Weekend away- First mini tour: Day 1

One of the reasons for buying my Tiger 800XC, was that it should be a good bike for touring trips. Nice comfortable riding position, decent tank range, and the ability to carry all my camping gear on an adventure, is what these bikes are all about.
Well recently, I was able to put my Tiger to the test during a weekend away in Wales. The weekend of 11-13/04/14 was one of the AF1 Aprilia Caponord forum UK meets. Although I no longer have my Caponord, I am still an active member of the forum. They are a great bunch of guys and girls, and the camping weekends held in Wales are a great event.
Due to work, I was able to have an extra day in Wales. The weather forecast looked good, so I assembled my vast mountain of camping equipment and attached it to the bike. I always end up taking too much stuff with me, but this year was going to be different. I had sorted through my stuff, and was only taking about a third of what I would normally. It was only a weekend after all!
With the bike loaded, I set off for the valleys of Wales just after rush hour. I had all day to get to the campsite in Llandovery, so I made most of the bright sunshine and the empty tarmac.
                                                                                        

I stopped after about an hour for a leg stretch and to check all my gear had not become loose. I also uploaded this  photo to let my work mates know I was having a great time riding in the sunshine.

As I neared Abergavenny, the sun disappeared behind the increasing cloud and it became a little bit chilly. I decided a spot of lunch at the bus station café would warm me up a bit. The bus station café is popular with bikers, as the roads all around are nice and twisty. Even though it was a Thursday lunchtime, there were about 10 bikes of all types parked up outside. You can expect over a hundred bikes on a sunny weekend day during the summer.

I ordered a cheese and tomato sandwich, a hot chocolate, and a chocolate covered flapjack that caught my eye. I took a seat and was soon after presented with the largest doorstop sandwich I had ever seen. The bread was from the local bakers, and was nice and soft with a great texture. It was awesome. Just the thing to set me up for the ride over to Llandovery on the A40.

 

Proper Man's Sandwich!

 

I left the bus station, and after a quick refuel ( for the bike this time) I set off west along the A40.

The A40, west from Abergavenny, is fast and flowing with great visibility. It becomes a bit of a racetrack at weekends. But, on a weekday afternoon it is very quiet.

It started off as a nice relaxing ride through the countryside. But, the section from Brecon to Llandovery is a particular favourite of mine. The relaxing ride became a little more spirited, and just past Sennybridge, I surprised a guy on a silver ZX12R with the pace of a fully laden Tiger 800XC!

I arrived at the campsite mid afternoon. http://www.erwlon.co.uk/. It is a great site with good facilities, and friendly staff. It has even won "Loo of the Year". I set up my tent, and had the top site all to myself.

Tent up and time for a brew

 











The others would be arriving the next day, so I had a relaxing evening chilling out with a book and some tunes on my phone. I went to the local supermarket for a few provisions. I put the stove on and cooked up a delicious mushroom risotto for dinner. This was washed down with a glass or two of wine, while I watched the Hawk jets from RAF Valley carrying out some low level training. A great end to a great day.

Tutoro Chain Oiler

As I am planning on using my Tiger for some touring trips, I thought I would install a chain oiler.
There are many different types of chain oiler on the market. Some rely on an electrical or vacuum connection to the motorcycle. But, some like the Tutoro use an independent method of operation.

I have fitted Tutoro chain oilers to a few of my previous bikes. I really like the simple design, with no complicated systems to go wrong.
The Tutoro uses an oil reservoir mounted to the motorcycle, with a delivery tube feeding the oil to the rear sprocket and chain. The simple action of a weighted plunger operated by the movement of the motorcycle operates the oil flow. A tapered screw allows for the oil flow rate to be adjusted.

I ordered my oiler kit, taking advantage of a discount promotion from the Tiger800.co.uk forum. I ordered the delux edition. The kit came the next day, and was very comprehensive.

.

 

The first task was finding a suitable location to mount the oil reservoir. I wanted somewhere that would require the minimal amount of modification, was east to get to for filling, but was nicely tucked out of the way of it getting knocked etc.

I settled on fixing the reservoir to the outside of the battery tray, just under the rider seat on the left hand side. The reservoir fits nicely in this area. It would also be easy to route the oil delivery tube from there. There is a small right angled flange on the outside of the battery tray. This would be an ideal place to fit the mounting bracket.

Here you can see how I mounted the reservoir

 

I drilled a 6mm hole in the flange, and used the angled pieces supplied in the kit to mount the reservoir. To stop any unnecessary vibration, which could increase the oil flow rate, I used a small piece of self adhesive closed cell foam to act of a damper between the reservoir and the plastic panel. You can just see it in the top of these four photos.

With the reservoir mounted, I set about mounting the delivery tube.

Rather than using the bendable tube with the external wire coil, as recommended, I thought I could make the installation slightly neater. I wanted the oil delivery tube to drip oil onto the rear sprocket at about the 7-8 o'clock position. This is where the rear sprocket "shark fin" is mounted. I thought if I could mount the oil delivery tube to the shark fin, it would be secure and unobtrusive.

I removed the shark fin and looked at how I could mount the oil delivery tube to it. The kit contains some self adhesive clips for the tubing. But, these would not fit to the curved surfaces of the shark fin.

So, after a cup of tea to think things over, I decided to mount the oil delivery tube through the shark fin instead of to it.

I marked where I wanted the tube to pass through the shark fin, and drilled two 5.5mm holes. This is a fraction smaller than the outside diameter of the tubing, so it would be gripped slightly. I then passed the tubing through the shark fin, and into position.

