Top test Triumph Tiger

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Top test Triumph Tiger

Top test Triumph Tiger

The tiger is loose

Now eat away, the tiger. Escape from the cage and tank, the sleek big cat goes on the hunt for long-legged rubber cows and defenseless Varaderos. Whether the attack succeeds?

E.r had gotten fat, the tiger. And tame. Too tame to defend against the competition. Well, the big cat from Hinkley has been on the road for a while. Thirteen years ago, Triumph sent the striking three-cylinder as a 258 kilogram large enduro, type designation Tiger 900, with 85 hp on its journey. A nice contribution for the touring group, but it has not been able to convince completely in any expansion stage over the years.

The new Tiger, which costs € 10,290 and will be delivered with ABS in the spring for an additional cost of € 900, is supposed to fix this breakdown. According to the brochure, it has 114 hp and weighs 229 kilograms on the MOTORRAD scales, the hunter has a good chance. Especially since it packs one more thing on the MOTORRAD test bench: 117 hp on the clutch and a solid 94 Newton meters of torque is what the 1050 cubic centimeter triple delivers in real life.

And otherwise? Besides power and lightweight construction? In order to satisfy the curiosity, we use climate change and drive the tiger through the MOTORRAD test area in mid-November with a mild fifteen degrees and refreshing sunshine. In addition to the strictly accurate test work, a heavenly pleasure, because not only the weather, but also the tiger plays along. It starts with the absolutely reliable start-up procedure and ends when the nocturnal big cat lights the way for the late returnee with a bright, widely scattered light cone.

In between there are hundreds of kilometers of country roads, followed by merciless braking and handling tests and, above all, the realization that Triumph is on the right track with the concept of the new tiger. Away from the pseudo-enduro, towards the all-rounder with wide tires. Because who, please, is really torturing their way through the undergrowth with 250 kilogram horses? The mere fact that many big enduro pilots convert to thoroughbred road tires is enough proof. So why not mount crisp, wide 17-inch wheels instead of the half-baked wire-spoke wheels?

Suddenly thick fog hangs in the valley. So fat that the visor and windshield are soaking wet. You feel your way through the curves on wet asphalt, but the Tiger feels right at home on the Michelin Pilot Road with its successful “S” specification. Great feedback from the chassis, which finds the line by itself without much effort or corrections, and a velvety motor with similar load changes, make the balance over bitumen patches and wet cow dung patties child’s play.

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Top test Triumph Tiger

Top test Triumph Tiger
The tiger is loose

Curviest curves south of the Danube


Artist

Triumph Tiger in action.

The curves and hairpin bends wind steeply from the Deggenhausertal onto the
Ranges north of the fog-shrouded Lake Constance to the “highest”. This mountain is, as it is called: quite high, exactly 833 meters. The soup tears open like a stage curtain within a few seconds: azure blue sky, lush green meadows, an indescribable view of the Swiss Alps and absolutely dry roads with the most winding curves south of the Danube. Take a deep breath before the accursed winter arrives, soak up the warmth of the blazing sun so that you can survive the next few months without any serious withdrawal symptoms. And then: Gaaaaaaas. And with gas, there’s something going on with the Tiger. Though
Triumph dispenses with the wild scribbling of a Benelli TnT, but instead the three-cylinder makes huge jaws between 3500 and 7500 revolutions and never breaks. Here you buy the torque in the mega-large family package, so to speak. It’s nice that the shift foot can rest on the torques, because the gnarled gear is a sore point. Occasionally you get stuck between second and third gear, then idling is refused, and sometimes quick gear changes are accompanied acoustically. To save my honor, however, it should be noted that the circuit improved noticeably with increasing mileage.

Threaded onto the autobahn, the Tiger marches with a grumpy Porsche sound and accompanied by subtle vibrations undeterred through the wide speed range, pushing and pushing and pushing. Until the wind at Tacho 240 puts an end to it. Despite the wide handlebars, the Triumph moves like a dowel and without the typical enduro pendulum. Bumps, bridge heels, longitudinal grooves ?? nothing to be alarmed about.

Although the wind protection on the Tiger is decent, fine, high-frequency bits of wind shake the helmet at over 180 km / h, which dilutes the view. But do we even want that? Full throttle straight ahead? In addition, there is the ICE and, above all, too many wonderful bends to lap.

They are definitely worth it with the tiger. Holla, how he throws himself into the corners. Handling, turning behavior, lean angle whiz ?? it is already at a supersport level. The English only opted for a lot of comfort and a very soft spring on the central spring strut. Despite the unusually large lever progression of around 30 percent (currently hardly more than ten are common), the rear sags quite a bit when changing lean angles, but the Tiger remains surprisingly stable on the track. Nevertheless: a higher spring rate would not be wrong. And so
you manage to preload the spring a long way, even in solo mode, which the Triumph acknowledges with better steering precision and tightly curled curves. And that despite the 120 and 180 millimeter wide tires.

Maximum comfort and at the same time highly active driving

The Triumph trumps in terms of driving dynamics.

