High mileage, high smileage

18 Mar, 2025

"Roaring Milestone: Tiger 800 Crosses 200,000 KM, Still Purrs Like a Kitten!"

I rolled over a little milestone last year: 200k km / 125k miles on the Tiger. I've only had it for four years but I don't own a car, so I use it for pretty much everything: commute, day trips, weekends with friends, as well as longer trips. It was a replacement for my old Transalp, and I wanted something a bit more powerful but also comfortable and easy to maintain. I have a Speed Triple on the side and I occasionally ride an Africa Twin and some other bikes as well.

Why the Tiger in the first place?

During the winter of 2019/2020 I was looking at several possible bikes as upgrade for the aforementioned Transalp: The Africa Twin (2019 model didn't have cruise control, 2020 models were a bit expensive), the Vstrom 1050 (cheap build quality, bad suspension), KTM SA (too expensive and high mileage performance far from certain), and the Versys 1000 (far too road oriented, boring inline-4). The BMW's I sort of discarded offhandedly because they are crazy expensive around here (at the time: easy 25k for a decently kitted 1250GS, nowadays almost 35k for a 1300GS or 25k for a 900GS). A friend of mine pointed me to a Tiger for sale at a Triumph dealer just south of Amsterdam and after a test ride I was sold on the three-cylinder block, the excellent TFT screen and the snappy controls. Much to my luck the dealer was keen to get rid of it so I got a good deal on it. It was less than a year old and had just 4k on the odo. This was before the 'rona and inflation drove up prices, and I only paid €14.500 for it. List price for new was €17.900 + the panniers and some other stuff, so almost 5k or a quarter down from new.

2019 Tiger 800 XCA features:

• 95HP/79Nm 3-cylinder 800cc
• Switchable ABS and TCS, cruise control
• Six ride modes including a fully configurable one
• LED lighting and fog lights
• Heated grips, heated seats
• Backlit controls, various USB charging ports
• Monokey alu panniers and top case
• Alu belly pan, lower crash bars, center stand
• WP fully adjustable suspension
• BREMBO calipers with steel brake lines

Over time I added things like a RAM mount, Garmin mount, rear hugger, sport screen, bobbins, oil filter protector, upper crash bars, Denali horn, barkbusters, second set of wheels and a bunch of other stuff for about €1.500 total.

After 200.000 kilometers..

After 54 months and 200.000km the bike still looks great from a little distance, even though it has seen four winters, several deserts, and has been kept outside rain or shine for most of its life. Up close however it is certainly well-worn. There's a lot of superficial rust and especially the crash bars have taken a beating. Brake calipers, rims and lower parts of the chassis have collected nearly impossible to remove dirt and grime.

After all these miles I can confidently say that the Tiger is a decent if somewhat underpowered and overweight jack-of-all-trades. I've been impressed with the long-distance comfort, general reliability, and ease of maintenance. It does great in the dirt: one, two, three, four, five, although it's too heavy for serious work. It's not a terrible pick for track days either: one, two, three, four, five, though it won't win anything of course and the 21" front is a bitch to corner at speed.

Before I get into the maintenance and all the bits that broke over time, here's a list of things that didn't break and are still working perfectly:

• It still starts like new and maintains the lovely wide torque band of a triple
• It's still on the original battery lmao
• I've checked on the internals of the electrical connectors and apart from one incident with the starter relay they are in top condition still
• All the bells and whistles still work, the buttons show a little wear but respond perfectly
• The screen is bright and clear as new, no scratches or discoloration

Maintenance

The funny thing about doing 50k a year on a bike is that you really need to adjust your schedule, and some of the conventional wisdom goes right out the window. For example my chain/sprockets and tires last a long time because commute puts very little stress on these parts. Combined with the engine characteristics (smooth triple with decent torque throughout the range) and my riding habits (keep a good follow distance, use engine braking a lot) this means that my brake pads last quite a while and the rear tend to wear much faster than the front. I'm also still on the original battery for example, but I've gone through a dozen wheel bearings already (because of the offroading I guess, and I rough it around town a lot up and down stairs and kerbs). I keep an excel sheet with all my fuel-ups and maintenance which makes it easy to plan ahead, order parts, and book garage time. I tend to go to the local Triumph dealer only for the major service and for ordering specific parts, but I also have a (far cheaper) local mechanic that helps with tire changes and other things like welding. I use Baboon.EU to buy second hand parts: I've got a huge box of parts and consumables ready at all time and order a bunch of stuff a few times a year to make sure I'm always stocked up in case something comes up. Parts commonality with the other Tiger 800's and even with the new 900's and the Speed/Street Triple is high, so second-hand availability is great.

