tiger800xc ktm990adv comparison's

[gsdman]

Hi,
I post this hopeing it won't turn into a mines better than yours thread,
I'm interested in your thoughts on the two bikes, presuming both bikes are suitably kitted out for most uses.
Be interested to here from anyone that has owned and used both, and from owners of either, Two up fully loaded riding, fuel comsumption, handling both on and off road, seat height, servicing costs, grin factor, Insurance costs, far kel ability and so on.

Regards Tez

[HorseyBiker]

I can speak for the 990R..

I found it very comfortable- I'm 6'2" with a 34" in seam. Most bikes cramp my legs after a while. The 990 ran out of fuel before I found it achey. My brother is 6'4" and he found the back comfortable as well. We have done 400mile days together on it and not found it unduly tiring.

For luggage carrying- I strapped close to 100 kilos of camping equipment clothes etc to it last summer. Had to put a few turns of preload on it but other than that it was stable at brisk motorway speeds for the trip back from Hickstead Showground. I did get some funny looks as I was over taking people :woohoo:
I also regularly used it to ferry hay and feed around, two bales/ four sacks on the back. Job done.

Fuel- it gave me 40 to the gallon with Akra's and the raughty map to go with it. I could have improved that by going back to the standard map.

Handling was sublime. On road I could put it exactly where I wanted at what ever speed I fancied. I never felt out of control at all. Off road my biggest hold up was getting a tyre aggressive enough to cope with the big lump. I am by no means a great rider.. But I could hustle confidently.

Seat height on the R is tall. But I like that being gibbon shaped.

Grin factor was off the charts. I would go out of my way to go on longer routes just to spend more time on her. I put 12k miles in 8 months on her..

Insurance for a younger person with a saaff east landan post code is considerable..! Please don't mention the war!

Farkles are out there if you so desire.. A extra tank if you plan on longer trips might be useful but not essential.

It's not the prettiest thing going, it doesn't have the macho image of the tiger. But as a piece of engineering.. It's unparalleled in my eyes (thumbs)

I'm sure Si will be along to tell you how much better his tigger is.. :silly:

Rich

[l8ktm]

I have both although a 950 KTM not the 990, the tiger is better on fuel averaging a good 50 mpg compared to 40ish on the KTM. The seat on the tiger is much more comfortable, on a recent trip to Morocco I did 500mls in one hit and was comfortable at the end, the standard KTM seat gets uncomfortable after 80mls or so although easily solved with a custom made seat.
Servicing costs are similar but 6k intervals for the triumph opposed to 4.5k for the KTM.
The KTM is much better off road I guess due to the higher quality suspension and it definitely has the higher grin factor, I always used to swap bikes every 3 years but have had the KTM just over 10 years as there's something about it.

[sexysi]

Ok Horsey, I have come along.

Tiger 800 xc owner.

The KTM is very tall, I sat on Horseybikers and it felt massive, I used to have a 955i Tiger 2001 plate and that felt tall, but KTM felt even taller.

Having said that I have my seat and bars on my 800 at there max height, but it is still lower than the KTM. As said before ok, mpg, 50+ on a run, but commuting through London I get 150 a tank!!! So that is £22.00 worth. Ok I am a bit heavy on the throttle... :woohoo:

Motorway can get easy 200miles a tank, but I believe this is better than the KTM.

Off road, seems ok, need half decent tyres, but she has been through rivers, mud, snow, ice, wet chalk, wet sand..... So does pretty much what you need it to do. She is a heavy lump and tuff to get it back up after a lay down, but I should imagine the KTM is just the same amount of hassle getting back up.

Bling, as there are so many of the things around there is loads of bling, for off road, Adventure spec crash bars, bash plate. Bark buster hand guards are a good addition and some form of pannier frame for the back.

I took the rubbers off the pegs for more grip, 5 min job and added Rigid Industries LEDS, don't go for Triumph's own, too over priced.

Tyres for 90% on road 10% off road, excellent combo I have found is Karoo3 Back which are a 70/30 tyre and a Mefo Explorer front 50/50 tyre.

They ware at the same rate and are good for 7,000+ miles.

Problems with the Tiger, that I have had, Ignition Transponder failure, done under warranty, not a very common fault but does happen.

Burn't a clutch out in 4,000miles, but I do treat it hard off road. Now fitted a sirflex Heavy Duty clutch and all seems ok with that. Bike now on 7,000miles.

