I had this bike for just over 5 years

got it at 5000 km, late 2014, near 68000 km on it now. the longest i kept anything else

its been a brilliant bike, really under rated, any of the lads who took it for a spin were also very surprised with it.

very comfy, did a 3 day trip, 400 km touring up north to malin head on a Friday, did 650 km malin head to mizen head and back to schull on Saturday, came home Sunday, 730 kms in the pissing rain all day, via ring of Kerry, valentia island, limerick, tipp laois photo spots and would do the same again on the Monday

very reliable, (it blew 1 headlight bulb),

great handling for what it is, easy on tyres, C&S, juice,

lovely torquey engine

if anybody is thinking of one or a bike of similar type

highly recommended, its one of the bikes i would buy again. I was gonna buy another one but there is so many others out there, i have to try

i put a review up a few years ago, I’ve updated it a bit to reflect my ownership over the last 5 years

Triumph Tiger 1050 Sport review

Looks

I like the single side swing arm, SC Project CF end can, panniers are a bonus, and a givi rack for a top box suits my needs.

Nice touches like the red stitching on the seat and triumph logo on the foot pegs

Riding position

A bit taller than a normal bike, got used to it within a few minutes. Sitting more upright, the bars a bit closer than a sports tourer.

Brakes

Good front and back, plenty of stopping power and feel, ABS as standard and doesn’t cut in too easily, only happened a couple of times on wet shiny tarmac

Handling

When I got it, the bike had the suspension with everything set to minimum, which affected tyre grip, so I wobbled round the place for a few days til I sorted it.

Rear suspension is adjustable for preload and rebound

Front suspension is adjustable for preload, compression on left fork and rebound on right fork

I have it pretty much sorted.

My settings are as follows;

Front Forks;

Preload; 2 rings showing

Compression; 2 full turns out from fully in

Rebound; 2 turns out from fully in

Rear Suspension

rebound; 2.5 turns out from fully in

Preload; 15 clicks out from fully in

No problems with it on corners, very easy to turn in coz of the wide bars and stable when leaned over. I’m very surprised with it for the type of bike it is.

Tyres are standard Pirelli Angel STs, they’re crap, Bridgestone T31’s are better, but I have more confidence with the PR4/PR5,

tyres last about 8000 kms or better.

Engine / Gearbox

1050 triple, load of torque from about 4500 rpm onwards. It will ride at 2000 rpm in top = 30 mph, but it doesn’t like big handfuls of throttle at low revs, it’s much better from 3000 rpm onwards, much smoother. 4000 rpm = 100 kmh, 5000 rpm = 120 kmh, 6000 rpm = 145 kmh, redlines at 10,000 rpm. There is loads of torque in any gear all the way to redline.

Sounds lovely too.

Gearbox is smooth, even when selecting 1st gear from neutral, there is no clunk.

Clocks / info

No gear indicator, No air temperature.

Info from the clocks is simple, clock and trip meters, and kms to empty,

There is useless info too, like avg kms per litre, actual kms per litre, time spent riding, avg km/h, self cancelling indicators

ABS can be turned on or off

Living with it

It’s a very easy bike to ride. It’ll ride all day up to a ton old money, its better 130 kms ish, it’ll dawdle all day too at 3000 rpm. Standard screen is good enough for me, no wind buffeting but its noisy, earplug are essential.

Tis easy enough on juice. from full to reserve light gets approx 280 kms or so, i did 95 kms on the reserve light once,:woots: the tank holds 20 litres.

The bike came with Triumph panniers. They are neat enough when on the bike and the clip on and off easily, but there is a foot peg bracket exposed when they are removed. Not as tidy as the Honda pannier mounts and they are heavier boxes

The right one holds feck all coz of the high level pipe

The left one holds a full face helmet

A fender extender on the front mudguard is essential, will keep most of shite off the radiator and lower oil cooler, but not all

Headlights are good.

Mirrors are good

The tank is magnetic, but i’ve using givi tanklock bag without issue

Tool bag under the seat and just enough space to store a puncture repair kit, (gas and plugs type), No spanner to remove the rear wheel. It takes a 46mm Socket and it torqued at 146 nm

Oxford heated grips were fitted, as soon as I bought it, no issues with them

services

every 10,000 kms minor, oil and filter change

every 20,000 kms major, valve clearance, plugs

C&S 1st set lasted, 25,000 kms, 2nd set still on it and should be good till at least 80,000 kms on the clock

other than tyres, brake pads, one set of C&S and one headlight bulb nothing broke or fell off,

fairing side panels can be awkward to put back on, just need to be patient.

faults

every single sided swing arm triumph has the same problem

the centre hub is missing grease from the factory, when you try and adjust the chain you will find it seized. The hub needs to be stripped and greased up. I had this done at 25,000 kms. It’s still good at 68,000 kms

Most servicing was done by Robbie at Mototechnics. Highly recommended

2013 or 2014 model

The Tiger sport came out in 2013 with the single sided swing arm and a heap of other changes.

This is the late 2014 spec Tiger sport. Subtle visual difference is the Triumph logo moved from the tank to the fairing and 1050 Sport sticker at the base of the headlight.

Other stuff includes a different fuel map and a slightly bigger radiator

what’s next……