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OK my ar$eholes worth, let's hope I don't offend anyone.
I have an 03 Vara, an 09 1050 and a 96 Tiger 885.
The Vara performs almost faultlessly and hasn't really let me down yet. Performance is pretty good considering the barge like statistics and I dare say others could make it really sing. The box is a bit agricultural bit works faultlessly if you ignore the clunks. Comfy ergonomics for me @ 5' 10", although the seat lets me slip forward all the time, maybe just getting old, the seat foam that is. 400 km in one morning was not any more wearing than you would expect. The suspension does the job but even uprated with Hagon kit it's not what I would call nimble and the standard suspension was poor considering the mileage, all city & highway. Brakes are good but the combined system takes a bit of getting used to and I still treat it with some care when the surface is tricky, sort of defeats the purpose of the system
. Wind and weather protection is decent out of the box. Lights are excellent with decent lamps. Done a bit of gravel on it and managed without too much drama, all my drops have been at parking / walking speed, my heart is always in my mouth moving it around both from trepidation and exertion. Getting genuine Honda parts seems to be a real pain just now, I have waited over 3 months to get brake balance valve seals
. Miss Weston Supermare 1985 might have been achievable on a good day, an Alison Moyet, sweet songs and pretty to some beholders.
The 1050 roadie I have done less than 1k miles on it so far. The engine is brilliant, probably will be considered one of the greatest of engines in the future if not already, amazing torque anywhere, smooth and even economical. Sportsbike like capabilities way beyond my abilities to explore. Gearbox is sweet if the chain is adjusted properly. Brakes are excellent with plenty of feel. Ergonomics are excellent and the seat is perfect for me but not everybody finds that, 200 miles in a morning left me fresh and well ready for the rest of the day with no aches. Stock suspension is very good with plenty of adjustment, many uprate it again to get more sports like capability, I briefly rode a friends with uprated kit, which proved just how good the chassis is, I watched him harrie an R1 in the Trossachs, respect, well he does have an R1 himself that stays in the garage most of the time. Buffeting from teh standard screen is not good and very few riders seem to stick with it, quite a few have two screens, one for town / fun rides and a barn door for touring, weather protection is fair but not quite to Vara levels. Lights, ah yes, don't think it gets more than one star, even properly adjusted with a good lamp the dip gives little confidence, HID and or Aux lights are pretty common mods. I move the Tiger around quite happily at slow speeds even though I have less of my foot on the deck although I was very wary at first, I nearly launched it backwards into the showroom putting it on the centre stand after being used to the Vara, luckily the salesman was behind it and provided a buffer, much easier to move around but that will probably be my undoing one day
The Steamer is in most ways a very obvious precursor to the later Tigers, even with huge milage, been less loved than I would have hoped for, it is still a wild ride, even in the state it's in with the carbs well out of it running rich, the front brakes only making the front go up and down on the space hopper springs instead of actually doing serious stopping and running geriatric Tourances, it will still keep up with the Vara and never fails to give me jaw ache from grinning, can't wait to rebuild it, it deserves it.
A the end of the day I will probably move the Vara on when I have rebuilt the Steamer but only because I couldn't justify all of them
On the other hand, I would have to be very down on my luck before you could prise the Tigers out of my grip.
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Originally Posted by Freerangestormer
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