I would like the heated grips to be hotter in the winter.
Also sometimes there is a problem with the stepper motor linkage getting dirty, but this can be cleaned within mins.

Also get tingling in the hands, due to vib from the engine. Seat ok.

Servicing every 6,000miles. First service £100, second £200.....

Brake pads can be changed in 10mins, so dam easy, two bolts and they are off.

That's all I can think of at the mo.

Si

[Crossrutted]

I've owned a KTM 950 and 990 and ridden the Trumpet.

Long story short - the KTM is a real off road bike that is also great on road, the Trumpet is a great road bike pretending it can go off road.

Probably depends on how and where you intend to ride as to which is best from a functional perspective.

[Philiptigerrice]

Whats the weight comparisons of the two bikes?


Is the tiger not considerably heftier?

Phil

[dave_ac]

I had a Tiger 800XC from new and sold it (16000miles) in Feb, now i have a 2014 plate 990 Adventure and returned recently from a 4500 mile trip from Scotland to Gibraltar and back to UK. Sticking to unsurfaced roads in Spain as much as possible.

Thoughts....
I loved the Tiger and the engine is amazing.
The KTM - makes me smile more.

Yes the Tiger had better mpg, more comfortable seat (after 6 hours riding), longer tank range, less buzz through the bars, less snatchy throttle, kinder to the back wheel, better lights. Longer service intervals.

The KTM is easier to pick up and man-handle. While the Tiger made my arse clench off road the KTM encouraged me. On the road where, being honest it spends most of its time, it is a blast and loads of fun. I am enjoying the 'old skool' and quirky side of things (vague fuel gauge, guessing what gear I am in, two fuel tanks, storage box....)

The Tiger is more refined and modern bike but for me the sum of its parts ( and my personal experience with Triumph ) means the 990 is ticking all my boxes.


Farkels? Adventure Spec bashplate, ram mount/KTM GPS mount, ScotOiler, ebay Givi panier frames as added protection, fork bleeders

[g00ner]

Had a 990, 5'9 tall and 31" leg - no problem with the height of it. Problem was the engine, stonking fast and a character that made you want to overtake everything in sight, it just wanted to 'go' all the time. Juicy too

Great bike tho (thumbs)

[bowber]

Can only comment on the 950 but it's the same base bike as the 990.
Works properly off road and handles just the same as any KTM, but heavier of course. later seats are better than the early seats including the gel seat.
Just been to Switzerland and back and the bike was great apart from the screen, I'm getting the taller one to try but that was the only thing that bothered me on long motorway trips.

One thing I've found compared with both my wifes 650 BMW and her brothers 1100LT is the 950 keeps a lot of weather off my feet. I've ridden miles in wet conditions and had dry feet when both of them have had wet feet from the water spray, my feet do get wet but it's a lot less than other bikes I've had and I guess it's the tanks causing the air to flow round my feet.
MPG varies quite a bit from low 40's to mid 50's and strangely is better on high speed runs than slow pottering.

Steve

Forgot to mention I'm 6'3"

[Mad Cow]

I've had my 2011 990 for two years and covered 12,000 miles in that time.

Good:

Amazing grin factor, it is just such fun to ride
Off road, without a doubt this is where it excels but having said that it is still big and powerful and can be a handful if you're not careful
I have found the seat comfy (I also got a gel seat but found that uncomfy because it's lower so sold it)
Did I mention it's really good fun to ride!

Bad:

Fuel consumption - low forties (not helped by the fact you never seem to want to ride slowly)
And as a consequence - tank range, light comes on between 130 and 145 miles, usually goes to about 160 by the time you fill up.
Servicing costs not cheap (especially for the full valve service) and not helped by the 4500 mile interval.
Brakes are not the sharpest out there (adequete but definitely set up for off road).

Problems i've had with mine:

wiring to ignition switch failed, common problem caused by routing. £70 to fix.
Starter solenoid went FUBAR, £38 and 15 minutes to change.
Exhaust gasket failed just behind engine, took ages to replace as whole back end had to be dismantled to get to it (guess what I was doing on Sunday )

I've ridden the 800XC and I'd say not much lighter, more road biasied but better put together? At least that was my impression (before the KTM I had a Tiger 1050 and was impressed by the quality, had no problems with that in the 18 months I owned it).