Love this Tiger feat
Triumph’s Tiger 800 gets more tech and a higher spec to earn its stripes
TIGERS AREN’T INDIGENOUS to Africa, but this one feels right at home in Morocco. Triumph has revamped its popular adventure 800, and this XCA version (21in front wheel, lanky WP suspension, high-spec extras as standard) is the flagship of the family.
The environment may be alien, but the bike is familiar. The frame, geometry, WP suspension and major engine components haven’t changed, leaving the fundamental feel and flavour unaffected. The 800cc triple still makes the same 94bhp and 58lb·ft figures as before (though now at fractionally higher revs). The torque curve is still flat and fruity, giving 90% of its grunt from just 3000rpm. Drive is delivered with a delicious syrupy smoothness, free of the low-rev hammering and high-rev tingling of most twin-cylinder adventurers.
Triumph has tweaked some of the engine’s internals, describing the result as “mass optimised”. In English, that means a new primary drive (Triumph’s goal being a more refined feel; one side-effect being slightly taller gearing), with some antibacklash gears removed. The reduced inertia, says Triumph, makes the motor spin up faster. Can I tell a difference? In all honesty, not without a 2017 Tiger here for comparison — and not on a test route that climbs to a power-sapping 4300ft (twice the height of Scotland’s highest road).
Thankfully, some changes are more obvious, including the new TFT colour dash (the same 5in part from the Street Triple RS), backlit switchgear and an all-led headlight. Others take a keener eye to spot: two-piston front brake calipers are now Brembo items; the silencer is smaller, lighter and less restrictive; the wheels, seats and bodywork are all fresh parts. And some you wouldn’t notice without riding, like the shortened first gear, or the handlebars that sit 10mm nearer the rider. Triumph says this gives “a more commanding riding position”, though I suspect it also creates clearance for the larger windscreen and new aero deflectors.
The screen can now be set to five heights. Gently push the sprung plastic shield
forwards, then pull up or push down — effortless at a standstill but trickier on the move. No turbulence reaches my peaked Shoei at all, the new ergonomics and seat foam prove pleasing and the standard-fit heated grips and seat warm up quickly.
The switchgear is the same as on the Tiger 1200 and Street Triple 765, including the five-direction ‘joystick’ which occasionally gets confused for the indicator switch. The navigation of the dash, with its six layout choices, two contrast settings, customisable ‘info tray’ and multiple menus can be a bit baffling at first, but gets easier. One big improvement is the cruise control buttons have swapped from the right to the left.
On the road the Tiger doesn’t feel drastically different, despite its 200 new parts. It still steers easily and sharply, cornering with the precision and purpose of a regular roadster and hiding that big front wheel well. The WP suspension’s quality damping means both ends feel calm and composed, all the while offering incredible insulation against the route’s potholeinfested roads. The new brakes bite gently at first, but there’s decent power and the motor remains a masterpiece, with faultless fuelling and an intuitive throttle response.
Swapping to a bike with knobblier Pirelli Scorpion Rally tyres, raised handlebars and extra crash protection, the XCA proves to be the most dirt-happy Hinckley-era Triumph yet. Standing on the grippy serrated pegs, the bike feels thick beneath your knees but the motor’s smoothness gives predictable power. In the tighter, trickier, technical sections, the 12% shorter first gear is welcome too. There are two mucky modes: Off-road (front-only ABS, some traction control) and a new Off-road Pro (no ABS or TC). However, even in my amateur hands the Off-road traction control is overcautious — slippery climbs are easier with it switched off. The XCA is no lightweight but it tanks along happily, scampering and clambering up and down a daunting, breathtaking, beautifully barren wilderness as much Mars as Marrakesh.
This isn’t a dramatic, landmark revolution in the Tiger’s history, but it is a step forwards. Owners of the current bike might notice a couple of omissions: the XCA no longer comes with pannier rails as standard, while pillions have lost their independent heated seat. But it carries over everything that made the previous bike so beloved, then adds a few extra dashes of refinement and modernity. The Tiger 800 XCA continues to be a supremely capable all-rounder.