Oil and filter: Gets changed every 10-12k, or 4 months in winter and a bit more often in summer. It's a 10 minute job in the driveway. I've gone from using Castrol 10W40 initially to making a bit of a blend of 10W40 and 20W50 from whatever brand is on sale at the time because it reduces oil consumption somewhat. The only truly annoying part of changing the oil is the fact that the belly plate needs to come off to change the filter, and the mounting system is absolute ass. Oil consuption has been slow and steady since the beginning (Triumph called it 'within limits' but 1 liter every 4-5000km really gets on your nerves while travelling).

Brake pads and discs: Front brake pads last me 50 - 60k, rear 15 - 25k. Swapping them out is easy, and a good opportunity to check the wheel bearings and the brake calipers. The rear disc was replaced around 90k and again at 180k. Front discs were replaced around 90k and are up for renewal again soon. For brake pads I usually buy Brembo CC but have recently tried some AliExpress replacements on the rear at a fraction of the cost, and the performance is identical. The rear brake caliper had gotten quite grimy and instead of servicing it I replaced it with an as-new second hand unit around 177k. The front brake still works fine but it has lost the hard 'bite' over time even with Brembo pads and discs, so at the moment of writing I have two new front calipers lying on my desk which I'll probably replace for the old ones after summer.

Tires: I've run Bridgestone A41 a number of times except for my trip to the Middle East when I used a pair of Karoo Street 3. Front usually lasts 30-50k, the rear 20-30k. The A41 are quite durable and decent in the rain and cold, even in snow. Perfect for gravel and packed sand, too. In 2021 I obtained an extra set of wheels that I use for offroading with a pair of AX41 knobbies on it. My next rear knobby is going to be a bit more agressive cause I still get stuck far too often. In my ten years of riding I've only ever had two flat tires and both were in spring 2024, talk about random. The first time it was due for replacement any way and the second time it was only the tube thankfully.

Chain and sprocket: I grease the chain every week, sometimes more often, but never really clean it except after offroading. Most of the time I use 80w90 gear oil and a little brush, but when I'm lazy chain spray will do. I installed a automatic chain oiler at some point but removed it again after a few weeks because oil was spraying everywhere and it was more of a hassle than doing it manually. Chains last about 50k and I change the front sprocket 20-25k into it which really helps to extend the life of the chain. Rear sprocket sometimes goes two chains, they wear really slowly. I usually buy the DID gold plated kit, made the mistake of cheaping out on an IRIS chain once and it only lasted half as long. Initially I had the chain done by a garage but after a while I got me some tools and switched to doing it myself.

Major service: fluids, filters, spark plugs, valves: Triumph wants it done every 20k which is nonsense of course. You can easily stretch this to 40k or longer with this kind of use. I did the first major service at 30k, then again at 96k and again at 173k. Next one won't happen until spring 2025 or 230-240k I guess. Apart from a dirty air filter and complaints by the mechanic about dust and grime everywhere there was nothing wrong with the block after the 30k, 65k and 80k intervals respectively.

Key and locks: I wore out the first key around 190.000km, it will still open all the locks but turning the ignition is a little rough with it. I clean the ignition about once a year by applying a bit of light oil then blowing it through with an air compressor.

Repairs and nonscheduled maintenance

Suspension: Triumph wants this serviced every 40k, but the XCA model has quite a durable setup so I just service it when it breaks. Twice the rear shock started leaking, around 70k and again around 150k and I had it rebuilt both times. The front fork oil was changed around 140k and they were completely rebuilt after a leak around 190k. I tend to ride sporty when I'm not commuting, so I run the suspension quite stiff. It's also easily adjusted for offroading.

Wheel bearings: Every time I take out the wheels for new tires or to swap for the offroad knobbies I check the wheel bearings and I've gotten quite good at replacing them. Triumph wants almost €40 a piece but I found excellent SKF replacements for about €7 a piece.

Starter relay housing Early 2022 the bike suddenly died on me, all electronics flat. Culprit was the starter relay housing, a bad contact had corroded around the main fuse and then melted the plastic somehow. Easy replacement.

