‘Pulls like a train in the midrange’
Best ride RallyMoto Wales 500: a 500km roadbook rally around Wales designed for large-capacity adventurers. It was a huge day out navigating around the roads and forestry tracks.
Longest day The Wales 500 plus the trip home; 12 hours in the saddle. What hurt first? Knees. Putting the saddle in the low position helps for any quick dabs of the foot but it
means the distance from the pegs to the saddle is compromised. High point Powersliding at Triumph’s Off-Road School in Wales. Low point Picking it up twice in quick succession shortly afterwards.
What do you most admire? The engine. The triple has loads of torque down low and it pulls like a train in the midrange.
What’s it really good at? Swooping A-roads and motorways. Stick the suspension in comfort mode and whack the heated seat on. Lush. And really bad at? Slow speeds. Also, the fan blows right on your knackers when it’s really hot. What’s broken or fallen off? The clutch has been grabby when cold since the start, Triumph admitted this was a fault with the early batch. What irritates? The suspension is self-adjusting, so when you take a passenger the suspension ups the preload. Unfortunately when you stop for petrol, the bike stays jacked up.
Tell us a secret It has cornering lights. I had no idea until someone rode it towards me around a corner.
What did you think at the beginning? Why wouldn’t you just buy a BMW R1200GS instead? And now? In some respects, the Tiger is actually better!