Tiger X-Road 250 Arrived

[bikkalad]

Don't know about the under slung exhaust.........looks like could cop a battering

[taichiplanet]

Don't know about the under slung exhaust.........looks like could cop a battering

Agree. By swinging around the cylinder head rather than going down I wonder if there is room to squeeze the pipe between the engine and frame (either left or right)? I suppose then electricals or battery might get cooked! Though, on the right side there seems to be an EGR valve or something that could easily be tossed away to make room!

[thaicbr]

Yer doing the pipe is the easy part. I would just take the bike down to an exhaust place and get them to make one.

I'm also wondering if a tuned length pipe might help performance.

http://www.mez.co.uk/mezporting/exhaust_length.html

Edited July 6, 2011 by thaicbr

[alexbrouwer1]

Just an update on the X-road, it is back at the factory and Tiger is the owner of the bike again.

To many issues with the bike and decided that it was the best if Tiger would take the bike back.

Learned a good lesson, never buy a new model bike without a good testride again.

[HDRIDER]

Just an update on the X-road, it is back at the factory and Tiger is the owner of the bike again.

To many issues with the bike and decided that it was the best if Tiger would take the bike back.

Learned a good lesson, never buy a new model bike without a good testride again.

Ops Tiger

Any chance for an update from Tiger? or someone close to Tiger

[eezergood]

any more information????

[thaicbr]

any more information????

Pm Alex and ask him.

[HDRIDER]

Be careful what you buy these days!!!!!

[thaicbr]

Be careful what you buy these days!!!!!

I think if you know what you want to buy and give it a test (either a car or bike) then you can make said purchase.

If you then get problems after your test and receiving the vehicle you would use the manufacturers warranty to sort any problems out. That's what they are there for ..after all.

BUT if of course you just change your mind and decide that you had made a mistake and did not actually want said vehicle after driving/ riding it for say 78km's.

Then what would you do?

I don't know maybe cause a LOT of hassle until said company took the bike back.

Or maybe like most reasonable people you would get any minor issues fixed after said company agreed to go out to you the very next day and fix it and going on your way.. I really do not know.

Different strokes as they say.

[HDRIDER]

Maybe time to start a new topic and ask the people who has the bike if they had any problems, and also other bikes from same company what they think, maybe post some pic as well

Thaicbr, if i buy a bike i would not expect any problems at all, nada, thats why you buy a new bike, am i right??, and dont say "but they have good service" there should not be need for service on a new bike, the new bikes i have bought in Thailand i have yet to use the warranty, the bikes have been OK from day one, if you buy a new bike and need to have it fixed from day one, i would ask myself " i wonder how this bike will be after 1 year" maybe not you but i would....

Edited July 10, 2011 by HDRIDER

[CMX]

Certainly a matter of different strokes, as suggested.

Obvious factors relate to price and the buyer. The risk of encountering a 'few' 'minor' problems might well be worth it to a mechanically inclined buyer, particularly if the price is attractive. Also, the best of warranties - should one be required to use one - may test the patience of the buyer. But I think that Tiger's is the best in the country for length, even if reliable service is not close.

The main thing is to know what the trade-offs are before making a choice. While you can learn a lot about you and the machine with test rides - almost essential in a wise purchase - quality control and durability (two different issues) are unlikely to be revealed.

Then there is researching on the I'net, which is worthwhile as well. Not conclusive, though, unless the bike has been tested a lot by reliable sources, or there is a long history about problems on forums.

The X-Road was designed to be a healthy tear-about and from its appearance should be bulletproof. While its price is attractive because of the competition, I believe that there is enough profit in it that it should assure good QC. (This speculation, however, depends upon sales to defray development costs and improve source pricing.)

Meanwhile, it's a new model, sold in a niche, and may have some glitch(es), so buyers are left with their choices.

[CMX]

doublepost - sorry.

Edited July 11, 2011 by CMX

[HDRIDER]

Certainly a matter of different strokes, as suggested.

Obvious factors relate to price and the buyer. The risk of encountering a 'few' 'minor' problems might well be worth it to a mechanically inclined buyer, particularly if the price is attractive. Also, the best of warranties - should one be required to use one - may test the patience of the buyer. But I think that Tiger's is the best in the country for length, even if reliable service is not close.

The main thing is to know what the trade-offs are before making a choice. While you can learn a lot about you and the machine with test rides - almost essential in a wise purchase - quality control and durability (two different issues) are unlikely to be revealed.

Then there is researching on the I'net, which is worthwhile as well. Not conclusive, though, unless the bike has been tested a lot by reliable sources, or there is a long history about problems on forums.

