Well worth the wait
The Tiger’s here and it’s ready to head out into the wilds
It’s been a long time coming due to lockdown, but 1100 miles into life with the all-new Tiger I know it’s going to be a great summer. Having not ridden since March, my first ride was always going to be feel pretty damn special but I didn’t truly appreciate just how special. Now I’ve got over the ‘kid at Christmas’ levels of excitement, it’s time to get dialled into what the Tiger has to offer. In terms of spec it’s bordering on being overwhelming. The TFT dash has a plethora of information displayed: rider modes, riding aids and connectivity features that I’m only just starting to get my head round. But parking all the electronic wizardry for a moment, the base bike appears strong. In terms of ride it feels incredibly plush with the 45mm Showa forks giving almost a magic carpet sensation not dissimilar to a BMW GS; a sensation that is also helped by having such wide (830mm) bars. Along with the easily adjustable screen that can be tweaked on the fly, it’s quite simply a nice place to be.
So far my longest ride has been just under 200 miles which the bike took in its stride. Now it’s time to start stretching the Tiger’s legs and I have planned in a trip to the Sweet Lamb Adventure Rally Bike Academy in Wales to get a taste of the Tiger’s off-road capabilities. As preparation I’m going to fit a set of Pirelli Scorpion STR tyres due to their incredible on-road performance combined with their solid off-road grip, meaning I’ll be able to have fun on the ride their as well as when I hit the dirt.
In terms of other prep, the Rally Pro version I am riding isn’t wanting anything, with advanced off-road specific electronics and comprehensive crash protection – it really is ready to go.
All in all, it’s been a great start to life with the Tiger and my gut feeling is that it’s only going to get better. The only gripe I have is a slightly melted number plate. MCN’s resident tech guru Bruce Dunn who speed tested the bike as part of its outing on the MCN250 road test, believes it’s simply a case of the angle of the exhaust. His theory is it’s due to the size of standard UK size number plates and that Triumph’s testing would have been done using smaller trade plates. Triumph are aware so I’ll report back on the solution.