Test Ride Report - Triumph Tiger

[KTM Gordo]

The quest to find a new 'bike continues...

Today I went to Webbs Yamaha in Eye (near Peterborough) to collect a part for the Fazer and ended up taking a Triumph Tiger for a ride.

Visually the Triumph Tiger is to the 675 what the Porsche Cayenne is to the 911. I'm not saying it's a bad thing though.

Climbing aboard the first thing you notice is just how high the tail is as you try to fling your leg over it. Then you notive how far away the clocks are. The bars are high too, and feel a bit like a tiller.

Starting up, the 1050 triple burbled away sounding wonderful. The gear change was very smooth - almost too smooth as I was never quite sure I'd actually changed or not...

The riding position was fairly comfortable, but it's a tall 'bike - taller than I'd have expected - and when combined with the rather broad seat and fuel tank, it made for a couple of nervous moments.

Surprisingly the pegs are quite close in, and it felt I was a bit bow-legged. The suspension was supple, and some handy bumpy roads were put to good use - with painful results after on one landing...

The engine pulls nicey with lots of torque and is reasonably smooth, although a little juddery at lower speeds it's nowhere near as bad as the Ducati Multistrada.

Webbs let me have the 'bike for an hour (with the proviso that I topped up the fuel) but after 45 mins I'd had enough and took it back.

It's a nice 'bike, but not for me. I just didn't gel with it. At 198Kg it's slightly lighter than the KTM 990 Adventure, and cheaper too (without ABS), but I have reservations about Triumph's build quality, and if I were buying a 'bike like that I could get a Yamaha TDM900 which is cheaper and very similar (albiet a twin and not a triple).

There were also a few cut-corners about the 'bike which ought to have been done better - the coolant expansion tank being in full view inside the fairing for example.

So I won't be getting a Tiger.
____________________
Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine.

KTM 990 Adventure | KTM EXC 250 Racing | Land Rover Freelander SE Td4