The X-Road was designed to be a healthy tear-about and from its appearance should be bulletproof. While its price is attractive because of the competition, I believe that there is enough profit in it that it should assure good QC. (This speculation, however, depends upon sales to defray development costs and improve source pricing.)

Meanwhile, it's a new model, sold in a niche, and may have some glitch(es), so buyers are left with their choices.

To make it short===== you get what you pay for,thats what your say,,,, but when i buy a bike i still want a bike with NO problem,even if its a new bike on the market, what do you think if Honda sent bikes with fault on the market ??? may i suggest that if you wanna sell a new bike YOU TEST IT before start selling it

[alexbrouwer1]

Be careful what you buy these days!!!!!

I think if you know what you want to buy and give it a test (either a car or bike) then you can make said purchase.

If you then get problems after your test and receiving the vehicle you would use the manufacturers warranty to sort any problems out. That's what they are there for ..after all.

BUT if of course you just change your mind and decide that you had made a mistake and did not actually want said vehicle after driving/ riding it for say 78km's.

Then what would you do?

I don't know maybe cause a LOT of hassle until said company took the bike back.

Or maybe like most reasonable people you would get any minor issues fixed after said company agreed to go out to you the very next day and fix it and going on your way.. I really do not know.

Different strokes as they say.

Thaicbr,

If you receive a bike with a few things so wrong that it is simply not safe to drive it, then for me it is simple and take the thing back.

Before i even did 3 km on the bike, the handle bar ends were falling off the bike, found a crack in the right side front fork leg directly after delivery, and about 6 other things that were not right which were communicated directly the same day back to Tiger.

After a few more kms i found more and more issues (burning marks from cylinder head cover nuts in underside of plastic fuel tank which could have created a very dangerous situation, plastic was already melted in some places).

If i get an email back from the company i bought it from, that this model bike is not able to run in a straight line (if you take at 60-70 km/h your hands of the bars, the bike should roll in a straight line, the X-road was falling directly to the left side) because of the position of the rear shock is not in the center of the frame (why are kawasaki and suzuki able to get it right ?) and more answers like this to my questions, then i loose my faith in a company who is building bikes like this and start to wonder if they know what they are doing. Spacer from front wheel on left side was installed not correctly, and so tight up that the marks were all in the left leg, just torqued in there with a wrench.

When i had a 4 km testride at the factory, the bike was running so poor that the GMAX 150cc scooter was as quick or quicker up to 80-85km/h, they said they would sort it out. At that time there were hardly any vibrations, only some coming from the muffler (which i later found to be mounted in hard plastic spacers and washers), but when they delivered the bike it was vibrating a lot more.

Fair enough, they sorted it out for 50%, lower and mid rpms the power was good, high rpms there was no power, the bike was running way to rich, which was said was caused by the airfilter box which they copied from the 125cc model and installed this on the 250 model (that was again the answer from Tiger when i asked about this).

Vibrations all over the bike because nothing was mounted in rubbers but in plastic spacers or just with washers so lots of bolts and screws were getting loose, paint was coming of in many places on the frame. Made me wonder what kind of QA/QC was done before the bike was delivered and during assembly.

These might be minor issues for you, but not for me.

It has nothing to do with making the right or wrong choice of the bike, i still like the X-road looks much more then a D-tracker or other available motards, but if i buy a new bike i expect at least a bike which is running straight and the engine is running okay, and doesn't have a chance of fuel starting to leak on a hot engine (which could have easily happened with the X-road i had).

If Tiger would have a good running X-road available, i would have taken another one, but this was not an option.

So we agreed on Tiger taking the bike back, i got 90% of the money back and i am now thinking of getting a D-tracker.

Maybe all this happened with my X-road because it was the first one, but i heard that there are X-road owners with some simular problems.

Makes you wonder why there are no other posts from other X-road owners about their experiences, but only from Mbox and me so far ? Mbox his bike seems to be good, maybe Tiger did sort out the issues now they build a couple more bikes.

I learned a good lesson, i should have waited with accepting the bike after that first testride at the factory, this lesson has cost me 9000 baht.

Regards,

Alex

[CMX]

Alex,

I had no idea of the problems you encountered.

Once I too purchased a bike that came, new, with many problems. Some were little, some were serious. Like you, I posted about these and like you, I was accused of making a big noise about little things that could be easily (and quickly, they suggested, which was far from the case) fixed. It was said that I didn't even know how to fix little ones, a personal insult that was cross eyed.

None of my trickier problems went to issues of safety, though. In your case, any 'reasonable' person would have said no to the machine, in spite of the financial loss, unless they were determined upon it for some reason and perhaps had a second bike in reserve.

