I’ve added another cat to the pen, this one a 2014 Triumph Tiger Explorer 1200Xc. I wanted to find Triumph’s dual sport flagship in the same livery as the 800Xc and after a month of searching found one online at Sky PowerSports in sunny Sanford, Florida. I’m not one to make big purchases online, let alone site unseen, but Adrian Q. at Sky hooked me up digitally to inspect the Explorer and do a virtual test ride. Everything seemed in order and I made a transfer and arranged shipping. All told, the total expense was still cheaper than sourcing a local Explorer that didn’t meet my expectations. Adrian and all the business office support were great to work with.

I shipped with Motorcycle Shippers working Ed M. who kept me in the loop along the way. The Explorer was tied down to its own motorcycle shipping pallet and made the 2400 mile trip fully enclosed. While door-to-door delivery is the promise, in my case it happened through a third party shipper at Salt Lake’s terminal, but they did a great job in delivering it to snowy Bountiful.

The mechanical inspection and long test ride checked off all the boxes and all the paperwork has been signed, notarized, FedExed and filed and the Explorer is licensed, insured and ready for its prep for our PNW ride in June with both bikes, beginning with fitting a new pair of Givi 47l Trekker Outback panniers on the 1200.