The Tiger, with its mile-munching ability and sheer
dependability, has won a legion of fans the world over. It lives in a
genuinely different space to other bikes in its class, excelling in three
distinct areas – it scratches; it tours and it commutes. While its sharp
lines and performance spec make the Tiger’s sporting credentials clear from
a glance, its stunning looks hide a practical streak. Two-up, you’ve got a
bike that comfortably devours miles of tarmac thanks to the relaxed riding
position, spacious seat, supple suspension and tractable torquey engine.
Back in the city the commanding view really comes into its own, while the
wide bars make tight manoeuvres child’s play.
An ABS version of the Tiger is also available.
The Urban Sports Range - The 675cc and 1050cc triple engines that
power Triumph’s stunning sports bikes are renowned for their strength and
flexibility from tickover to redline. The range includes Streetfighters,
Supersports, Adventure Sports and Sports Touring bikes all with unique
character, real world performance and a distinctive triple roar.
Features
Engine
The Tiger’s engine delivers power and ear to ear grins. Nothing sounds like
a triple so there’s no confusing a Tiger with the whine of an anonymous
four. The amazing 1050cc, fuel-injected, three cylinder engine, known for
its addictive character, has plenty of torque and impressive amounts of
horsepower, with ample reserves of both for those two-up fully laden tours.
Peak power of 114bhp is delivered at 9400rpm, with 74ft.lbf torque at
6250rpm
Seat
The comfortable, spacious seat and relaxed rider and passenger ergonomics
mean you’ll arrive fresh even at the end of the longest day.
Handlebars
High, wide bars give a comfortable riding position and excellent control at
all speeds, from urban manoeuvring to motorway cruising.
Suspension
The 43mm upside down fully adjustable forks and remote spring preload and
rebound damping adjustable rear shock keeps the ride comfortable on the
worst of roads and gives excellent control when the pace picks up.
Screen
The Tiger screen gives great wind protection for those long journeys without
obscuring your view around town.
ABS
Triumph’s Antilock Braking System has been carefully designed to boost
control under hard braking, working on both wheels independently. This
unobtrusive system retains all the sensations of riding, operating at 100
calculations per second to sense the precise moment the wheel is about to
lock up, then preventing it from doing so. The system has been specifically
tailored to the Tiger, with painstaking calibration over many months to
ensure optimum braking performance.
Review
The Tiger has come a long way over the last 14 years. Tracing its heritage back
to 1993 when Triumph was still using
modular frames and carbureted engines, it became fuel injected in 1999 and
hasn't looked back.
Styled to look like the Paris/Dakar off-road racing bikes of the '80s, with the
large gas tank and aggressive twin-headlight front fairing, it was a very
enjoyable and well-rounded machine. I was lucky enough to make a 3,600-mile tour
out west in 2000 on this second version and was taken by the silky-smooth power
delivery, light steering, and simple, robust nature of the bike.
By 2002 the engine had been enlarged to 955cc, which gave the bike an additional
20 horsepower over the claimed 86 produced by the 885cc model. Photographing and
documenting the Triumph Across America ride, I was continually stopping to take
pictures of the riders before manically attempting to catch back up to the
group. It seemed the bike spent most of the 3,200 miles on or near redline, and
I have never thrashed a bike so hard for so long. On one of the days along
Highway 60, the loneliest road in the world, I covered 104 miles in 63 minutes
blasting along the deserted two-lane playing catch up. This involved many
climbs, descents and corners, and temperatures in the 100s. Thankfully, the
Tiger never missed a beat and became a well-trusted friend during the journey.
Then in mid-2004, Triumph brought me a long-term test unit to try. No
documentaries or transcontinental trips to crow about during that test, but the
'05 and I covered more than 2,500 very happy miles together: A 1,000-mile trip
to Virginia, some evenings out around town, and plenty of short, fun rides with
my son around the Smoky Mountains gave me ample opportunity to put it through
its paces.
With a conflicting travel schedule excluding me from the World press launch in
Spain for the newest Tiger, I lucked out when Triumph brought me a squeaky clean
new one a few weeks back. I am at this point a little sad to say the North
Carolina winter weather has not been too cooperative with my schedule for any
marathon journeys. But, from the short-hop journeys around the city, mad blasts
into the local countryside, and two-up trips to the coffee shop I have
performed, the '07 Tiger is a quantum leap forward in the development and
progress of the beast. Sure it has lost some of its off-road styling, but get it
out on a twisty back road, let the 1050cc Triple catch its breath, and there are
few more fun ways to spend a day in the saddle of a motorcycle.
Visually, the new Tiger is sharper, more street-focused and fits right in with
the rest of the Triumph range with its distinctive angular look. Long-term
Triumph buffs will be able to trace the frame back to the original T595 Daytona
that was introduced in 1997, and while there are number of shared parts with the
new Speed Triple and Sprint ST, the bodywork is all-new. Quoting 5.2 gallons as
the fuel capacity, I could only get 4.2 gallons in the tank both times I ran the
bike at least 15 miles with the reserve light on. This means either the factory
literature or the fuel light are telling porky pies (lies in English), and if
the brochure is to be believed then the bike can cover around 50 miles or more
after the fuel light comes on. I averaged somewhere around 40 mpg. A full tank
should give at least 160 miles while touring.