There was a long time in the United States where nobody believed in purchasing a brand new model of a car, for we would end up field testing the thing until, a few years down the road, it might become reliable. The Japanese have led in disabusing us of these notions - and most others regarding engineering, manufacture, and QC when it applies to motor vehicles. The industry as a whole is shifting in that direction.

More reports like yours, if honest and objective, will fill out the picture with this model.

G'luck with your new choice!

[Richard-BKK]

Alex,

I had no idea of the problems you encountered.

Once I too purchased a bike that came, new, with many problems. Some were little, some were serious. Like you, I posted about these and like you, I was accused of making a big noise about little things that could be easily (and quickly, they suggested, which was far from the case) fixed. It was said that I didn't even know how to fix little ones, a personal insult that was cross eyed.

None of my trickier problems went to issues of safety, though. In your case, any 'reasonable' person would have said no to the machine, in spite of the financial loss, unless they were determined upon it for some reason and perhaps had a second bike in reserve.

There was a long time in the United States where nobody believed in purchasing a brand new model of a car, for we would end up field testing the thing until, a few years down the road, it might become reliable. The Japanese have led in disabusing us of these notions - and most others regarding engineering, manufacture, and QC when it applies to motor vehicles. The industry as a whole is shifting in that direction.

More reports like yours, if honest and objective, will fill out the picture with this model.

G'luck with your new choice!

Hi CMX,

Did you also bought a X-Road?

[katabeachbum]

phuu, 2 years with Kawasaki Ninja650Rs and D-tracker, absolutely hazzelfree. Perhaps is there a reason for charging more for similar looking products?

Does anyone have a positive Xroad 250 experience?

[CMX]

Alex,

I had no idea of the problems you encountered.

Once I too purchased a bike that came, new, with many problems. Some were little, some were serious. Like you, I posted about these and like you, I was accused of making a big noise about little things that could be easily (and quickly, they suggested, which was far from the case) fixed. It was said that I didn't even know how to fix little ones, a personal insult that was cross eyed.

None of my trickier problems went to issues of safety, though. In your case, any 'reasonable' person would have said no to the machine, in spite of the financial loss, unless they were determined upon it for some reason and perhaps had a second bike in reserve.

There was a long time in the United States where nobody believed in purchasing a brand new model of a car, for we would end up field testing the thing until, a few years down the road, it might become reliable. The Japanese have led in disabusing us of these notions - and most others regarding engineering, manufacture, and QC when it applies to motor vehicles. The industry as a whole is shifting in that direction.

More reports like yours, if honest and objective, will fill out the picture with this model.

G'luck with your new choice!

Hi CMX,

Did you also bought a X-Road?

Sorry, NO. My experiences were not with the new X-Road. Sorry if I gave that impression.

Anyway, it will take quite a few reports to form a worthwhile conclusion over some time, I would suppose. My concern is not so much with the facts but how those who do their best to honestly report their experiences risk being insulted or trashed. But that's the nature of ThVi, too often, as we know.

[alexbrouwer1]

Alex,

I had no idea of the problems you encountered.

Once I too purchased a bike that came, new, with many problems. Some were little, some were serious. Like you, I posted about these and like you, I was accused of making a big noise about little things that could be easily (and quickly, they suggested, which was far from the case) fixed. It was said that I didn't even know how to fix little ones, a personal insult that was cross eyed.

None of my trickier problems went to issues of safety, though. In your case, any 'reasonable' person would have said no to the machine, in spite of the financial loss, unless they were determined upon it for some reason and perhaps had a second bike in reserve.

There was a long time in the United States where nobody believed in purchasing a brand new model of a car, for we would end up field testing the thing until, a few years down the road, it might become reliable. The Japanese have led in disabusing us of these notions - and most others regarding engineering, manufacture, and QC when it applies to motor vehicles. The industry as a whole is shifting in that direction.

More reports like yours, if honest and objective, will fill out the picture with this model.

G'luck with your new choice!

Hi CMX,

Did you also bought a X-Road?

Sorry, NO. My experiences were not with the new X-Road. Sorry if I gave that impression.

Anyway, it will take quite a few reports to form a worthwhile conclusion over some time, I would suppose. My concern is not so much with the facts but how those who do their best to honestly report their experiences risk being insulted or trashed. But that's the nature of ThVi, too often, as we know.

Hi CMX,

I first didn't want to put here what happened with the X-road that i had, i wanted to wait till other X-road owners came up with their experiences, but after some people suggesting that i suddenly didn't like the type and style of bike anymore after 78 km and that would be the reason to have it returned to the factory, i decided to tell here my experience with the X-road and what the real reason for me was to say goodbye to the X-road and Tiger.

