HINCKLEY HEAVIES
Following in the footsteps of its suite of adventure-ready 900s, Triumph’s giving its flagship Tiger 1200 range a serious overhaul for 2024.
Triumph’s sold over 14,000 Tiger 1200s since they were introduced back in 2021, which is pretty good going in such a short time. And to keep the good times rolling, the factory’s announced a raft of changes largely inspired by customer feedback.
There’s now going to be two models to choose from: the ‘base’ model roadready GT Pro and rugged Rally Pro. But both are also available in Explorer trim for 2024, which’ll see them kitted out with a bigger 30-litre fuel tank and a load of additional electronic goodies including heated grips and a heated seat.
The beating heart of all the bikes is a 1160cc T-plane three-cylinder engine. Kicking out a respectable 150bhp, Triumph’s worked to make its shaftdriven motor smoother and predictable low down in the revs. Triumph reckons it’s much better at slow speeds, with greater feel from a longer clutch lever and tweaks to the crankshaft, alternator rotor and balancer shaft helping to increase engine inertia. Sounds good to us. The clutch has had some work, too, to make it easier to find first gear.
The ride’s also been looked at, with a focus on long-distance comfort. Triumph’s rolled out the dampened handlebars from the old Explorer models right across the range; the GT gets repositioned pegs; and there’s a lower, flatter seat, too (850mm on the GT and 875mm on the Rally). There’s an optional lower seat if that’s still too tall for you – though the ‘Active Preload Reduction’ feature should help you out by compressing the springs to drop the seat by 20mm when the bike rolls to a stop.
There’s more clever technology, including a rear-facing radar system (which offers blind spot detection on the Explorer models); a seven-inch smartphone-compatible TFT dash; leansensitive traction control; a raft of riding modes; and a quickshifter.
Priced from £17,295 for the GT Pro up to £19,695 for the Rally Explorer, Triumph’s certainly pitching itself right at the top of the adventure bike tree. We can’t wait to ride them – and thankfully, with the bikes due to start arriving in dealers anytime now, we won’t have to wait too long.