What I Ride

The first adventure bike I purchased was a 2021 Royal Enfield Himalayan. Since this was my first time getting into Adventure Bikes (I rode dirt bikes back in college), I wanted to start with something small (and cheap).

It was a fun bike to ride. The quality of the bike was quite suspect. When I first looked at the bike, the welding was not clean, things did not fit perfect, etc. But for the price, it was fine. I was not having many of the issues that most folks were having except one - relays.

I was running out to the grocery store and when I was accelerating at a light, the bike just died. I pulled over and turned the bike off. I turned it back on and could not hear the fuel pump. I took off the seat and pulled the relays and put them back in. Turned it on and the fuel pump started working. I went back home and purchased new relays. After that, I did not have any more "relay" related issues.

Power was another issue. I did not think about until after taking it on a long weekend camping trip in the mountains. With myself, my riding clothes and boots, and my camping gear, the bike just did not have the pulling power I needed. Sure, in 1st and 2nd gear it pulled fine but once you got into 3rd, the bike could not handle all the weight. On a 45mph mountain road, I needed a bit more power. After that one trip, trying to accelerate on the slightest incline in the mountains while carrying my gear was extremely slow and painful so I decided to get a new bike.

I read up on the bikes but fell in love the Triumph Tiger so I purchased a 2022 Triumph Tiger 900 Rally Pro motorcycle.

What an upgrade on both power and comfort. This bike is a lot more to handle than the Royal Enfield but well worth it. I took it on many trips and it handle the weight without a problem. Also, it has tubeless tires (I have a thing with tubed tires). I even took this bike across the USA on Route 66. After that last big trip and 25,000 miles later, I decided to upgrade again.

Why another new bike? Power was not an issue this time (but you can always use more horsepower). I am a tall person. I felt that the 900 was built for a slightly smaller framed person. The 900 was comfortable (I did ride it 25K miles) but I always felt it was just a bit too small. I tried different combinations but nothing seemed to hit the sweet spot. So I upgraded again to a 2023 Triumph Tiger 1200 Explorer.

Now I did not just select this one and buy it. I went and test road the Triumph, Africa Twin, and Pan America. I enjoyed the Triumph the best.

So why the change? After riding more, I had a much better idea of what I was looking for. First, I love having an Adventure bike. No matter what type of road I come across, I can handle it. Second, I wanted a shaft drive. I know it sounds trivial but keeping up with chain maintenance on a large 6000+ mile journey was a pain. Especially if you need to adjust your chain (not just lube it). Third, I wanted more power. Not that the 900 did not have the goods....I just wanted more. Fourth, the bike just fits me so much better. It just feels good.

I figured that this is the natural progression of things. It reminds me of mountain biking. In the beginning, you do not go out and buy a top of the line bike but instead go for a Huffy. You ride it and find out if you really enjoy the sport. If you do, then you start to figure out what you like and do not like on your bike, what equipment you may want, what works, what does not, etc.

Similar to the Tiger 900 Rally Pro, I have not had any issues. The quality seems to be quite sound. I am loving the increase in power.

You can read more about the specifications of these bikes on the Triumph website but overall, these bikes are fun to drive and hope to give us many miles in the future.

I have been asked this a few times, why do you ride a motorcycle? I think this explains it all....

Yes, that is really how you feel.