmac.

Low speed ride-outs with my partner (she's on a 125)
The super-smooth engine is a peach! I'm not exaggerating when I say that you can ride a well set up Tiger, fully loaded, 2-up, down to tickover revs in top gear and just roll it on. Snatch-free accelration from 15mph provided your throttle-bodoes are synchronised and your chain is in good nick. It's a relaxing bike to dawdle on and take in the scenery - which I really appreciate - and every bit as enjoyable at low speed thanks to surprisingly nimble handling once on the move. Feet-up U-turns are easy.

Well, that sums up what I like about how my Tiger rides but what about maintenance and running costs? I think I must have OCD or something because I've kept records of every modification and every maintenance item for the last 5 years. In brief;
Oil & filter every 6000 (approx £40)
Air filter every 12000 (£25)
Front tyre every 9000 (£90)
Rear tyre every 7000 (£105)
Chain & sprockets every 22000 (£130)
Front pads every 10000 (£32)
Rear pads every 5000 (£14)
Coolant, fork oil, fuel filter, brake fluid etc. 12000 (£60)

Home maintenance is generally quite straightforward but anything that requires the tank to be removed means that you spend a bit more time in the workshop! The first time you do this, it seems like a big task but it's second nature now. I do all my own maintenance, with the exception of tyre fitting (and the recent C&S which saved me time as the bike was having a tyre done anyway) and there are some savings to be had by using alternative suppliers such as the Mahle fuel filter also used in the BMWs but for much less dosh that Triumph. After 26K+ all my valves are still well in tolerance.

As for reliablilty, it's only failed to start once, which was my fault (self rectified next time I tried) and I'm still on the original battery. During warranty, the disks were replaced but I didn't think they were that bad and since then, I've had to replace the rubber battery strap and the speedo drive but latterly discovered that the speedo drive was my fault (poorly routed wire which had rubbed through and shorted following some exuberant trail riding)

It's not perfect from the box (what bike is?) so I've tried to be objective in my scores. This has been my main bike for the last 5 years and on a few occasions, I have been tempted by the competition (R1200GSA and MG Stelvio in particular) but so far I'd rather keep the money and my Tiger.