‘There’s nothing it can’t do’

CHIEF ROAD TESTER

For our five-day, 1000-mile trip the Triumph Tiger Sport 660 has proved to be an all-rounder that’s so capable it belies its price, power and engine size. It’s a machine that would be as happy commuting and scratching as it would riding across Europe solo or two-up. You’d be able to take the kitchen sink, too, if you fitted Triumph’s optional integrated panniers and topbox

Aside from going off-road there’s nothing it can’t do. It’s spacious, comfortable and has bodywork so slippery it laughs off high, turbulent winds. Its lightness, smooth controls, friendly power and slick gearbox make it easy to live with over big distances, but impressively it’s also stable, grippy and fun in corners, regardless of whether their surface is wet or dry.

Being built to a keen price you’re missing out on a few standard issue goodies, and during our trip our wishlist included cruise control, a USB charger, quickshifter and the chance to unlock the dash’s Bluetooth functions. But they’re minor irritations, and would all ramp up the price tag, because it’s well built and dynamically hard to fault, even compared to biggerengined tall-rounders.

Riding it at its world launch we knew Triumph had created something special. Our 1000-mile UK test proves we were correct. The Tiger Sport 660 is hugely capable and great value for money, but we’d have never predicted just how well it would handle life on UK roads… in a stormy triple-header.

LIKES

● Long distance comfort ● Wet and dry road holding ● Flexible power

DISLIKES

● Lack of cruise control and o/s temp readout ● USB charger and QS only available as extras ● Noisy screen