Tag Archives: 1050

Triumph Daytona 675 vs Tiger 1050 Sport

With the great weather in July and Chris undecided as to whether to ditch his Blackbird, we headed off to Bulldog Triumph to try out some of their bikes.

Out with the old?Honda Blackbird

I was primarily interested in the Tiger 1050 Sport. I’d heard a lot about the differences that I’d find between the new model and my “old” 2006 bike. First impressions were good, the solid feel of the Tiger, a little quiet for my liking but I’m sure that wouldn’t be to difficult to fix. The brakes are awesome! Just pulling up outside the dealer before heading off gave an indication as to how much better a new set of brakes can feel over a 25k mile set. Same with the suspension. This bike doesn’t wallow around corners (!) – maybe I should invest some money in a suspension refresh…

It was 30°C and 3pm on a Friday afternoon so didn’t get a chance to try the headlights. I’d be interested to see how they compare to mine [HID dip and standard “candle” main]Triumph Tiger 105 Sport

After half an hour or so we swapped bikes.

This Daytona is a bit different!

After wafting along in the arm-chair comfort of the Tiger, the Daytona was a bit of a shock. It is absolutely tiny.I’m looking straight at the road about 10 feet in front of the bike. To look down the road I have to crane my neck into a very uncomfortable position – and then I can’t look through the lenses of my glasses so the view is all blurred!

The bike goes like a rocket and hits the rev limiter in every gear that I use. I just can’t change gear fast enough. And what a great sound comes from the Arrow slip-on exhaust.Triumph Daytona 675 Conclusions:

  • Chris loved the Daytona and hated the Tiger
  • It was as fast (in real life) as his Blackbird, was so much lighter and flickable and just more fun.
  • He’s not sure he could ride one to Wales and back in a weekend…
  • I loved the Tiger but sportsbikes are not my cup of tea (glad I tried it though)

And then there was this sitting in the car park back at Bulldog…

GSXR-1000

It was hot though…

Hot iPhone

Triumph Tiger 1050 Indicators

If you’ve got an old-ish 1050 Triumph, be it Tiger, Sprint or Speed, take a look at the design of your indicators.  Do they look like this?

old style Triumph indicatorRound, opaque, old fashioned?

Then try these!

new style triumph indicatorSharp, clear, new.

These are the new style indicators fitted to the more recent models and are a direct replacement. They can be bought on eBay quite cheaply as people fit LED indicators to their new bikes and flog these off. I picked up a set of 4 (from a Speed Triple) for £20 – they are £26 each from your friendly dealer.

Fitting couldn’t be more easy:

  • Undo the single (rear) screw that holds the lens on the indicator
  • Remove the lens and pop out the reflector
  • Remove old unit by unclipping the two wires
  • Slide the plastic housing off the flexi-mounting, leaving the wiring intact
  • Slide on the new triangular housing, feeding the wires through
  • Clip wires onto the new reflector (doesn’t matter which way)
  • Fit new lens with single (front) screw

Job done. Sparkly-looking new indicators!

Triumph Sprint 1050 GT

At last.

New job notwithstanding – I’ve finally managed to get a decent ride on the GT.

As I’m riding a Bandit at the moment and was to lead the Bulldog RAT ride-out to Newlands Corner, Box-Hill and Loomies today, I borrowed the GT for the day…

What a bike!

145 mile test ride:

Good bits:

  • Felt instantly at home (see my review of K1300S for similar comment)
  • Very comfy
  • No wind buffeting
  • Feels faster than the ST (?)
  • Like the black bars and yoke (makes a change from alloy)

“Maybe” bits:

  • Needs a can – you can hear the engine whistling but not the exhaust
  • Speedo is a bit small and difficult to read at a glance
  • Seat a bit suspect after 145 miles

If I had £9k would I buy one?

Yes.

Triumph Speed Triple 1050

I had a long ride on one of these today whilst my Sprint was at Bulldog Triumph having a 12k service.

Having never ridden one of these (shock smiley required!), first impressions were of the high and forward riding position. Almost as if you are sitting over the front wheel. No fuel gauge – only a little yellow light that was glowering at me.

What a brilliant noise! I was riding it around town in 2nd gear just for the burble on the over-run. Very fast but I struggled to hold my head up at anything over 85. If you can high-speed-tour on one of these you have my admiration!

Almost got to the wheelie stage before returning the bike – but it only had 90 miles on the clock so decided that maybe wasn’t such a good idea.

If I could have two Triumphs, I’d have one of these.   Or maybe a Street… 🙂