One other aspect I wanted to clear up is what type of riding I will be mainly using the Tiger for, and that's on all types of black top as well as dirt roads as necessary and wanted.
Yes, I definitely do want to have the ability to ride on dirt but when I do I suspect the majority of them will be relatively smooth access roads for residents in more remote areas of Aus. Many of these roads are graded by the local councils before they get too rutted, making them easy roads to navigate, and that's even with speedmasters and TBA's many times.
So it's my experience the dirt roads I'm mainly expecting to ride on won't be in the "Paris Dakar" category and subsequently I'll be able to navigate them fairly easily and comfortably.
Of course, even if I do come across dirt which isn't that rider friendly and more designed for say the 1200's little brother the 800cc model, I'm confident provided I'm not in too much of a hurry, again I'll be able to ride it comfortably and without too much trepidation.
This now brings me to the subject of suspension which of course is the main component any duel purpose bike will need if it is to be able move off sealed roads. I also think we need to keep in mind their is almost 200mm of travel both front and back which provided the pre-load on both ends is dialed correctly and rebound on the rear also tweaked, I can't see why would I expect too many issues of concern.
IMHO, I think there are too many riders (not on this forum though) who don't really understand how suspension actually works. I succinctly remember the main distributor of Hagon shocks in the U.S. telling me via email how the 20kg rated springs on the Nitros were correct for riders weighing approx' 90kg (That is what Hagon had in the spec sheets). That is after I told him they weren't the correctly rated springs.
Regardless, he went on to inform me no purchases in this category were returned because no riders were unhappy with their Nitros performance.
What??? You've got to be kidding. I had also been given the 20kg rated springs when I first purchase my Nitros and I can tell you right now, they were definitely not up to the grade I expected of $850 shock units. Not for the roads I was riding out in the country areas of Australia.
Long story short, we were able to convince Hagon U.K. their spec sheets were way out for not just the Nitros but all their rear suspension units for Speedmasters and TBA's.
My point is, what does that say about all those riders who bought Nitros with 20kg units and didn't return them? Well to me it says they don't understand how the springs are way too soft for the rider to enjoy a quality ride.
In other words, suspension is only as good as the rider's ability to know how to use it effectively. If he or she doesn't, maybe just maybe the bike will be blamed for what is really an operator error.
Of course, there is always the option of trading up a rear unit for higher quality ones but again, that's only possible if the rider is aware the oem's are inferior and not just that the bike is inadequate for the job.
Last edited by Stacka; 04/14/2012 9:10 PM.
