NBD - Roary the Red...

[Beancounter]

As a few know, my Capo was stolen a few weeks back from outside of work. Insurance were quick to deal with it and made a very reasonable opening offer which I accepted.

Must-haves for a replacement bike were:

• 1. ULEZ compliant
  2. Upright riding position, nothing sporty even if the bike had risers.
  3. Reasonably light - I have an 1150GSA which is fine on the move but the weight and height are considerations for my dodgy knees. The Capo was fine as it was relatively low seat.
  4. Reasonably narrow - the Capo wasn't too bad but that's compared to the GSA and my 1200RT.
  5. Desirable (to me) - plenty of excellent commuting machines but a lot of them don't inspire. Maccecht is always raving about his Burgman but I'd rather take the train.

Budget was £6k at the top end but I really only wanted to spend £4.5k on something which is going to be ridden in all weathers. The short/almost bought list:

• 1. Ducati Multistrada DS1000 - always liked the first gen Multi but not ULEZ compliant.
  2. Yamaha Tracer 900 - like the engine but felt it was too samey as my MT09. The seat is also a torture device and even I notice the dodgy rear shock.
  3. Yamaha FZ1 - not nearly as upright a riding position as I thought, most of them not ULEZ compliant apparently.
  4. Triumph Tiger 800 - really like these and a good few in the price range but then I've already got a large adventure bike. Ditto for an early Honda AT with the added concern of seat height.
  5. Yamaha FJR1300 - quite a few around with desirable extras such as luggage and heated grips. I've only ever slung a leg over one, never actually test ridden but I remember the seat being quite wide and me only being on tiptoes.

What I really wanted was a modern TDM850 that wasn't a TDM850. I've had two. The first one, a 1996 mkII in silver and yellow, gave me some of my fondest biking memories. It was full of character and once the wet-weather misfire was sorted it never let me down. The second one, a later 1998 mkII, was at the opposite of the scale. Bought from a reputable private seller it looked in very good condition but was a lemon. The wet weather misfire was usually resolved using some self-amalgamating tape to reinforce the HT lead/plug cap connection. Not on TDM2, it was an ever-so-slightly loose connection on the ignition coil only found by spraying the running bike in water and watching for the spark to arc. an exhaust valve burned out 3k miles after the valves had supposedly been checked (24k mile intervals, FSH) and the rear shock mount snapped off. There were other more minor issues but those above are the headlines. Suffice to say I'm not going back to a TDM of any era.

So, looking for TDM ergonomics without a Yamaha badge I have bought this - Roary the Red Tiger (yes, all of our bikes and cars have a name):

Roary - IMG_20241201_125420_782 (Small).jpg (117.21 KiB) Viewed 1039 times

Roary - IMG_20241201_125406_464 (Small).jpg (124.08 KiB) Viewed 1039 times

Roary - IMG_20241201_125354_730 (Small).jpg (114.44 KiB) Viewed 1039 times

It's a 2014 Tiger 1050 Sport with 21.5k miles on it, FSH and whilst not perfect it does appear to have been well looked after.

No real plans to change anything on it. Maybe add panniers. It does have a cut-out on the dash trim for genuine Triumph heated grips so I'll either buy the grips or a new dash trim (the latter most likely as I have heated gloves). It already has a Delkevic titanium race can which isn't too loud and is way quieter than the road legal Remus which were on the Capo.

First impressions, I'm very pleased with it, it feels like getting on my first TDM. The engine is a cracker IMO and nicer than the MT09. Filtering is as I expected and TDM like though my filtering skills are not as good as they were 20 years ago.

[weeksy]

Is this the part where i say "looks fab, giz a go mister?"

[Beancounter]

Is this the part where i say "looks fab, giz a go mister?"

Lol, yes, humour me.

[Skub]

Your good health to enjoy. It's very red.

[Supermofo]

Always thought those Tiger Sports were nice bikes, hope it works out for you.

[Druid]

Happy new bike.

I really like the 1050 engine

[ChrisW]

Roary!

[Taipan]

Very nice! HNBD!

[Taff]

Lovely bike, I'll be following with interest because I've spotted a couple of these being sold locally at a very decent price, and one could be a good option to replace the cbf at some point in the future.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

I'm sure it's lovely, but how does a 10 year old touring bike only have 21000 miles on it?

[mangocrazy]

I'm sure it's lovely, but how does a 10 year old touring bike only have 21000 miles on it?

It went on short local tours. Or perhaps only the very occasional longer tour. I've got a 15 y.o. sports-tourer that's only done 12k miles.

[Taff]

I'm sure it's lovely, but how does a 10 year old touring bike only have 21000 miles on it?

My 16 year old CBF1000 has less than that on the clock, I am doing my best to drive that upwards though

[Rockburner]

I'm sure it's lovely, but how does a 10 year old touring bike only have 21000 miles on it?

Previously owned by the touring equivalent of a Power Ranger. (A McBoor-abe?)

Only toured the local coffee shops.

[Horse]

What I really wanted was a modern TDM850 that wasn't a TDM850. I've had two. The first one, a 1996 mkII in silver and yellow, gave me some of my fondest biking memories.

Was that the one with the fairing held together by yellow gaffer tape?

Happy New Roary Day!

[Beancounter]

I'm sure it's lovely, but how does a 10 year old touring bike only have 21000 miles on it?

Paperwork would suggest it was used for commuting and short trips. My 2005 1150GSA had 23k miles on it when I bought it in 2016, my 2009 1200RT had 25k on it when I bought it in 2021.

What I really wanted was a modern TDM850 that wasn't a TDM850. I've had two. The first one, a 1996 mkII in silver and yellow, gave me some of my fondest biking memories.

Was that the one with the fairing held together by yellow gaffer tape?

Happy New Roary Day!

Yes, that one. The yellow gaffa tape was a gift from The Gimp/Giles.

[Sunny]

Nice bike mista

I'm highly biased towards Triumphs at the best of times, and I agree with Druid, that 1050 engine is a cracker Happy commuting!

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Maybe it's me that's odd, I do 9000 miles a year on a bike and I only ride for fun, I don't commute on a bike, my car is cheaper to run and takes less time if you take into account getting motorcycle gear on and off, it's only 15 minutes in the car.

[Supermofo]

Maybe it's me that's odd, I do 9000 miles a year on a bike and I only ride for fun, I don't commute on a bike, my car is cheaper to run and takes less time if you take into account getting motorcycle gear on and off, it's only 15 minutes in the car.

My Dad's 2004 Fazer 600 has I think around 9000 miles on it. He bought it new. Some years he's done only 150 miles in a year. Seems odd to me, but he's happy. Then again I only do 2500-3500k miles a year so not exactly piling them on either.

[Bustaspoke]

If you have more than one bike, only use it in Summer for 'Sunday Princess' duties & the annual tour it's easy to keep the mileage down.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

I've got 5 bikes !