TRIUMPH TIGER 800

NASA’s rovers have made Mars their home. Can the Tiger 800, with its go-anywhere capability play the same role for planet earth?

“Houston, we confirm we’ve landed on the surface of Mars”

CURIOSITY IS ONE OF nine rovers that was dispatched to Mars by NASA to explore the planet and learn about its natural resources. If you take a good look at the Gusev crater on Mars (Google it), the terrain is just like the Lalla Takerkoust region near Marrakech. There are mountains as large as a Diplodocus and vast open lands that resemble the sets of Mad Max: Fury Road. The ice-capped Atlas Mountains are always on the horizon as you roam around this part of the earth and it seems to be as vivid as NASA’s pictures of Martian lands. No wonder that this region in Marrakech has as many quad bike operators as we have paanwalas. But what should you do when you want to explore the region on two wheels, rather than four? Simple. Take the most popular Triumph in the world and go exploring. Behold the 2018 Triumph Tiger 800 with more than 200 updates to make it even more ‘Mars’ friendly (read Morocco). But can it play the role of NASA rovers for planet earth?

Since 2004, NASA has sent nine rovers to Mars. Similarly, this is the eighth iteration of the Tiger since 1936. The latest generation Tiger was launched in 2010 and this is the third update to the popular adventure tourer. In fact, it is so popular with earthlings that over 68,000 examples have been sold till date. Its duality of nature gives it a certain machismo that cannot really be matched by any other adventure tourer. But if it is so perfect, then why change it? And Triumph hasn’t really changed it. It has updated the bike with new bits to make it even more refined and likable than ever.

More earth friendly?

Certainly. Majority of the changes have been made to the drivetrain. The 800cc, in-line triple still makes 94bhp and 79Nm but peak power and maximum torque is churned out at higher revs. The torque is flatter, building all the way from as low as 2300rpm. The first gear ratio has been lowered too. It also sounds better with an all-new, lighter and smaller exhaust unit.

When you go exploring, you always

want to be comfortable and the Tiger 800 is definitely improved in this department now thanks to a handlebar which is closer to the rider by 10mm. The off-road friendly XCa’s bar also gets 30mm additional height so that you can stand on the pegs without breaking your lower back. The windscreen is manually adjustable in five ways and you also get new aero deflectors that would look cool even when on rovers. Not just that, Triumph has even thought about low temperatures to make it more Mars friendly and you get heated grips and seat as standard on the top-of-the-line variants.

To take care of all the abnormal surfaces, the XR now also gets an adjustable suspension both at the front (compression and rebound) as well as at the rear (pre load and rebound). Cosmetically, there’s not much to differentiate from the old bike with the exception of new decals and LED headlamps. Fit and finish though has been significantly improved with the new bike feeling even more premium. Additionally, you get the same 5-inch TFT instrument cluster as well as the switch gear from the Street Triple RS. The major addition though is the option of five riding modes on the XR variant and an all-new Off Road Pro variant on the XCA that shuts all assist systems, including TC and ABS.

But we have tarmac on earth... There are six variants of the Tiger 800 on offer. India will get most of the variants except the low ride height one, we suspect. XR is the road friendly variant with thicker, 19-inch alloys at the front and Showas with 180mm and 170mm travel at the front and rear, respectively. We managed to get hold of the fully loaded XRt variant and straight off on the road it felt silky smooth; much better than the already smooth motor on the current Tiger. There’re no surprises when it comes to the power delivery. Every time you wring the throttle, the response comes organically and you move ahead with great ferocity, even at low revs. The engine map, TC and ABS modes are selected depending on the riding mode selected, of which there are five to choose from - Road, Rain, Sport, Off Road and