While I didn't get to do any real long distance rides, I did put a few
Interstate hours in to get a feel for the Tiger's abilities in this department
and returned from my rides a tad conflicted. The seat is great; the ergonomics
perfect, if you like the standard sit up straight riding position, but the
windshield was either too low or too high for me. I have a 30-inch inseam, and
am about six-foot tall. This put my head fully in the breeze and made it subject
to a fair amount of buffeting. If I sat up as tall as I could, my helmet entered
a much calmer air flow, but for me, this became tiring as I slouched down a
little and into the rougher air flow. It does do a good job of keeping your
upper body out of the breeze, and on one sub 40-degree ride I was very happy for
the coverage it gave me. Personally, I could do with the shield being either
taller or shorter.
While on these Interstate missions, the Tiger tended to be running between
4,000-5,000 rpm, which is the motor's sweet spot. Translating to speeds of 65-80
mph, there is no need to go cog swapping if you want to overtake. Between these
two rpm points, the engine is willing and able to accelerate strongly with a
light tug on the throttle cables. Running the Tiger up hard through the gears
doesn't produce a noticeable spike in power anywhere, with more of a steady
building process as it approaches redline.
As the same basic unit found in the Speed Triple and the Sprint ST, in Tiger
guise the inline 1050cc Triple produces a claimed 114 horsepower at 9,400 rpm,
and 74 lb-ft of torque at 6,250 rpm. This is down some 17 horsepower from the
very lively Speed Triple, but the nearly identical torque figures happen lower
down the tachometer on the Tiger. (This should translate into rear-wheel hp
numbers in the mid 90s. -Ed) In real-world terms, the Tiger is still a very
fast bike, able to get off the line on a whiff of throttle ahead of our
four-wheel friends, and it will crack the 100-mph mark without breaking a sweat.
From the rider's seat, you hear a lot more engine noise coming up through the
fairing openings than on the naked Speed Triple and barely any sound from the
large high exit muffler. I have already seen aftermarket pipes for the Tiger,
and it would be nice to let the beast roar a little, as it sounds like it is
trying to shout with a sore throat as standard. Checking out the inside of the
cockpit area and gauges from the hot seat reveals a very clean, minimalist
layout. The instrument cluster is similar to Speed Triple without the shift
lights on the side of the tachometer, and this is still an analog unit, with a
small central digital speedometer. All the in-flight readings are on the digital
display board to the left of this, and there are buttons below to set one of two
trip counters.
There are no heated handlebar grips, GPS systems or radios on board the fairly
minimalist Tiger, and the switchgear is still late '90s vintage. The brake lever
is multi-adjustable, although the clutch is not, and the turn signals are not
self-canceling. Mirrors are okay, and while they are not too blurry at speed,
they show too much elbow for my liking. Not uncommon, and as far as motorcycle
development has come, no one has been able to remove the arms from the rear-view
picture.
With the Tiger moving toward the sport end of the motorcycle spectrum this year,
it was no surprise to find it rolls on a 180/55-17 tire out back, and a
120/70-17 in the front, typical contemporary sporting fare. Wrapping around an
attractive pair of cast-aluminum spoked wheels, they are ready to rock when the
road gets twisty. They are well complemented by the suspension, and up front
there is a set of 43mm inverted units, with a traditional single shock in the
rear. Both units are fully adjustable, and as delivered my only adjustment was
some more compression in the front to eliminate some of the dive under hard
braking. Around town, and for the majority of the time, this wasn't necessary,
as the package is comfortable and compliant, without getting bent out of shape
if you hit any major road imperfections. I actually made a point of noting how
quickly the rear recovers from big bumps, without the ripple effect that
sometimes happens with stock suspension units.
Getting the bike back to legal speeds after experimenting with the gear ratios,
a set of radial-mount brakes enjoy a long-term relationship with a pair of 320mm
floating rotors. Each containing four pistons, they are plenty strong enough to
lift the rear wheel when you are trying to impress the sportbike boys. In their
hurry to get me the bike, I think some of the delivery grease made its way onto
the rotors, as I needed a strong hand to get the best from the set up. Having
ridden the ST and the Speed III on essentially the same set up, this was a pad
issue not a brake system complaint.
Under the right foot, there was a fair amount of travel before any action
started from the two brake pistons in the back, and this ensured no
unwanted-lock ups from an overenthusiastic push. If I were keeping the bike, I
would be bleeding the system and raising the lever a bit. Again, these are minor
complaints that will be addressed before new owners take delivery of their
machines.
For zipping around town, even though the Tiger still sits plenty tall, the new
machine is a hoot. The steering lock is more forgiving for tight, low-speed
turns than a naked standard, and the upright riding position gives great
visibility in traffic. Curbs and parking lot markers are just an excuse to try
out the bike's Ground Clearance, and the new aggressive look and explosive paint
color inspired some great conversations at my local coffee shop.
But the most fun to be had on the Tiger is heading out into the country with a
full tank of gas and no particular destination in mind. Able to handle just
about any type of road you can find on the map, the new Triumph Tiger 1050 can
easily deal with living in captivity. It is just happier when it is out prowling
around in the wildest countryside you can find.
