
– Bright skies over Waukegan Harbor today. Cool Fall weather has arrived with a brisk breeze off the water sends the 50* temperature into the forties.

– Bright skies over Waukegan Harbor today. Cool Fall weather has arrived with a brisk breeze off the water sends the 50* temperature into the forties.

– Hardtail iron being give a steady pitch through the scrubby high desert in the sixties. Shin-high engineer boots and hooded parka are useable garb for the dry cold climes of the open lands.

A content mog sitting like a fresh loaf of bread by this adventuresome Tiger. It is my humble belief that cats are truly our masters.
“In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.” – Terry Pratchett

– midweek needs some momentum to launch us towards the oncoming weekend. Nice classic looking desert sled with wonderful levitating powers.

– the cats eyesight has evolved for use in low light level use. Like the feline sort my Triumph Tiger is an adept animal after the sun sinks. Dual headlights are supplemented by a couple of piercing LED fog lights. The display shows clear information and companion GPS reveals your location too. Roll on the throttle until morning!

Engine and transmission
Displacement: 799.0 ccm
Engine type: In-line three, four-stroke
Power: 95.0 HP (69.3 kW)) @ 9300 RPM
Torque: 79.0 Nm (8.1 kgf-m or 58.3 ft.lbs) @ 7850RPM
Compression: 11.3:1 Bore x stroke: 74.0 x 61.9 mm
Valves per cylinder: 4
Fuel system: Injection. Multipoint sequential electronic fuel injection
Fuel control: Double Overhead Cams/Twin Cam (DOHC)
Cooling system: Liquid
Gearbox: 6-speed
Transmission type, final drive: Chain
Clutch: Wet. multi-plate
Driveline: O ring chain
Fuel consumption: 5.74 litres/100 km (40.98 mpg)
Greenhouse gases: 133.2 CO2 g/km. (CO2 – Carbon dioxide emission)

The elusive sunset phenomenon won’t be seen here in the Midwest. You need good atmospheric conditions over an ocean to spot the brief moment the refractive conditions of a mirage of the sunk sun provides a merest peep of green light. However the Tiger is my “green flash” which can be enjoyed long after dusk.

– a luminous early evening ride with a fresh autumnal atmosphere. Setting orb of the sun drops behind the fading foliage. The Tiger carried me effortlessly into the dusk.


– From Rudyard Kipling’s well loved stories The Jungle Book a main antagonist is the bengal tiger who is lord over the animals of the tropical forests. The Disney version has the most feline character in a near Hobbes quality.

– as the days shorten the weather maintains an optimum balance of sun and temperatures. In my mind this is perfect conditions. I had a site meeting so took the Tiger out for a prowl to enjoy the day.

– Moon River fender fix. The fine dust kicks up under spirited acceleration as the Apollo 17 astronauts venture up the slope of Taurus-Littrow valley in search of geological samples. Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmidt were the last people to venture past low earth orbit nearly 48 years ago. A damaged fender was repaired by taping moon maps together and clamping them across the mesh tires.

– on our return drive from a weekend away we stopped at the hipster town of Three Oaks MI. In one of the dusty window displays at an old hardware store stands a couple of vintage bikes. A 750cc Triumph Bonneville and a Norton Commando. I’ll have a 1/2lb bag of 6d nails please!

Quick sketch of a Tiger and it’s rider in Shōtarō Kaneda style from the cult Japanese Akira film.