BIKES: 2012 Triumph Tiger

Motorcycling Lifestyles

BIKES: 2012 Triumph Tiger

Kicked back in the saddle of the new Triumph Tiger 800, I found myself mentally back in time climbing the twisting road that leads to Crater Lake in Oregon.

Neale Bayly | Posted August 02, 2012 Charlotte, NC

2012 Triumph Tiger (Photo: Neale Bayly)

At 6,578 feet above sea level on the Blue Ridge Parkway, the wooden sign at the summit of Mount Mitchell lets you know there is no higher vantage point on the Eastern Seaboard. As I paused for a time to marvel at the lazy ridgelines melting away into the hazy horizon, a procession of billowing white clouds rolling through began to mingle with my thoughts. Traveling with my friend, David Peach, who was visiting from Australia, I realized it was more than 25 years since we fell out of a taxi together in San Francisco after eight or nine too many adult beverages. Bonding as friends for life, at that time we were making our way around the world in separate directions, and these memories turned on my personal version of the Travel Channel between my ears.

Kicked back in the saddle of the new Triumph Tiger 800, I found myself mentally back in time climbing the twisting road that leads to Crater Lake in Oregon. Soaking in the beauty of the snow-capped mountain peaks, and the sweet smell of the dense pine forests, I was then in the saddle of a 2000 Tiger 855. These images led my memory to a plethora of travel adventures I’ve embarked on in the decade that’s followed while mounted on the various versions of Triumph’s three-cylinder adventure-touring motorcycles. Reviewing these in chronological order, I ended up here in the Smokey Mountains on the new Tiger 800. I’ve enjoyed each and every one, for all their different strengths and attributes, as I’ve explored America, and I am excited to say the new Tiger is the freshest, sharpest rendition yet of all of them for those with three-cylinder wanderlust.

Launched in the summer of 2011 along with the more off-road-biased Tiger XC, I missed the introduction due to scheduling conflicts. This actually turned into an advantage, as I was able to secure one earlier this year for a longer test. This allowed me more seat time and a better chance to learn about the new bike in a wider variety of situations. When the Tiger was first introduced, we hadn’t seen its bigger brother the Tiger Explorer 1251 yet, and I wondered at Triumph’s decision to make a smaller-displacement adventure bike especially as engine capacity had grown steadily over the years from 855cc to 1050cc. The previous Tiger had lost a lot of its off-road claws, though, so I was pleased to see Triumph offering a more serious off-road-capable version with the XC as well as this more road-focused model.

Check on the basic architecture of the new bike and you will find a steel-trellis chassis, which clearly can trace its roots back to the 1997 T595. The swingarm is a conventional aluminum twin-sided unit, holding a seventeen-inch, wire-spoked rear wheel with an aluminum rim and a single Showa shock mounted in the normal way. This has 6.7 inches of travel and is adjustable for pre-load only. Up front, an inverted Showa 43mm fork features 7.1 inches of travel, holds a nineteen-inch wheel (also wire-spoked with aluminum rim) and has no adjustability. For the majority of road surfaces the suspension does a great job and there is no alarming dive under braking from the front either. It’s certainly on the softer side, as you would expect, and, with more travel than a conventional road bike, manic late braking maneuvers should probably be avoided. Use a little thought, though, and the new Tiger can be seriously hustled on tight, twisty roads thanks to the strong brakes and competent chassis combination.

The front brake system is actually a combination of 308 mm rotors and Nissin two-piston calipers. Initial feeling, when compared to a modern sportbike, is a little wooden. They are very progressive though, and the perfect balance for the suspension, giving plenty of useable stopping power when you give the adjustable lever a good, healthy squeeze. In the rear a Nissin caliper grabs a 255mm rotor and is a very useful addition to the process of removing speed quickly and safely.

