Help! Ducati Hyperstrada vs Triumph Tiger 800

That's a tough call to make, lots of good choices. If it was me I'd be taking a hard look at the FJ-09, I almost bought it instead of my HS. Nice all-rounder like the HS and a little more fuel capacity.

If you do allot of camping with you're bike I'd have a close look at the factory bags. They aren't very rugged, plus from a reliability point I'd be tempted to look at the Yamaha. I LOVE my Ducati but if the FJ 09 were around in 2013 it would have been a tougher choice.

R6chase said:

If you do allot of camping with you're bike I'd have a close look at the factory bags. They aren't very rugged, plus from a reliability point I'd be tempted to look at the Yamaha. I LOVE my Ducati but if the FJ 09 were around in 2013 it would have been a tougher choice.

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I've found the bike very reliable, but otherwise I totally agree with the Yamaha statement. I camp and ride on my strada and find it a great companion. However it is a complex machine - particularly the valves. If you're out in the boonies, a small shop might be ata loss to help you.

If I was going out of the country, or rtw, I'd look seriously at a rally raid cb500x: Rally-Raid Products Honda CB500X | Adventure Rider
This is a simple machine with a great engine and chassis, and it won't garner much attention. And if you got on a dirt road to get to that NFS campsite - and decided to keep going, nothing will stop you.

A bike I'd add to the list is the new Africa Twin - bigger and heavier, but far more accomplished than the triumphs etc.. And if <50hp won't do, it has 100.

The HS is a blast while canyon carving and completely inadequate off-road. The bags are junk. The bash guard is just for looks.

Look at the Triumph.

Your list makes no sense since you have the S1000XR and NC700X in the same list haha. You say you want to ride for 2-3 weeks at a time. Are you riding very aggressively on twisty roads? Are you just riding on the highway? How many electronic gizmos do you want or need to deal with?

You have bikes ranging from 40 to 170hp, 17 and 19 inch wheels.

I think the Hyperstrada fits a very narrow crowd of people.

I would have to agree that this bike is a "canyon carver" vs a "adventure touring" bike. I would also add "urban warrior" because it is great bike for commuting. The Hyperstrada is a Hypermotard with some practicality thrown in. The center stand and bags being the practical parts. I would not call the bags "junk" because they do what they're supposed to do (haul your stuff around). I would say they do have some durability issues. The blue tint and fading would be the biggest problem. I treated mine with 303 Fabric Guard and that seemed to help. The lowered suspension is nice also, I am 5'8" and the ride height suits me pretty well. I tried siting on a Hypermotard SP at the dealership and I was not comfortable at all with the height.

I've had lots of seat time on Tiger 800s and they're great bikes if you like lots of refinement and comfort. However you'll find that the HS is much more exciting to ride. That can be drag at times though - on longer trips you can feel like the old dude trying to keep up with the pace of a far younger Italian mistress. So it really depends upon your testosterone levels whether the HS or the far blander Tiger will suit you best.

jratbut said:

I would have to agree that this bike is a "canyon carver" vs a "adventure touring" bike. I would also add "urban warrior" because it is great bike for commuting. The Hyperstrada is a Hypermotard with some practicality thrown in. The center stand and bags being the practical parts. I would not call the bags "junk" because they do what they're supposed to do (haul your stuff around). I would say they do have some durability issues. The blue tint and fading would be the biggest problem. I treated mine with 303 Fabric Guard and that seemed to help. The lowered suspension is nice also, I am 5'8" and the ride height suits me pretty well. I tried siting on a Hypermotard SP at the dealership and I was not comfortable at all with the height.

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Well, I support the "bags are junk" oppinion (also the 600$ central case):

• They are not waterproof, I found two times the case totally flooded when I leaving work due to unexpected storms, without anything inside fortunately, I thought in turn it into an more useful aquarium.
• The zippers are weak and they engage in the corners sometimes (specially on the chest), I'll try to upload a photo this weekend, much more helpful.
• The 3-number combination locks are like a toy and the 4-numbers ones does not fit into the hole.
• After 1 year of use the upper part of the bags turned blue (common isue, also in the Diavel bags...).

I'll probably change at least the central case for a Givi Trekker or the Kappa equivalent one.

I'm sorry if my english is not 100% correct

1. I would agree that they are overpriced.
2. Mine came with 2 waterproof bags to put your stuff in. That requires prior planning and effort, but it still works.
3. I found the 303 fabric guard (or some type of treatment) went a long way in keeping them looking new and also repels water.
4. Difficult zippers and mounts? Keep them lubed and they work OK.
5. Factory locks are junk, easily replaced.
6. Did I mention they are overpriced? You could convert to the SW-Motech "Blaze" bags for around $500 USD. Does any body make a replacement bag that utilizes the stock mounts?

I purchased a small tail bag that I use most of the time and keep the bags at my house until I really need them.

In the end the bags work fine. I camp and do some dirt - I've dropped the bike on them, and they're still going. They are overpriced to replace but I got a used like new spare set for about $300.00 just to have back-up.

I bought a set of keyed locks for $6 - the combo locks are a pain and can fail. If someone really wants in they just have to knife the zipper area.

They never claim to be waterproof I put sensitive stuff in waterproof bags and carry a couple of garbage bags if things really go south. Never really had a flooding problem though- and I've ridden through plenty of rain.

As far as relaxed touring vs hyper touring: The beauty of this thing to me is that it can accommodate - attack the road, keep the revs up and it goes - want to relax - shift up a gear, sit back a bit and it goes along with it.

Occasionally, on the highway, I ponder a bigger bike (swirling headwinds with rain gets me thinking), but I try to ride highways occasionally anyway. On normal days it pulls like a train and will cruise at 80 fully loaded quite nicely.

yeah - i like it.

I am about to be on my second set of warranty replaced bags. The "UV" protected ones they gave me last time have faded out again (in 1300 miles of use) but only on a few patches of cloth. It's odd - like they mixed up the UV protected and non-UV protected pieces during assembly. Junk.

I even doused them in that 303 stuff everyone raves about - didn't seem to do anything.

Every Ducati accessory is overpriced junk made in China.