It's not a true Adventure Bike without a Tool Tube

Adventure Bikes were designed to enable motorcyclists to carry as much unnecessary crap on their machines as possible. And then ride them to places with exotic sounding names that nobody has heard of except the people who live there. Well, that is if you believe the hype, and the salesman's banter.

In reality, most riders like the comfy upright riding position, and the ability to carry enough luggage for the rider and a pillion on a fortnights touring holiday. Big aluminium panniers bolted to the sides of an autobahn cruising machine, rider and pillion in matching high tech textile suits, clocking off the miles in sumptuous comfort, looking like a lifestyle advertisement for the Touratech catalogue. I have become a convert to this kind of motorcycling. It just seems to make sense to the type of riding I do. I am too broken and unfit to ride sports bikes for any length of time anymore.

But, it doesn't matter how many crash bars, armoured skid plates, or GPS mounts you have, an Adventure Bike is not a true Adventure Bike unless it has a tool tube fitted.

Tool tubes have become a must have accessory for a serious Adventure Bike. They allow you to carry even more stuff that you probably don't need. But, they do allow you to use some of the wasted space at various points around the motorcycle, and add a certain utilitarian look at the same time.

Humble looking homemade tool tubes started appearing a few years ago, as a means of carrying a few tools and spares on off road bikes for longer rides, conveniently and securely. Before that, it was a case of using a fender bag or carrying them in an enduro tool belt or backpack. Then someone on an internet forum posted a picture of a tractor operators manual storage tube fitted to their bike. Since that day, the "agri tube" has become a phenomenon!

So, I have fitted not one, but two tool tubes to my Tiger. A double dose of adventurism. I'll be able to complete the Road of Bones in a weekend now I they are on my bike!

I had a pair of tool tubes fitted to the pannier rails of my Aprilia Caponord. I used to carry fuel for my camping stove in one, and a tool kit in the other.

Tool tubes fitted to the lower pannier rails of my much missed Aprilia Caponord

As, I am planning a long trip on my Tiger this summer, I thought I could do with a little additional storage for spare inner tubes and a puncture kit etc. I purchased a pair of the agri tubes from a seller on Ebay. I then had to work out how and where to fit them to the bike.

I looked at various places on the bike to decide on the best place to mount them . As, there is some wasted space behind the left pannier rail, this looked like the obvious place to mount the tool tubes.

On the Triumph Tiger 800 there are some blanked off threaded holes on the lower side of the subframe rails. These are the mounting points for the genuine accessory pannier kit. These mounting points just so happen to be the same spacing as the mounting holes on the tool tubes. It was almost as if Triumph had designed it that way!
If I was only going to mount one tool tube, I would just bolt the tool tube straight on to the subframe using the pannier mounting points. But, as I was wanting to mount two tool tubes a bracket of some description would have to be fabricated. Ideally I wanted to mount the tool tubes in a stacked position, so that I could access both tool tubes from the rear of the bike. But, due to the strengthening bar between the two panniers on my bike ( see picture above ), it would prevent me accessing the bottom tool tube. I was also concerned about the clearance of the bottom tool tube with the swinging arm when using the full suspension travel.
So, I decided to mount the second tube facing forwards.
I mocked up a bracket from some scrap steel, and then fabricated the final bracket from some 3x20mm flat steel stock I had. I painted the bracket with some etch primer and a few coats of black stone chip paint. I chose stone chip as the bracket will get subjected to quite a bit of weather and debris coming off the rear tyre.

Bracket all painted and ready to fit

 

I then mounted the tool tubes to the bracket with some stainless button head bolts and nyloc nuts. I have also removed the yellow graphics from the tool tubes with a little bit of brake cleaner and a rag.

 



The lids of the tool tubes screw on tightly and have an o ring seal to keep out water and muck. I did find though that the tool tube caps on my Aprilia Caponord could come loose over a period of time. I decided that I would fabricate and install some safety wires to prevent the caps from unscrewing themselves on rough roads. This would also provide a little security for the contents from opportunist thieves. I am not planning in carrying anything of real value in the tool tubes. But, it can be extremely frustrating to find the tool you need for a simple roadside repair is now occupying some little cretins pocket.
I bought some wire rope and fittings from a chandlers shop. I made up two six inch safety wires with loops at each end. I attached one end of each safety wire to the tool tube mounting bolts using a stainless top hat fitting and passing the wire through a p clip. I will them secure the other end with a small padlock. I have fitted a strap loop to each tool tube cap with stainless blind fittings for a neat and tidy finish.