I then refitted the shark fin loosely to check the fit. As you can see, it is a very neat solution.
I then routed the oil delivery tube up to the reservoir. I ran the tubing up the inside of the swing arm, and held it in place with a small cable tie. This is the only additional securing point that is needed, as the tubing is held in position by other components for the remaining routing.

 

I then ran the tubing behind the middle chain guard mounting, and through the chain running block, just behind the front chain guard mounting. I had to trim a little chamfer on the outside bottom edge of the chain running block. This allowed for the tubing to run behind the middle chain guard mount, and be gripped slightly by the chain running block. I then cut the tube to length, and attached it to the reservoir.

 

After bleeding the system, and setting the oil feed rate, the job was complete.
Overall the Tutoro chain oiler system was easy to fit, and has been delivering a nice even coat of oil to the chain.
I have covered about 1,000 miles with the oiler fitted. After, some initial adjustments to the feed rate, I am very happy with the results. The chain has a slight sheen of oil, yet I am getting very minimal oil residue covering the rear components of my bike. But, this is easily removed during cleaning.
Check out  http://www.tutorochainoiler.com/ for more information on this great range of oilers.





Screen Modification

One of the things that I find annoying on the Tiger is the screen. The bike came with a Genuine accessory touring screen as part of the promotional package I got when I bought it.
I have tried adjusting the screen in various positions. But, no matter where I adjust it I am getting an excessive amount of wind buffeting. This makes riding the bike for any length of time uncomfortable, and tiring.
I suffered with wind buffeting on my Aprilia Caponord. It took lots of experimentation with various screens and additions to try and eliminate it. I don't want to have these issues with the Tiger too. I am planning on doing some long tours on the Tiger, so the screen needs to be looked at.
I wanted to keep the touring screen if possible, due to it's larger size. I have the standard screen to revert back to if necessary, so I have nothing to loose by modifying the touring screen.
I found a MRA screen from an old Honda Fireblade that I used to own. The screen was cracked, but the vario spoiler was fine. So, I removed the spoiler and tried it for size against the Tiger screen.

The mountings matched the curvature of the Tiger screen. So, I set about mounting the spoiler.
First I had to measure, mark, and drill the mounting holes for the spoiler.

 It was a bit nervous about drilling the screen. I started with a small drill bit, and increased the hole size one  drill bit at a time until they were 5.5mm. The holes needed to be drilled at a slight angle to suit the mounting studs on the spoiler. I trial fitted the spoiler at this stage.

The spoiler fitted really well. I removed the masking tape, and fitted the backing plates on the mounts to secure the spoiler to the screen.

I am really pleased how the job turned out. I have tried the spoiler in various positions, and there is a noticeable difference. The buffeting is reduced. But, the screen still flexes on its lower mountings. This leads to screen wobble at higher speeds. There is a replacement set of mounts available from Touratech for the BMW R1200GS which use a similar mount. I may see if these are a direct replacement.
But, for now I am happy with the results. If I can get the position of the spoiler to where it works well, I may cut a spoiler from a second hand stock screen that I have. This would match the lines at the top of the screen better.

Hugger and chain guard extension

Having fitted the rear mudguard extension, I thought I would complete the rear end protection by fitting a hugger.
I am not normally a fan of huggers. But, I am fed up of how dirty the Tiger gets. I also don't like the fibreglass and carbon huggers. They get stone chipped easily, and start to look a mess.
So, I looked at the R&G hugger. It is made of black ABS plastic, similar to the chain guard. This helps it to blend in and look like an original part.
Fitting was easy. All the mounting holes lined up, and the additional security of industrial Velcro makes it feel secure. There is also an optional plastic rivet to secure the chain guard to the hugger. This needs a 5.5mm hole to be drilled through the chain guard and hugger. This helps to keep the chain guard in position.
The plastic rivet supplied by R&G was a bit flimsy, so I replaced it with a stronger version from my spares supply.

Overall I am really happy with how it looks. I just hope it helps to keep things clean.

I also made and fitted, a small extension for the chain guard. The standard chain guard is about an inch too short. This means that chain oil can get flung off the chain and rear sprocket, decorating the rear of the bike in the process.
I took a piece of scrap ABS plastic and cut out an extension piece.

 I drilled a 5mm hole in the extension, and the chain guard. I then secured the extension to the chain guard with a stainless button head bolt, washer, and locknut.

 

This is just an experiment. But, I am confident that it will work. I may end up modifying the shape a little. I need to clock up a few miles to see how it performs.

Rear Mudguard Extension

I am getting really fed up of washing my new Tiger. I have never owned a bike that gets so dirty, so quickly.
As soon as I have cleaned it, a short ride later and it is dirtier than before I started! So, I decided to to something about it.
I already have a front mudguard extension and a Shock Sock fitted. I needed to do something about protecting my rear end a little better. I found out that Triumph makes a rear mudguard extension. This could be the solution.
I enquired about the rear extension at my dealer. I was told that it was no longer available. It was shown on the parts selector, but the part number was discontinued. Aaaahhhhhh!!
But, all was not lost. A quick internet search discovered that the part number had changed. This new number was still not recognised by the parts department at my dealer. Another internet search and success. Total Triumph in Taunton have loads of the new part in stock. So, I placed an order.
The extension arrived quickly. It looked just like the original part, but was wider and slightly longer.
In total it took less than 15 minutes to fit. You replace the original rear undershield part, with the new extension piece using the original fittings.
Overall, it was a great success. the extension is nicely intergrated, and seems to protect things well. I'll have to wait until I get caught in the rain for a true test of it's performance.

 Here you can see the extension fitted. It is the lower section. As you can see, it is a good bit bigger all round compared to the original part in the centre.