Yamaha & Honda closing the gap, Kawasaki must be next

We are lucky enough ,"state-side", to be able to order the Yamaha Tenere'. Now there will be more selections available in the sport tour-adventure market. Triumph has the 800cc Tiger, Honda has the Crosstour X, (see hondamc2011.com/), and the CrossCountry 1200CC, both Hondas with a 90 degree v-4, six-speed. The CrossCountry has an automatic tranmission available. I can see Kawasaki getting into this picture next. BMW brought the 1k rr sport bike to compete with the Japanese engineering market. Looks like the consumer can see some good competition in the market now. Hey Eric Buell, how about your next Ulysses.

Did you see the review of the Tiger 800 in the mag (I think cycle world) this month? It was very glowing, I'm pretty sure they liked it more than the BMW F800GS.

Since this has no hexhead content.. I'm moving it over to Motorad - which is for discussion of things BMW that aren't bike specific.

Hang on..

OK, thanks for the move to motorrad. I should have also mentioned that the BMW 800 GS is one of the best bikes that is available for what intent is was made for.

I too have an eye on the new Tiger 800..especially the XC model. I do have a concern with what I see in the specs that the power to weight ratio might be a little to much for the dirt but will have to wait and see..

Regards,

Clay
Kimberton,Pa

109626 said:

..... I can see Kawasaki getting into this picture next. ...

Click to expand...

Kawasaki has a nice 650cc parallel twin they use in three different motorcycles, the Versys, a Ninja, and another one. My hunch is there will be a KLR version of this pretty soon. I hope they do it right, like keeping the great ergos, 6 gallon tank, nice racks, 21" wheel of the KLR. Then re-gear the 6 speed transmission to a WR, keep the weight close to the Versy, the price under $8K, and I'm all in!

Clay said:

I do have a concern with what I see in the specs that the power to weight ratio might be a little to much for the dirt but will have to wait and see.

Click to expand...

do you mean too heavy or too powerful?

Clay said:

I too have an eye on the new Tiger 800..especially the XC model. I do have a concern with what I see in the specs that the power to weight ratio might be a little to much for the dirt but will have to wait and see..

Regards,

Clay
Kimberton,Pa

Click to expand...

Visian said:

do you mean too heavy or too powerful?

Click to expand...

Power to weight ratio is always a big deal for data panel readers. I am a street rider that ventures off road at my own peril. What is a good ratio for a dual sport bike if you are using it with a dirty focus which the 800XC and 800GS supposedly have? I really am curious what you guys think.

Triumph 800 XC

94 bhp@9300rpm
58ft/lb@7850rpm
Wet weight: 473


BMW 800GS

85hp@7500rpm
62ft/lb@5750rpm
Wet weight: 455

Run the numbers and the ratios are not all that different that I can imagine it would make that big a deal to me even if I honed my skills. What does jump out at me for consideration is where they make the power in the rpm range. Without seeing the full power curves for a true comparison it strikes me I would rather have the XC as a canyon carver and the GS in the dirt.

Am I thinking in the right direction or have I fallen off like I do when I off road my Roadster?

Another consideration is the price.

The Triumph has a base of $9,999.00, $10,799 with ABS. However, the warranty is for 2 years with unlimited miles.

The BMW has a base of $11,395.00, with the standard package (which includes ABS, heated grips and OBC) going for $12,900.00.

Easy