 

A couple of pictures showing the safety wires fitted

 

And here is the finished assembly fitted to the bike

 

And, the finished job with the pannier fitted

 

Overall I am very pleased with the results. The tool tubes are nicely tucked out of the way, but easily accessible when needed. I bought a little extra of the wire rope, so I will fabricate a PacSafe style security cable for wrapping around my roll bag that I take with me on camping trips. That will be my next project.

 

 

 

 

Tony Archer Seat

One thing that I find is literally a pain in the arse, is the seat on the Tiger. It seems fine at first. But, after about an hour of riding, or 60 or so miles I start to do the numb bum shuffle!
This is not so good on a motorcycle capable of covering big mileages in a day. And, as I am planning to go on a few long touring trips this year I needed to do something about the seat. The seat foam is too soft and compresses once it gets warm from sitting on it for a while. I would also prefer the seat profile to be flattened off, and made slightly wider in places. There is a plastic lip on the back edge of the seat, and a lack of padding on the bottom edge of the side of the seat. I can feel these bits of the seat starting to bite me after a few miles.

I knew what I wanted, and I knew the man for the job. I have used Tony Archer to reshape and cover a number of motorcycle seats in the past. His work is always top quality, and he has a way of making seats more usable for me. He has also worked he magic on a few other Tiger 800 seats with good results.

Not wanting to use the existing seat on my bike for the modifications ( so it is easier to put back to standard when it is time to sell it ), I bought a used seat from a fellow member of the Tiger 800 forum, http://www.tiger800.co.uk/index.php  and went to see Tony to discuss what I wanted him to do.

About a week later I received the seat back from Tony. It looked amazing. So, it was off with the original seat, and on with the new one. Instantly the seat looked higher, flatter, and wider in all the areas I had asked for. The seat had also been covered in a nice anti-slip tactile waterproof vinyl fabric.

 

 

 

 

The seat is instantly much more comfortable. The flatter profile of the main seating area really makes a difference. The added padding on the rear and sides of the seat help to keep me sat in a more centralised position too. There has been about an extra inch of padding added all over the seat. This means that when the new seat is in the lower setting, it  feels about the same as the original one in the higher setting. I will try it on the lower setting for a while. But , it gives me the option of a little more legroom adjustment if I need it. It could be a bit interesting when stopping at junctions etc though, as I am not the tallest of men.

 

 

Barkbuster Storm Handguards

As I had been neglecting my Tiger for a while due to the recent bad weather, I thought I would treat it to a few goodies. There are a couple of areas on the Tiger that could be improved more to my liking. So, I have bought some new items to hopefully change these for the better.

The genuine Triumph handguards are rubbish. I noticed this when I test rode one prior to buying my Tiger. The Triumph handguards are a cosmetic addition that give the bike that "Adventure Bike" look that everyone craves, but fail miserably when it comes to actually protecting your hands. They are just too small. And, the shape of them directs the air flowing over them at the back of your hands. This is really annoying on cold or wet days, as you get an icy blast or a jet wash of water fired at the back of your hands and up the sleeve of your jacket.

The Genuine Triumph Handguards

 

After looking around at the various options, I decided to buy a set of Barkbusters with the optional Storm plastic extensions. These are reasonably priced, and highly rated amongst the Tiger owners that have fitted them. 

 

 

The Barkbusters package consists of a pair of tough aluminium bars which provided the protection for your bike. If you were to drop it, they would help prevent the levers from breaking. They also protect your hands if you were to bash the handle bars on something like a tree riding through a forest trail, or the side mirror of a van during a hectic morning commute.

 

You then chose from a few different plastic guard options, which attach to the aluminium bar sections. I chose the larger Storm option as these provide the best weather protection.

 

The kit comes with a comprehensive fitting kit ( these Barkbusters are a specific fitment for the Tiger 800 and Explorer 1200 ), and easy to understand instructions.

 

After removing the Genuine Triumph handguards, I had the Barkbusters fitted in about fifteen minutes. The instructions specify that the handlebar clamps need to be fitted in a certain way, and that the handlebars ( which are adjustable ) need to be in the middle of their range of adjustment to provide the necessary clearances needed when turning the steering lock to lock. However, as I have my handlebars in a more forward position to prevent shoulder pain from a injury a few years ago, it took me a few adjustments to get them just so.

 

Barkbusters fitted

 

The Storm plastic guards are simply fixed to the aluminium bars with a small plastic bracket, and some self tapping screws.

 

 



 

The Barkbusters look great. And, seem to be very strong. They definitely look like they could take a proper beating.

 

 

 

And, the Storm guards look like they will provide much better weather protection. If they prove to be a little too warm in the summer, I will consider changing the Storm guards for one of the other smaller enduro style options.