| Author | Message | ||
     Bdrag |
Well boyz, I have had the Triumph Explorer 1200 for about 9 months. I have taken 2 trips on the bike, one loaded down with everything but the kitchen sink and one with all the bags and garb but lightly loaded. WHAT A PLATFORM! The power is wonderful. Best all around bike I have had. It is a tad heavy at times especially when loaded down but it still manages to HAUL ASS and CORNER like its on rails even loaded. I do miss the Uly from a weight stand point. The Uly tall seat was still the most comfy I have sat upon for extended rides as well. Over all so far sept for some minor irritations with the British fuel injection programs in hot weather and altitude, bad combo, I am real happy with this kinda large bike. I put a Leo Vince exhaust on it for $400.00. It all fit and was no effort to install in less than 10 minutes. WOW! No under bike nightmare! Ahahaaa. The sound is like a Formula 1 car from yester year. Just wonderful. I added the bags from my V Strom, found a tank bag for $25 that will actually stick to the tank with magnets and found a Triumph Forum member to loan his bike to Cee Bailey to fab some GREAT windshields for the bikes. Man O Man does the 23 inch tall shield work! This bike at speed is a champ. I have managed a top speed on the GPS of 134 mph. Speedo read 136 mph. HUH? Pretty close. The bike will scream up to the mid 120,s with ease. Milage is hit and miss. Usually get in town around 38-40. I have also had a few bad tanks of low 30's. In Colorado when on the dirt roads I managed a tank full with 8 miles left on the gauge of a range of 220 miles. Wish I had of had fuel in my 2 spare fuel bottles on that ride! HAAAAhaaaa. That was a tank at around 45 mpg. Still don't get much from rear tires. Average about 3500 on the rears. Prolly 6000 on the fronts. Sure miss my spare rear wheel! So all in all with about 7000 miles on the bike I am still liking the Triumph. As with the Buell, once you get the suspension tuned to your liking and figger out the small tweaks to adjust for changes in payload its just outstanding. Bang for buck, not sure how it compares to the Ducati's or the new BMW GS but I got into mine right, used my Strom luggage and scored a free windshield. If the thing holds together I plan on running it into the ground. Here are a few pics from a few trips. A dirt road we took from mountain to mountain in Colorado in June. About 60 miles I guess. Did a few burst of 100 plus.  A few pics from the west side of the Royal Gorge Bridge Fire. Could not get to the bridge due to a closed gate. DAMN!     My patch work or turtle look of my tank with sections of vinyl to cover the tank to keep the tank bag from tearing up the paint! The stuff only comes in 5 1/2 inch wide rolls! AHhaaaaa.  Well that's about it for now. I still lurk here. Everyone just remember this small belief, its not what you ride but that you ride. Be safe, be crazy and above all enjoy life and make sure you tell those you love that you love them. Hope everyone is surviving this crapped out economy and hope we as a country pull through. See ya around..... BDRAG | ||
| Paul56 |
Nice to hear from you. Always interested to hear how other bikes compare to the Uly from current or former owners. They have the best perspective. | ||
| Skifastbadly |
There's a dealer near me who has a used TEX on the floor. 4700 miles, with the panniers, aux lights, crash bars, fully farkled....he wants 13,900. Tempting but given I only paid 5800 for my 08 Uly with 8K miles on it, it's not even close to the same smiles/$. | ||
| Bdrag |
Skifastbadly I read your bio, all that you listed that has been an issue on your bikes is reason enough for a test ride! HAhaaaa. I wish I could have kept the Uly but with all my spares it was my main trade cash. I gave away my 2004 DL 1000 Strom with only 60,000 miles and the Uly on trade along with $7000. At this point, NO REGRETS! I had my 09 Uly for 11000 miles. I loved it. Spared it up, 4 air box covers, 2010 rear wheel, belts, clamps and so on. Loved it to a point but, after loading all the spares on board for road trips there was almost no room for my big ass clothes and gear! HAhaaa. At the time I was 335 lbs, 6 ft tall. The Explorer fits me better! AHhaaa. I am now a type II diabetic and at around 300 lbs so the Triumph is feeling faster every lb! AHahhaa. BDRAG |
