Trail – Tiger Explorer Trial: Triumph explores the trails of success! – Triumph ventures on the beaten track

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Tiger Explorer trial: Triumph explores the tracks of success !

Trail - Tiger Explorer Trial: Triumph explores the trails of success! - Triumph ventures on the beaten track

Take a 1215 cc three-cylinder, modern and full at all speeds. Insert it into a cycle part that is as healthy as it is comfortable: you get the excellent base around which Triumph has built a convincing maxitrail, the Tiger Explorer. Test.

Triumph ventures off the beaten track

Popularized and dominated by the BMW R1200 GS (read in particular our), the category of maxi trails is in fashion. In full effervescence even, since no less than three completely new motorcycles invest this year this new Eldorado:, and Triumph Tiger Explorer !

Dislodging the Tiger 1050 – which remains in the catalog – from the top of the range, this Explorer 1200 completes a rather extensive offer to the extent that Triumph has recently offered the successful ones. No doubt, at Triumph, the trail is believed !

And this interest does not date from yesterday, since the English managers told us that the Tiger Explorer project started in July … 2006! In other words, a relatively long gestation period in the motorcycle industry, even for a "small" manufacturer like Triumph which sells "only" 50,000 motorcycles per year worldwide..

On the other hand, that the British brand has taken the time to carefully mature its big trail-GT is ultimately quite logical, even relevant: given the high requirements of the category and the recognized achievement of some of its references (zuivez mein look!), offering a perfectible product is like shooting yourself in the boot. And in these times of crisis, a commercial failure is as feared by motorcycle manufacturers as technical control is by French bikers….

Suddenly, Triumph put the package on its Tiger Explorer. To design it, the engineers really started from a blank sheet of paper, both in terms of the engine and in terms of the chassis or equipment. Those who thought the Explorer was just a "rehash" of the Tiger 800s with a (big) handful of extra kilos and cubic centimeters are therefore wrong. !

Update on electronics

The Explorer embeds a "Ride-By-Wire" electronic accelerator with two processors which ensures optimum throttle control according to the various parameters collected by the ECU, the "electronic brain" of the device (among others the engine speed, the gear engaged, the position of the handle, the intake air pressure and temperature). Used for the first time on the Yamaha R6, this system also reduces pollutant emissions.

On the Explorer, it works in direct connection with the anti-skating Triumph Traction Control series. Informed by the ABS sensors, this TTC intervenes on the injection or the ignition when it detects a difference in rotation speed between the front and the rear. By default, at startup it is set to its most intrusive level (1). To reduce its effects (level 2) or disconnect it (Off), enter the "Set Up" menu of the on-board computer using the controls placed on the left stalk. This menu also makes it possible to disconnect the ABS, to set the time or the measurement unit of the counter (miles or kilometers). Not very intuitive, the handling of the ABS and anti-slip functions can also only be done in neutral..

Finally, the Explorer is equipped with a "Cruise control" as standard. To activate this cruise control, all you have to do is press the round button located at the bottom of the right stalk, then keep the "Set / -" button pressed for 0.5 sec once the motorcycle has stabilized at the desired speed. The pilot then has the possibility of increasing or reducing the speed by pressing the "Set / +" and "Set / -" keys. For safety, the system is deactivated as soon as you touch the brakes or the clutch.

In the first place, the Tiger Explorer’s engine is entirely new: according to the English engine manufacturers, this 1215 cc in-line three-cylinder – the same one that will equip the a priori would share almost no room with the 1050 cc block of the Tiger 1050, the Speed ​​Triple or the Sprint GT.

Powerful (137 hp at 9000 rpm) and torquey (121 Nm of torque at 6400 rpm), this new "3-legged" is innovative on several points. Equipped with a robust 950 W alternator, it adopts for the first time on a Triumph an oil-water exchanger which lowers the temperature of the lubricant, and thus improves its efficiency..

A beneficial improvement in the fuel efficiency of the engine – and therefore in the control of its pollutant emissions -, but also in its reliability. As a result, the service intervals go down to 16,000 km: very good job, Mister Triumph !

Modern, this three-cylinder with dimensions of 85 mm of bore and 71.4 mm of stroke also embeds an electronic accelerator of the type "Ride-by-Wire" (to read box opposite) and transmits its power to the rear tire of 150 / 70/17 via an acatene transmission by shaft and cardan shafts.

Inserted by shoehorn into a tubular steel trellis frame with flawless welds, this rather tall and narrow engine (for a 1200 cc) immediately catches the eye. Triumph engineers have therefore taken care of its visual aspect: the wires and hoses are perfectly integrated, the chrome hardware exudes quality and its two-tone color (black and gray) contrasts nicely with the usual dark plain treatment, avoiding the "mass" effect common to large engines.

Good news never comes alone, this new three-cylinder is as pleasant to watch as to listen to sing: although a bit choked by the enormous silencer placed in the high position, the "Triple" awakens in a delightful hoarse rumbling, which turns to purr with low accents at the slightest rotation of the throttle control, ultra-precise.

As soon as the speed increases, the tone changes: the vocals become more feline and more metallic, and are accompanied by the "whistle" common to all Triumphs. When the gas is cut off, small cracklings escape from the exhaust, strong enough to bring the mechanics to life without the phenomenon becoming overwhelming over the long term..

In short, this engine begins to seduce from the first stroke of the starter, and illuminates rather icy test conditions. Discovered in Granada, in the south of Spain, the Tiger Explorer placed at our disposal indeed displays "-2 ° C" on its very readable on-board console (read the "instrumentation" part of our technical sheet on the following pages) , while the optional heated saddles – the intensity of which is adjustable independently by the rider and the passenger – take care of melting the thin film of ice covering them !

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