‘It batters the weather into submission’
Winter-proof Tiger XRT is proving adept
WITH THE OLD editor departing, I’ve taken over his Tiger XRT — and put a chunk of miles on it in the last month. Thanks to being the human guinea pig for this month’s product test, I’ve been putting miles on the Tiger in all weathers and during the last 1000 miles, I’ve grown to appreciate its all-round abilities.
But I admit that I was sceptical at first – and that’s simply because of its sheer size. At around 266kg fully-fuelled and ready to go, it’s a huge lump of metal and plastic. But the Tiger has superb semi-active suspension, intuitive, predictable handling and a wonderful, creamy power delivery. In between the damp and frost, there’s been enough grip to prove that it can hustle. It doesn’t have the physics-busting weightlessness of a GS at speed, but it is fun.
It’s working well in these colder months – many Tiger 1200 riders push on through winter and it is easy to see why. Wind protection is the key. With one of the tallest screens of any production bike (it’s 5ft3in from the ground on full extension) and clever little flick-ups on the front fairing to keep the wind off your body, its comfortable even at near-freezing conditions. The size and weight of the XRT batters winter into submission: you can clock-off 100 miles in any weather and still be dry and warm(ish) at
the end of it — especially thanks to the corewarming charms of the heated seat.
It’s not a perfect winter wonderland though — the heated grips seem an afterthought. While the rest of the Tiger basks in the light of illuminated switchgear, the grips’ button is unlit and it’s virtually impossible to feel in winter gloves. This should have all been sorted before production, really. They could be hotter too.
The brakes aren’t as keen as I’d hoped, lacking in feel and initial bite. Brembo’s monoblock calipers are known for needing a bit of love in between services so a piston clean is in order. But doused in ACF-50, the rest of the quality Triumph is standing up to winter well so far.
The current Avon Trailrider tyres steer well and grip tenaciously in the dry, despite squaring in 3000 miles of Simon’s use. However, their wet-weather performance could be better and it’s easy to nudge towards the rear’s limits during brisk, rainy rides. It’ll be interesting to see how the Michelin Road 5s I’m replacing them with will compare. MATT WILDEE