Adventure touring bike checks all the boxes
Motorcycle packed to the brim with creature comforts is worth every penny
BORMIO, ITALY Let’s describe the perfect motorcycle shall we? Or at least the perfect motorcycle for your typical fifty-something — OK, sixty-something — long-term biker who has fond memories of strafing back roads and hitting the road for 10 hours straight, for whom typical sport bikes (too crouched over) or touring bikes (too heavy) no longer appeal.
The perfect bike, then, would have more than a modicum of power — 120 horsepower would be nice; 140 even nicer — but retain compliant suspension. It would be able to carve a corner, but also have a riding position rational enough to eat up miles. It would also have to be relatively light, yet have all the luggage carrying capacity of a Gold Wing (actually more, because the latest Honda is cargo challenged). In other words, the perfect motorcycle is probably an adventure tourer.
More specifically, Triumph’s latest Tiger 1200 XCa might have a shout in at this perfection thing. First of all the engine: Though Triumph makes no claims for increased power (officially, the 1,215-cc triple is still rated at 139 horses and 90 pound-feet of torque) the power certainly feels more usable. Perhaps it’s the new triple’s lighter flywheel, which encourages more forceful tugs at the ride-by-wire throttle. Maybe it’s the superior fuelling that makes throttle response, even at low rpm, feel so linear. Whatever the case, the big triple felt like a giant electric motor, so easily did it move the Tiger’s 242 kilograms up even the steepest mountain passes in Europe.
When fully loaded, you’ll start feeling the Tiger’s weight. Or, more accurately, it’s relatively high centre of gravity. That brilliant triple is a tall engine and the Tiger’s passenger perch is also one of the tallest in the biz and the two to make the 1200 a little tippy at low speeds. It would have helped if I could have jacked up the rear shock’s preload to tighten the rake, but that semi-active suspension has an automatic load-levelling function that always keeps the Tiger on an even keel. That’s brilliant in ordinary circumstances — no fiddling with manual rear preload adjusters or even digital adjustments — but a pain when you’re facing the Stelvio Pass’s 48 hairpins and really would like quicker steering.
Much more important, however, is that the new Tiger is even more comfortable than its already accommodating predecessor. Part of that is to the easily adjusted suspension damping that can range from a full soft, if a little wallowy, to a seriously stiff Sport setting. The seat, thanks to a new crown shape and different density foam, is even more comfy and the handlebar rise allows an ideal riding position. And the seat, both rider and passenger portions, are heated on the XCa, as are the handlebar grips.
But the biggest difference from the first generation is the new windshield. The new XCa’s windshield is a little larger than on the base XR and XCs and besides being aerodynamically efficient, it is also electronically adjustable. This is the first adventure tourer’s windscreen I wouldn’t immediately replace with an aftermarket item.
I suppose I could wish for a slightly lower price tag. The top-of-the-range XCa starts at $23,750. Factor in another $2,310 for the powder-coated aluminum bags and another $340 for the (well worth it) tire pressure monitoring kit, and there’ll not be much change from 27 large.
That said, the Tiger 1200 XCa is the most comfortable adventure tourer I’ve tested and worth every penny Triumph Canada is asking.