Trail – Triumph Tiger 800 XCx test: Keep calm and ride on – Happiness is in eXCès x?

Posted on by admin

Triumph Tiger 800 XCx test: Keep calm and ride on

Trail - Triumph Tiger 800 XCx test: Keep calm and ride on - Happiness is in eXCès x?

After having tested and approved the road and high-end ” XRx ” version of the new Tiger 800 2015, Site tried the more adventurous – but still premium – version of the Triumph trail midsize: the Tiger 800 XCx… First contact !

Happiness is in eXCès x ?

The steering, braking and traction are all very reassuring and make you want to go deeper and a little faster in the roads. The engine also greatly facilitates the task of the rider by showing itself available from idle, the "Off Road" setting making it even smoother..

In these driving conditions, there is no need to rush for pleasure: we engage second gear and let’s go! The Triple accelerates linearly – a real plus, in this case – and avoids playing too much with the box, very pleasant to use..

Detect the traps that stand in front of you – they were rare in our case, phew! -, anticipating the reactions of the motorcycle according to the surfaces, testing the grip of each of the wheels are all small challenges that it is pleasant to take up on the back of this Tigress.

Off-road experts will be delighted to learn that the new WP brand suspensions offer the same travel as previous Showa: 220 mm at the front and 215 at the rear, enough to have fun in rough terrain..

In addition, the fork has small knobs at the top of the tubes, very practical for varying rebound and compression. The shock absorber is adjustable in preload and rebound, "but it also affects the compression"assures us the development pilot David Lopez.

"I use this motorbike on a daily basis because to go to work, I can go through small paths like these for about fifteen kilometers", we are annoyed by the in-house tester during a photo break at the top of a hill..

From the superb point of view, Site starts playing with the bike again, but it suddenly becomes less funny: it becomes oddly impossible to lock the rear wheel on small descents and make it skid on climbs. !

By insisting heavily on the throttle, the engine seems to choke and the acceleration is less marked … "Please note, Road mode is automatically re-engaged when the ignition is switched on again. !", tells us Mister Welsch. Phew! By switching back to" Off Road "mode, the Tiger is frolicking again more happily.

Easy to lead on – nice – small paths, the Tiger 800 XCx weighs 6 kg more on the scale than its predecessor (221 kg against 215): raising it in the event of a fall promises to be a little harder … but MNC admits not having tested !

This weight gain can be partially forgiven by the fact that the XCx comes as standard, like its XRx counterpart, a central stand essential to maintain the chain which acts as the final transmission..

Fans of large escapes would no doubt have appreciated a larger tank (19 liters) … But according to the clever calculations of Triumph engineers, thanks to the reduced consumption of the 800 cc Triple, the autonomy of the "little tomcat" would improve by 80 km (i.e. 435 km maximum).

Whether off-road or on the road, the Tiger 800 XCx makes it possible to envision long journeys. Vibration-free – those perceptible in the large handlebars are absolutely not annoying – the bike has a welcoming saddle, even when the rider is standing, his knees pressed against the tank the end caps of the saddle, precisely.

Without their rubber coating for our mixed driving, the footrests guarantee both grip and comfort. The pilot’s legs, even very long, are not bent at all and are not likely to tire.

During our road loop of approximately 180 km, the Tiger 800 XCx itself proved to be very "enduring": 24 hours after having pushed the road version of the Tiger 800 to its limits, the journalists were not tender with the trail version !

Impeccable off-road because offering in particular a very good feeling to the lever on gravel descents, the front brake offers enough bite and power to make the bike a little blurry during heavy braking on asphalt.

The fork sinks gradually, but the front end is less precise than that of the XRx. Trapper braking is therefore not recommended on the XCx. There is also no need to crash hard at the sight of a bump or a hole: the WP absorb them wonderfully well !

Even in the curves approached full angle, the connections, roots or channels have no effect on the comfort and the behavior of the motorcycle. On this specific point, the XC is a bit better than the XR because it is less responsive and more stable..

The original Bridgestones may well be more "off-road" typed than the Pirelli mounted on the XR, the small tires of the XC cling devilishly to the road: thanks to them we can keep up an unsuspected pace … and shameful !

The rear tire and the shock absorber take very well the 79 Nm of maximum torque that the Triple develops at 7,850 rpm and even accept without sagging too much to transmit the 95 horsepower obtained above 9,000 rpm.

As in off-roading, the engine shines with its elasticity: thanks to it, the Tiger leaps out of bends, whether the gear engaged indicator shows a 2, a 3 or even a 4. On the two upper gears, the revivals do not. are not bumpy but may lack pep.

As a duo and loaded, we can imagine that the pilot of the Tiger 800 will have no other choice but to resort to the – fast and precise – gearbox to quickly overtake a car, or to follow a comrade perched on a " big "Tiger 1200 Explorer !

After an afternoon of – trying to – follow Julien Welsh on the beautiful roads of Ronda, MNC notes that the Tiger XC is more physical to take on the small road than the Tiger XR. At the end of this second day of testing, we preferred to take a good-bath-which-feels-good-rather than a quick-shower: this is a sign that never fails. !

However, in "normal" use and in a state of mind that is more for a ride than an arsenal, the pilot of the Tiger 800 XCx will not end his days broken. Stalled – with the regulator! – at 120 km / h on a fast track, MNC notes that the bubble (not adjustable) isolates the head and shoulders from the wind.

Only the ears will tire from the throbbing whistle of the Triple. The thighs, on the other hand, should no longer be abundantly heated by the engine: "the new radiator scoops divert the air to the outside", we are promised at Triumph. A point to check next summer…

Loaded with electronics, the new Tiger 800 (all versions combined) also avoids, thanks to its TTC – finely calibrated – to hurt yourself by stupidly losing the rear on a soggy white strip or a more vicious puddle of diesel … appreciable security for commuting in town.

The "Off Road" driving mode (reserved for the "x" versions) will be much appreciated during walks in the "countryside": more fun than the "Road" mode activated by default on the XCx (and unique mode for the XC "short"), it remains safe for those who do not dare to disconnect the ABS and the TTC.

But this debauchery of technology comes at a cost: 12,590 € for the Tiger 800 XCx, or 1,200 euros more than the 2015 XC version without driving modes, center stand, hand guards, engine guard, etc. And 2600 euros less than the Tiger 1200 Explorer, weaker in every sense of the word.

Related articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *