Why Britain loves the TIGER 800
Owners, experts and Triumph explain the success of the Great British Adventure Bike
IT’S HARD TO believe it didn’t even exist 10 years ago. The Triumph Tiger 800 was launched in 2010 and swiftly established itself as one of Britain’s best-loved adventure bikes – and one of the most important models for the factory. What’s the secret of its success? “It’s the ultimate utility bike,” owner Dave Cusdin told RIDE’S Kev Raymond, as he was compiling our Buying Guide (p48). In fact, we think there’s even more to it than that. The Tiger 800 has that invaluable knack of being able to adapt not only to the demands of different roads, but also to the needs of different riders.
Gordon Milne, a “recent convert to two wheels” had been considering Triumph’s Speed Triple, but realised it might not be the most comfortable for his wife on the pillion. “I had a test ride with my wife on the back and that really cemented the decision,” he explains. “It’s a large enough bike to be comfortable for me – I’m 6ft 1in – and it has a lot of presence on the road, which really helped with confidence.”
At the other end of the experience scale is seasoned rider Paul Hooper. He’s had his Tiger 800XC since April 2014 and has used the bike for some slightly more extreme touring… including taking it over unpaved Alpine passes. In the snow. With spoked-wheels, including a 21in front, and taller long-travel suspension, the XC should have taken those conditions in its stride, right?
“It coped well,” says Paul. “The optional extra-large bashplate did get two mounts broken, but to be fair it did get bashed on the rocks a few times. To be honest, it coped better than expected off-road and has been a lot of fun on the road.”
Even more extreme use was demonstrated by Rhys Lawrey - who rode a Tiger 800 XC around the world and into the record books, on a non-stop journey through 71 consecutive capital cities. “The Tiger 800 performed well in all terrains,” Rhys says. “In fact, when it hit the rough parts of the world, it showed itself to be very tough and reliable.”
However, even though the bike is capable of these kinds of extremes, not everyone buys a Tiger to pile on hardcore high miles on rough roads. Dan Greene bought a 2012 XC model for his daily commute into central London.
“I wanted the height and the toughness of a big adventure bike, but not the bulk or the weight,” he explains. “Compared with the other bikes I could have used, the Tiger’s slender and light while still having a really punchy engine. I’ve done nearly 40,000 miles on it in just over two years, but I look after it properly and it’s never let me down.”
“The Tiger impressed me right from my initial test ride
Most owners do find the Tiger very reliable. Dean Smith piled on 7000 miles in one summer on a 2015 800 XRX, visiting everywhere from Scotland to Slovenia. “And it never missed a beat,” he confirms. “I tend to keep the revs high when riding but I still got 200 miles out of the tank, even when loaded up with luggage.”
Of course, no model is perfect. “Even with the gel seat, after riding in everything from 37° heat in Italy to snow in the Swiss Alps, my arse was numb at the end of each day,” he adds. As well as bashing his bashplate mounts to bits, Paul Hooper found the sidestand foot too small (“It sunk into mud and the bike toppled over”) and had the preload adjuster at the top of his shock seize, so the whole unit had to be replaced as it’s not a serviceable part. Overall though, it’s a dependable machine. “The most common jobs I did when riding round the world were cleaning it, checking tyre pressures and adjusting the chain,” says Rhys Lawrey. “I had a Scottoiler, which made maintaining the chain much easier.”
The heart of the bike – and for many owners the big attraction – is the 800cc inline triple engine. “It can be trickled along easily off-road, travel along B-roads using its very good midrange, or blasted like a sportsbike at the upper end of the rev range,” explains Paul Hooper. Dean Holliday agrees: “It impressed me right from my initial test ride,” he says. “It was revvy, felt sporty, acclerated smoothly and changed gear easily.”
At 6ft 4in, Dean’s one of the taller riders we spoke to, yet with the seat of his XCX in the high position and the screen adjusted, he was “comfortable in terms of leg space and distance to the pegs and the floor.” Yet the Tiger very cleverly works for all sizes of riders: Steve Wilkinson had been put off other adventure bikes that were just too tall. Then he found the Tiger 800: “The ride comfort and the tank range are bliss,” he says.
This ability to suit all kinds of roads and all kinds of riders is very
deliberately engineered into the bike. Steve Sargent is Triumph’s chief product officer (and currently riding a Tiger 800 XRT). “The range of models - including the low versions – is there to increase access, so there’s a Tiger 800 to suit every rider and every budget,” he explains. “We did a lot of talking to customers and most see it as the perfect all-round motorcycle – something you can use for long-distance travel or commuting.”
Is there scope to develop it further? “Our focus has been on making it the best bike we can for the road – because that’s where it will spend 85 per cent of its time. So there’s scope to develop its off-road ability further. But road performance is critical and as technology evolves all the time, especially in terms of rider aids, there’s always scope to develop there as well.”
So whatever kind of riding you do, whatever size rider you are, there should be a Tiger 800 for you for many years to come.