Trail – Test Triumph Tiger 1200 XRT and XCA 2018: ready for the road adventure – Test Tiger 1200 XRT and XCA – Page 1: Static

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Test Triumph Tiger 1200 XRT and XCA 2018: ready for the road adventure

Trail - Test Triumph Tiger 1200 XRT and XCA 2018: ready for the road adventure - Test Tiger 1200 XRT and XCA - Page 1: Static

Electric window, keyless start, hill start assistant, directional lights, regulator, 3-cylinder 141 hp. No, this is not the description of a high-end car, but of a motorcycle ! And not just any: the 2018 Tiger 1200 in its fully equipped XRT and XCA versions! Testing.

Tiger 1200 XRT and XCA test – Page 1: Static

Qualitative and massive. Two adjectives immediately comparable to the Triumph Tiger 1200 model 2018, third evolution of the English maxi-trail launched in 2012 and then improved in 2016. Long (2230 mm), high (1470 mm) and bulky, the Hincley Tiger inspires respect: it’s a big bike, as also evidenced by its stocky front end and imposing 1215cc 3-cylinder. Small size abstain…

  • MNC test –
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However, the observation applies to all trails over 1000 cc: these road motorcycles "on stilts" have in common an XXL size. And the kilos that go with it: although lightened from 2 to 10 kg depending on the version, the Tiger 1200 still admits 242 kg dry at the entry level XR with stick rims. Or two kilos near the full weight of the rival R1200GS (244 kg). 20-liter tank filled plus a few fluids, the English must therefore flirt with 270 kg, or even exceed them in its XC versions (248 kg dry).

Trail - Test Triumph Tiger 1200 XRT and XCA 2018: ready for the road adventure - Test Tiger 1200 XRT and XCA - Page 1: Static

But a major consideration puts this (over) weight into perspective: this very carefully manufactured motorcycle has an incredibly rich endowment of standard equipment, starting with its unveiled in 2016. A practical aspect hitherto reserved for road cars: enough to compensate the discreet withdrawal of the Triumph range ?

In addition to this "electric window", there are also hand guards, a central stand, a shoe, angled valves (on the XR range), a saddle adjustable to two heights without tools, 12V and USB sockets, a speed regulator , a luggage rack, passenger handles or suitcase supports. As much equipment present on the base Tiger (XR with sticks and XCX with spokes) while they are often optional with the rivals … especially the one from across the Rhine !

Trail - Test Triumph Tiger 1200 XRT and XCA 2018: ready for the road adventure - Test Tiger 1200 XRT and XCA - Page 1: Static

Add to that adjustable WP suspensions, adjustable ABS and traction control, driving modes, as well as a trunk with enough capacity to slip in a good size lock and you have a very well stocked motorcycle in terms of its price: from € 15,900 for the XR to € 19,950 for the luxurious XRT and up to € 21,150 for the XCA, the "full options" model with an adventurous profile (see the equipment summary tables in).

On the top-of-the-range Tigers tested here – XRT with sticks and XCA with spokes – are also added a heated grips and saddles, a bidirectional shifter, electronically controlled suspensions, adaptive directional lighting, a hill start assistant as well as a splendid Arrow silencer in titanium with carbon outlet. What to boost their vocalizations in addition to lightening them by an additional 2.1 kg !

  • MNC Live :

A six-axis inertial unit also refines the action of the ABS and traction control according to the angle taken by the motorcycle, while a transponder remote control eliminates the need for a key to start and the Commodos are backlit (all technical details in). In short, it’s Byzantium: all that’s missing is the air conditioning and a sunroof, some may say ironically. !

Still, the plumage is up to the ramage, because the beautiful pieces abound: check the side scoops with a "Triumph" badge on a chrome background, the neat surface treatments, the Brembo radial calipers, the impeccable welds of the trellis frame, now LED lighting or a clear view of the rear rim thanks to the cardan transmission. Obviously, the Tiger is a "Premium" motorcycle, built to last..

Trail - Test Triumph Tiger 1200 XRT and XCA 2018: ready for the road adventure - Test Tiger 1200 XRT and XCA - Page 1: Static

Another change, internal this one: its three-cylinder in-line gains two horses (from 139 to 141 ch), but loses a unit of torque (from 123 to 122 Nm). Not really dramatic in view of the enviable filling of this engine, some moving parts of which are also considerably lighter (-2.1 kg on the flywheel and -500 g on the camshaft).

Even if the changes are not very visible on the outside, for Triumph the sum of changes is such that it deserves to be underlined: this is why the "Explorer" suffix used since 2012 has disappeared. The maxi-trail is now limited to the name "Tiger 1200", also more consistent in a logic of range: on one side the "small" Tiger 800, on the other the "big" Tiger 1200.

Continuation in our dynamic part in !

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