Tiger By the Tail
Equally yoked with Pal Brian.
Seven months or so after I rode with Brian Mock for the first time, the Milpitas native bought a 2018 Triumph Tiger 800 Adventure. He still rides the snot out of that same Tiger, despite other bikes catching his fancy. And after trying several dual sport and adventure bikes myself, I bought a 2007 Triumph Tiger 1050 this past July to level the playing field. Too many damn fine roads to ride in California!
So it was surprising that we hadn’t shared a long ride on our Tigers until this past weekend, when Brian recommended the Carmel Valley Loop, 200-plus miles of scenic northern California vistas and choppy roads.
When we originally met on the third Sunday Moto Club ride in October 2017, Brian rolled up on his Moto Guzzi California 1400. I had a trusty ‘03 BMW R 1150 RT then, which served me well as a two-up and commuting machine. In time, though, it became apparent that Brian’s Tiger 800 was the ideal tool for nearly all the riding California has on offer. Jean loved riding the R 1150 RT with me, though, but the bike was a bit poochy riding solo chasing Brian.
Eventually my BMW found a new owner, and the ‘00 Moto Guzzi Quota wasn’t the bike for me as originally thought. The ‘04 Suzuki DR650SE was given a new home, as was the ‘13 Suzuki DR-Z400SM. I sold all four bikes between January and July of this year, collecting some folding money while making room in the garage.
The short provenance of my Tiger 1050 lies with its second owner George Smith, who bought it in late 2022 with the intention of riding with pals north into Canada, across the continent, then south into the U.S. before heading west back to Martinez, California, via Route 66. Despite the best-laid plans of George and his fellow septuagenarian riding chums, the trip was cancelled and the Tiger put up for sale with 41,693 miles. And as is usually the case with bikes, what’s someone’s loss is someone else’s gain.
George included a Givi top case, SW-Motech aluminum side cases, and three seats. I chose the custom Corbin, adding a 6-liter Givi Sport-T Tanklock tank bag and Triboseat anti-slip passenger seat cover for Jean’s piece of mind. George was fastidious, adding new tires, sprockets, chain, fuel pump and filter, plus replacing cam cover gaskets and seals. The Tiger became mine for $4,000.
The intervening four months included our European motorcycle trip with Brian, visiting family in Wisconsin, finding a new home, then purging years of memorabilia and sorting through the important stuff before getting settled into our new place a mile up the street from the old. The garage is now half the size as its predecessor, so it was good timing to cut loose four bikes. Mind you, we acquired a ‘73 BMW R 75/5, ‘62 BMW R 60/2, ‘09 Vespa LX150, and the ‘07 Triumph Tiger 1050 in that same time frame, but last count brings us down to six bikes in a single stall garage versus 11 in a double a few months ago.
But back to chasing Brian all around California.
His skill on the bike surpasses mine, and I do my best to be a capable riding pal. Our roads and routes are highly technical, so much so that all it took to prepare for riding the European Alps was frequency in the local twisties, eating up hairpins and elevation like chocolate chip cookies. It also helped to include jaunts through the Eastern Sierras, Death Valley, and Carrizo Plain with Brian.
Like seeking that sweet spot on a road bicycle, motorcycles require experimentation and saddle time. Don’t stop until you arrive at your sweet spot; mine happens to be a Tiger for the time being.
Coming up soon: Part 1 of our European motorcycle trip.
When you ride these roads, you come home energized and encouraged that the world is still a pretty great place.
"Don’t stop until you arrive at your sweet spot." Golden!