It is not about the style and kind of bike, it is about the bike itself and what i found with it. I got pictures of the things what was wrong with X-road, and if i would have bought a D-tracker for example and had a simular experience, i would have told the same and done the same. Some people pm-ed me here and i told them my experiences with the bike.

There have been 5 persons at my house to look at the X-road, all interested in buying one, but after they saw the bike and the quality, they decided not to buy one (2 had a testride through the moobaan on it,only a couple of hundred meters and directly decided that this bike was not for them).

I honestly thought this would be a good bike for going in town, around the lake, take me from home to the track up and down instead of using the car, but if you got a brand new bike with issues like this and answers from the factory like i received, i simply lost faith in them and then it is better to cut your loss, say goodbye and try to find something else (9000 baht for 78 km is a good lesson learned).

Also because of the attitude and answers from the factory, i probably will never buy any product from them again.

But like i said earlier, there are already some X-roads delivered to their owners and i would like to hear their opinions about the bike, i think Tiger has picked up on this and has sorted some issues out.

I still like the looks of the bike but i simply had to many issues with the one i received, maybe because it was the first one ?

Regards,

Alex

[Duindam]

Actual Tiger has stopped selling theX-road, the Tigersachsclub says it is because they're sold out, butmy girl called Tiger today and got another answer – they stoppedselling the X-road 250 because they need to fix some issues they havewith the bike. They will start selling the X-road hopefully nextmonth.

[johnboy3739w]

i was one of the people who pm'd Alex as i was interested in buying one. Alex very kindly said i could pop round and look at his - and while the bike is quite sexy in the flesh, you don't need to be a brain surgeon to see that this is a very cheaply made bike....

it reminded me of something the chineese lob out.....

i think Alex was lucky he got (most of) his money back, because the state it was in when i saw it, it would have been practically un-saleable....

[Mr.Poko]

The problems are very similar to that of a copy product, the product looks identical but at closer inspection it's not, also the quality and durability is often less than the original...

[CMX]

For myself, I would underline that drawing any conclusion based upon one early experience - for me - would be premature. If indeed Tiger has stopped production of the X-Road (which I cannot know) in order to improve production standards, I believe it admirable.

Characterizing 'Chinese' bikes as being poor in all cases is probably late in the day, on the other hand. A number of Chinese manufacturers have had the advantage of being a source for many successful bikes built by famous makers, and I expect that it will be in this decade that some major companies' models establish themselves as serious alternatives to Japanese bikes; there are some Taiwanese (smaller) bikes now that have good followings.

Because it's Thai, I have a hope that this will happen here too with Tiger - being a successful producer here - but in any case, it is too soon to draw any conclusions - the jury is still out until enough of us can reliably report.

(Did you know that they offer a 135cc bike with front disk brake and electric start for under 40K? They call it the CX 135, but they have not used the name 'Slickass' yet. Anyway, even though it has a compression ration of 11.5/1, you cannot find a thing about it from farang riders, or at least in English for some reason. Comes with knobbies, it appears.)

Edited July 11, 2011 by CMX

[wantan]

I first didn't want to put here what happened with the X-road that i had, i wanted to wait till other X-road owners came up with their experiences, but after some people suggesting that i suddenly didn't like the type and style of bike anymore after 78 km and that would be the reason to have it returned to the factory, i decided to tell here my experience with the X-road and what the real reason for me was to say goodbye to the X-road and Tiger.

Hi Alex,

i respect and fully understand your decision to tell us your view of this story. It is not nice to have such issues, then do your best to report them and get them solved, then after failing make the hard decision to part from the bike and then get treated like a school child. You also lost a lot of time with this bike and its issues i guess, not only lost some money. I hope both sides will learn from this.

[bbradsby]

SOunds like they used you, Mr Brouwer as a beta tester, at your expense. Sorry to hear it, but thanks much for taking the time to report your experience to the group.

Very poor performance, but not unique unfortunately, so don't feel too abused. I was a dyed in the wool honda guy, having bought four of their bikes til 1978! Then, the last new honda I would ever buy was a new design called the CX-500. V-twin, shaft drive, liquid cooled. But Honda hadn't sorted the cam tensioner system. My engine went south, well within the warranty period, and they never made it right. So even the big Japanese makes screw up, and screw their victims if they can. I went to kawasaky, bimmers, and then to Ducati for the last ten years, and have bought five of them so far and have an ST4s stored in the Colonies for me. Would never ride another marque, if their price in LoS worked with my calculus. But I have other priorities for my baht.

