The other thing that adds to confidence is the bike’s dynamic abilities. On the twisty roads of Andalusia, Spain, I had thought that the Tiger 800 XRx was a great handling bike, especially for a motorcycle that is tall. Having ridden it on our Indian roads, I can only reconfirm that. It’s stable on the straights and holds its line extremely well. Flicking the bike from one turn into another doesn’t pose the slightest problem. Perhaps the only time you’re conscious of the fact that you’re on a tall bike is when you’re taking a really tight turn. And even then, you get used to it fairly quickly. Under harsh braking too the Tiger tracks a straight line. On the ride quality front, the suspension set-up is slightly on the softer side of life, which is a boon when you consider travelling long distances on Indian roads. Unless there’s a big rut on the road or a deep pothole, the Tiger’s Showa 43-mm USD forks with 180 mm of travel work in collaboration with the Showa monoshock with 170 mm of travel and hydraulic preload adjustment to iron out virtually all road irregularities.
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