The heart of the matter is an inline, three-cylinder, water-cooled engine displacing 799cc. Basically, it’s a long-stroke Daytona 675 engine, with softer compression and cam timing aimed toward mid-range, not top-end power. This displacement increase lengthens the stroke from 52.3mm to 61.9mm, while the same 74mm pistons now run an 11.1:1 compression ratio, down from 12.7:1. This set up gives the Tiger plenty of pull from fairly low in the rpm range, but you really need to be north of 4,000 rpm for serious acceleration. Once spinning past this point, the inline-triple will howl quickly to 10,000 rpm. Peak torque is at 7,700 rpm, so it’s no surprise that the real meat of the grunt starts around 6,000 rpm, although 90 percent of the Tiger’s 51.2 lb-ft of torque is available as low as 3,700 rpm. Keep the bike at 4-6,000 rpm and expect to run 60-80mph on the highway with enough passing power not to require a downshift. Peak power is somewhere around 80 horsepower at the rear wheel, so while the Tiger is no powerhouse, propelling 460 pounds on fairly low gearing, means acceleration is always brisk and immediate.

One of the many things Triumph has done really well for years is fuel injection, and the new Tiger is no exception. Silky smooth and faultless in any situation, especially at altitude, it makes clicking through the slick gearbox on country roads pure joy as you listen to the music from the single silencer out back. Arrow makes a superb range of aftermarket products that remove weight and don’t damage your eardrums, and this would be the only way to improve the Tiger for me. The multipoint sequential electronic fuel injection system has been lifted from the 675, so Triumph hasn’t had to re-invent the wheel with the new Tiger and, as you will pick up from my glowing testimony, it shows.

Ride position is upright and all-day comfortable, which allows you to take full advantage of the generous five-gallon gas tank. Foot pegs are nicely set not putting too much bend in your knees. They have removable rubber insets for when the going gets more serious off road and you need more grip. Over a long weekend in the saddle with Dave, we had an Aprilia Dorsoduro along for the ride. Put 100 miles on the Aprilia and you’ll be ready to fight to get back on the Triumph, your arse will be so sore. The two-piece Triumph saddle is not only comfortable, but it’s also adjustable for height. The standard position is 31.9 inches from terra firma. Put it on the high setting and you will add an additional 0.8 inches, which will suit those with longer legs.

One nitpick with the Triumph for me was the windscreen’s giving a fair amount of buffeting at highway speeds I must admit after about 30 minutes or so I got used to it, but if I were going to be keeping the bike, it would have to be either higher or lower for me. I’m just under six feet tall with a 30-inch inseam, which means my upper body is fairly long, so it won’t be like this for everyone. It actually does a good job of keeping the wind off the rest of you at 75mph,with most of the breeze hitting just the top of your shoulders and helmet.

The switchgear is all neat and clean and the mirrors are excellent, giving nearly perfect visibility and no vibration. A simple instrument cluster uses an analog tachometer, with digital speedometer and information panel. This houses the standard trip meters, fuel gage, temperature gauge, and regular warning lights with no surprises. It’s nicely minimalistic, with all the basic information you need covered without a lot of clutter. Out back, there is a nice, sturdy rack with good fastening points, and if you take a wander around your local Triumph dealership, you’ll find a large assortment of accessories for the Tiger to make traveling a breeze.

Unfortunately, after a few weeks someone at Triumph realized their bike was missing and took it back. I had done a couple of long trips, a bunch of city driving, and a number of trips along my favorite country roads. My passenger of choice gave the rear accommodation two thumbs up, and the styling gets full marks from yours truly. I didn’t do a lot of off-road riding on the Tiger, as I think the XC would be more suited. For rolling along lightly graded roads though, or small dirt-trails like the ones we found leading to our cabin out in the woods, it was perfect. The wide bars, great balance, long-travel suspension, and spot-on fueling make light work of these sorts of surfaces. Retailing for a penny under ten thousand dollars, the bike allows you to choose ABS for an additional $800. This makes the Triumph very competitive in price and a really great value for a motorcycle that can do a little of everything and most of it extremely well. I’m delighted to say the new Tiger is the best yet, and I’m excited to see what sort of adventures I can get up to within the coming years.

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