So, I have a lil NSR I regularly scoot about on for now. Yes, a honda, but honda saw their last Baht on that bike from someone else, around 1998! They'll never get another satang from me. As for the Tiger, the engine is Sachs, so the bike should be sort-able. Hopefully Tiger will sort the bike's design out on their own dime, and launch a good bike.

[BigBikeBKK]

SOunds like they used you, Mr Brouwer as a beta tester, at your expense. Sorry to hear it, but thanks much for taking the time to report your experience to the group.

Yes, I'd have to agree with your assessment but do note that Alex declined to have the bike repaired and did receive a 90% refund.

I think that is why Tiger offered the first lot of X-Road's at a 10k Baht discount, because they probably expected that there would be some issues to iron out. That said, the number and severity of the problems that Alex experienced with his X-Road seem to go far beyond what any rational person would call "acceptable" for a brand new bike.

No doubt Tiger's mobile service team could have sorted out the problems he reported, but even better, they should have detected and fixed those problems prior to delivery...

Personally I think the X-Road is a fine looking bike but IF I were to buy one the first thing I would do upon delivery is trailer it home and do a complete rebuild.

For only 99k Baht you can't expect too much, but you should at least expect a bike that runs straight and doesn't have bits falling off...

[HDRIDER]

I really dont get some of you guys here, how much do you think you save if you buy a cheap cheap bike and the bike start falling apart?? And all that,,but they have good service,, some of you guys must be on the look for extra very extra discount all the time why the hel1 do you have to service a new bike, and some lost time as well, all the guys coming up with “ but good value for money” i have yet to see that, why do you guys think that Thai don’t buy these cheep bikes??? Because they are a bit smart, they stay with the stuff they know,, it is amazing some times

And sell them cheaper because there might be some small problem, take a deep breath and ask yourself why the hel1 thay don’t test the bike before selling, if my company did that with new stuff we would be out of business quick, have you guys heard of other companies selling new product because there could be something wrong?? Well, keep buying cheap stuff at least it will keep the factory going so they can spit out more cheap stuff, and where is all these Chinese bikes everybody have been talking about coming to the Thai marked the last few years, do they show up?? I never see them

Peace of mind: buy something you know will work from the start

[Richard-BKK]

I have a GPX ZF250 cost 67,000 THB, registering the bike was 30,000 THB and the bike is amazing... Downside, it's not a motard style... I'm thinking to buy a set of 17” aluminum rims and street tires to convert the GPX ZF250 to a supermoto...

[wantan]

Peace of mind: buy something you know will work from the start

HDRIDER, then you should better stick to some japanese or western brand. Nobody wants to persuade you to do something different. A Tiger (> 150cc) you buy with the heart, not with rationality

I am writing ">150cc" because i think that Tigers smaller bikes does not have this severity of the problems. They are build with higher number of pieces, not just one per week or one per month, like the Boxer or the X-Road. If you feel unsave with driving a Tiger (like Alex did) than you should not buy a bigger Tiger. TiT, people do crazy things and are happy

Why i bought my Tiger Boxer:

1. It is the nicest 250cc bike in Thailand. And i wanted a naked bike.

2. It is very low priced (half of a Ninja 250) and spare parts are also low price

3. Service is excellent, not like some chinese brands. They really take care of their customers.

And last but not least:

4. It is MADE IN THAILAND and i like driving a bike made in the country i live in :jap:

[HDRIDER]

Peace of mind: buy something you know will work from the start

HDRIDER, then you should better stick to some japanese or western brand. Nobody wants to persuade you to do something different. A Tiger (> 150cc) you buy with the heart, not with rationality

I am writing ">150cc" because i think that Tigers smaller bikes does not have this severity of the problems. They are build with higher number of pieces, not just one per week or one per month, like the Boxer or the X-Road. If you feel unsave with driving a Tiger (like Alex did) than you should not buy a bigger Tiger. TiT, people do crazy things and are happy

Why i bought my Tiger Boxer:

1. It is the nicest 250cc bike in Thailand. And i wanted a naked bike.

2. It is very low priced (half of a Ninja 250) and spare parts are also low price

3. Service is excellent, not like some chinese brands. They really take care of their customers.

And last but not least:

4. It is MADE IN THAILAND and i like driving a bike made in the country i live in :jap:

I have a BMW car made in Thailand,, good enough for you??

for my Harley, it have been driving me all over Thailand, with no problem at all and i dont need a service car or a workshop on every corner

as for your bike, i cant see myself riding 6000km in 4 weeks around Thailand 2 up, maybe you can, have you tried??

thats what i call riding you konw.