Tarmac and trail
Looking for a bigger slice of the growing adventure market, Triumph have launched a brace of Tigers to offer the best of two worlds, Roland Brown rides them both in Spain
Just once Iʼm almost in trouble, as the stony Spanish track heads steeply downhill, sharp left, then unexpectedly rears up again, sending me off-line and the Tiger XCʼs front wheel into a large rock with a loud CLONK that almost rips the bars from my hands. For a moment I’m off balance and going too fast towards the edge of the path… But just as quickly the Tiger has recovered its poise, its knobbly rear Metzeler finds drive, and I’m charging off again in chase of Triumph’s lead rider. The Tiger XC’s rapid recovery from my mistake was typical of its reassuring and very entertaining performance on dirt tracks in the hills near Barcelona. Equally importantly, the XC and its Tiger 800 sibling had been equally happy on the smooth-surfaced roads of the surrounding region. Talking about the Tiger as one bike isn’t really accurate. When Triumph decided in early 2007 to develop an “all-terrain” model, the key aim was that it should be suitable for commuting, touring, and riding on unsurfaced roads. But the development team quickly decided that two distinct models were required: a road biased machine with a relatively low seat, designed to be physically and financially accessible to as many riders as possible; and a more off-road capable model that could be taller and could cost a bit more.
Three and a half years later, the Tiger 800 and 800XC (standing for Cross Country) are the result. They share their dohc, 799cc three- cylinder engine, which produces 94bhp at 9300rpm and is based on that of the Daytona 675, although most components apart from the cylinder head are new. They also use the same tubular steel frame, reminiscent of the Speed
28 Mar/Apr The ROAD
Triple’s aluminium design, and share parts including instruments, fuel tank, screen and adjustable two-piece seat. The XC has hand guards, a beak-like front mudguard, longer- travel suspension and wire-spoked instead of cast wheels, the front of which is 21 instead of 19 inches in diameter.
Tiger 800 Triumph began this project with the idea of using the name Tiger Cub, after the 200cc single built by Meriden-based Triumph in the 1950s and ’60s. That idea was soon dropped, because Cub sounded too soft and cuddly. That decision is easy to understand as the Tiger leaps forward from the apex of a bend in the hills near Barcelona, and keeps accelerating hard on the following straight until its digital speedo is indicating over 100mph with more to come. The Tiger might be a relative middleweight in a dual-purpose division where 1200cc is the popular upper capacity class, but it is a fully grown bike that is powerful and physically big enough to carry a passenger and luggage, cruise effortlessly at the legal limit, and hold its own as a go-anywhere, do-anything machine. Perhaps Tiger isn’t quite the right name, even so, because this triple is not so much a wild killing machine of a big cat. It’s more of a friendly ginger Tom which — at least by cat family standards — is happy to do what its owner requests.
That much is clear every time the Triumph
surges forward in reply to a tweak of throttle with its tacho needle at 4000rpm or below. This softly tuned, longer-stroke motor doesn’t have the thrilling top-end snap of the revvier, more powerful Street Triple or Daytona 675 units. Instead it’s hugely flexible; responsive even from below 2000rpm. After flicking the sweet-
shifting six-speed box into top you could pretty much leave it there unless slowing below about 20mph.
Inevitably that meant the Tiger initially struggled to get the adrenaline flowing on an overcast day during which the roads never quite lost all their overnight dampness. But the Triumph handled the bends with impressive composure for a bike on dual-purpose rubber. And besides, this triple is a much more businesslike, down-to-earth machine designed for practicality, comfort and ease of use as much as for performance. Triumph’s inspiration was clear even before I
set off, as I took less than a minute to give myself some extra legroom by unlocking the seat and repositioning two metal support bars to raise it by 20mm, in BMW style. But there’s no harm in borrowing a good idea, after all. By contrast the slightly whiney sound from the motor and single silencer was recognisable as a Triumph triple, as was the bike’s smoothness as
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