Triumph Tiger 800 XCx long term review, sixth report
Welcome back to one of the hardest working Tigers in India. I say this because even with last year’s lockdown (which meant my bike sat unused for more than four months), I’ve still clocked nearly 10,000km and three rear tyres on it since the last report exactly one year ago.
But, as a friend says, it’s not the distance that matters, it is the experiences that count, and I agree. The first notable experience after the lockdown was late last year and it was also the first time my bike left me stranded. Circa November 2020, I was on my way to The School Of Dirt when the smell of rotten eggs hit me, soon after that the instrument cluster lights flickered and the bike died.
There’s this mild, but annoying 3,000-4,000rpm vibration in every gear as the bike gets older.
Turns out that the rectifier unit was shot and in its dying throes, burnt the battery as well (the boiling battery acid is where the rotten eggs smell came from). I trucked the bike back to Triumph in Kochi and as usual, they got it fixed in a jiffy (they had this uncommon part in stock!). What’s more? I had luckily opted for the extended warranty that Triumph had introduced for older bikes and that saved me about Rs 13,000 in replacement costs. Phew!