Seat: Around 150k the seat had lost a good bit of comfort and started sagging somewhat, so I had it reupholstered by a specialist. They replaced the existing padding and added an extra layer on top of the heated seat arrangement, which made it a good half inch taller and also much more comfortable. This also means the heat comes through more gradually on the highest setting which is lovely in winter.

Cam chain: Triumph wanted this done around 80k but at the 96k major service the mechanic told me there was nothing to worry about, so it was instead replaced around 173k. Even then he wasn't quite sure whether it was necessary but of course you only hear that aftwards.

Clutch: The clutch plates and springs were replaced around 177k, Triumph also wanted to replace the clutch basket (€700 lmao) but I opted out of that. It's interesting how gradual a clutch will wear over the years and how big of a leap it is after having it replaced. Around 195k I noticed how the clutch cable was on its last strands so I replaced that myself.

Steering head bearing: Around 140k I discovered drag in the bearing while it was on the centerstand, but interestingly it was barely noticable while driving. I had my local mechanic replace it not long after.

ABS Sensor: In spring 2024 the whole christmas tree of warning lights lit up, and after toying around with the ride modes a bit I isolated the problem to the front ABS sensor. I ordered a second-hand one and replaced it myself.

Here's a little timeline with the major service and repairs done so far:

Wear items (brake pads/discs, tires etc) have been remarkably consistent over time, but as you can see the frequency of nonscheduled maintenance and repairs has increased over the lifetime of the bike, which seems perfectly logical to me.

Financial side of things

Depreciation: I reckon it's worth a few k still if I were to sell it, but for the sake of simplicity I've considered it a complete write-off since about 150k km. The total for the bike and accessories/upgrades is €16.000.

Fuel: I've used Euro 98 E0/E5 'premium' fuel whenever available, probably 95% of the time. I fueled up nearly 500 times for a total of 7865 liters giving an average consumption of 1L in 24.8km or 46MPG (US) / 52MPG (UK). Here in Western Europe petrol fluctuated between €1.20/L (early 'rona) up to a peak of almost double that in 2023. The cheapest I ever got was 5ct/L during my stay in Iran (the other Gulf states are somehow far more expensive at about €1/L). The Tiger is significantly more efficient on longer rides: there's a tipping point around 20 to 30 km after a cold start where it goes from 1 in 15 average to about 1 in 25+, which probably has to do with the temperature of the block. One time on the autobahn with a slight tail wind I managed to empty an entire tank in one sitting at no less than 1 in 28.5 (524km with a little gas left). Altogether, fuel cost is €14.679.

Road tax and insurance: Road tax for a motorbike in the Netherlands is approximately €11 per month. For the first year I had it insured all-risk which was a tad expensive (€60/month), since then I've only had basic coverage + a few things like vandalism and theft, at a cost of about €8/month. Grand total comes to €2.158.

Maintenance and repairs: The total sum of all maintenance, repairs and consumables is €9.106.

Motorcycles can be a rather economical choice in the Netherlands, compared to cars. Road tax is about one-quarter that of an economy car (€12 a month versus 50) and a fraction of that of a large truck (upwards of 150 a month). Insurance is similarly cheap, about one half to one fifth of that of a typical car depending on experience and location. Gasoline on the other hand is expensive, which means that the fuel efficiency of a motorcycle pays off quickly. Filtering and lane splitting are legal, and most municipalities allow you to park pretty much anywhere on the kerb as long as you don't block the passage entirely. As such riding a bike around the Netherlands is not only economical, but also very practical. Except for the weather maybe, but there's Goretex™ for that.

With the work I do as cover teacher I get to commute a lot to different places, and depending on the contract I get between €0,23 and €0,35 in travel compensation per km.

Final notes

I plan to continue using it the way I have for at least another year or so, assuming it doesn't break catastrophically. There's a map on the wall of my study with my bike trips from the last ten years, and I'm looking forward to expanding it together with my gf who is about to get her license soon. As for a replacement or upgrade, I've always been a fan of the Africa Twin but it might well be a Tiger 900 or even a Transalp 750 after all. I must've tested over a dozen bikes in the last year alone, and I'm still not quite sure what to get next =)

Bonus pic: I had /u/monkeysays_art commission a drawing based on how it looked during my trip through the Middle East.