On the other hand, the fork, where everything fits, is great. Spring stiffness when braking hard, creamy damping with a wide adjustment range and solid stability and feedback, without the comfort going to the dogs.
If you take the not entirely successful rear spring system, the Tiger seduces even the most serious tourist into outrageous behavior. As comfortably as possible and at the same time extremely active, you can find yourself drifting cleanly before the first tight bend. Supermoto, ick hear ?? trot you. The rider in a hurry has to replace the non-existent anti-hopping clutch manually with a slight pull on the clutch lever, because otherwise the rear wheel will hop over the asphalt with a loud punch when braking hard. The wish for Hinkley: In 2008 we would like a part like this as standard.

And while we’re at the point of criticizing, the brake pads that are too blunt must also be discussed. Sure, no tourist would want the digital hammer brakes on a racing machine, but if you have to feel your way to an undefined pressure point on a wet and rainy road, for example, before the brake noticeably engages, you have wasted important meters. That really doesn’t have to be the case with the radially screwed high-tech brake calipers. If the pads are heated up by several braking maneuvers, the controllability and effectiveness improve significantly. The fact that the brake tests do not achieve more than average values ​​is due to the fact that the Tiger lifts the rear wheel very early when the brakes are applied hard, similar to a super sports car. An ABS version will be available in spring, the surcharge for the anti-lock device is 900 euros.

A look at all the other values ​​in the MOTORRAD test drive shows that the new Triumph is opening a new barrel in the segment of travel »enduros«. In terms of maneuverability, the Tiger sweeps through the fast slalom in 20.3 seconds (BMW R 1200 GS: 21.2 seconds), and also comes out on top in the test in the 46-meter circular path with an incredible 10.4 seconds and 54.2 km / h (BMW R 1200 GS 10.9 seconds and 50.3 km / h) clearly outperforms the competition and is almost in line with the super athletes or sports naked. This advantage is primarily due to the 17-inch road tires and the fact that Triumph leaves out the enduro issue, subordinating coordination and direction to pure road use. In clear words: When it comes to handling, cornering behavior and driving dynamics, the Tiger doesn’t just give its competitors legs? he just eats them up. And all of them, with skin and hair. Including the Bavarian top dog BMW R 1200 GS, which the MOTORRAD test team ran as a reference machine in parallel in all driving tests.

The brilliant results from the top test course are confirmed on the country road and put the BMW in dire straits. Even when loaded with a pillion passenger, the Triumph does not buckle and defies the travel boxer. Only the front passenger has the worse cards on the somewhat tight and sloping bench.

Similar to the BMW, even the longest ride on the Triumph is a relaxed experience. Gentle load changes, a solid torque plateau, high driving comfort and practical equipment fully meet the demands of a travel machine. It’s just a shame that the sunny autumn days are so damn short. Too short for the tiger, too short for the trainer. Which is why we just hang on for a few days. Because there is still no sign of winter far and wide.

Technical specifications

engine
Water-cooled three-cylinder four-stroke in-line engine, a balancer shaft, two overhead, chain-driven camshafts, four valves per cylinder, bucket tappets, wet sump lubrication, injection Ø 46 mm, regulated catalytic converter with secondary air system, 480 W alternator, 12 V / 12 Ah battery, mechanically operated multiple discs – Oil bath clutch, six-speed gearbox, X-ring chain.

Bore x stroke 79.0 x 71.4 mm

Displacement 1050 cm3

Compression ratio 12: 1
rated capacity
84.0 kW (114 hp) at 9400 rpm

Max. Torque 100 Nm at 6250 rpm

Pollutant values ​​(homologation) in g / km
Euro 3 CO 1.542 / HC 0.162 / NOx 0.074

landing gear
Bridge frame made of aluminum, upside-down fork, Ø 43 mm, adjustable spring base, rebound and compression damping, two-arm swing arm made of aluminum, central spring strut with lever system, adjustable spring base and rebound damping, double disc brake at the front, Ø 320 mm, four-piston fixed calipers, disc brake at the rear, Ø 255 mm, double-piston floating caliper.

Cast aluminum wheels 3.50 x 17; 5.50 x 17

Tires 120/70 ZR 17; 180/55 ZR 17

Tires in the test Michelin Pilot Road, “S”

mass and weight
Wheelbase 1510 mm, steering head angle 66.8 degrees, caster 88 mm, spring travel f / h 150 /
150 mm, permissible total weight 428 kg, tank capacity / reserve 20.0 / 4.5 liters.

Service data
Service intervals every 10000 km

Oil and filter change every 10000 km
Engine oil SAE 10 W 40/15 W 40

Spark plugs NGK CR9EK

Idle speed 1100 ± 100 / min

Tire pressure solo (with pillion passenger)

front / rear 2.3 / 2.9 (2.3 / 2.9) bar

Two year guarantee

Colors black, blue, yellow, white

Price 10,050 euros
(from January 1st: 10240 euros)

Additional costs 240 euros

Plus minus

plus
Clear display with range display and fuel consumption
Comprehensive range of luggage systems and accessories
Large steering angle
Adjustable clutch lever
minus
The rearview mirror is too close to the arms, resulting in a small field of vision
Front fender too short
Adjustment range on the brake lever too small
Rear spring preload without handwheel
Oil drain plug not countersunk in the oil pan
No compression adjustment on the shock absorber
Suspension settings
Fork: spring base 2 rings visible, pull-
stage damping (left stile) 11/2 turns, compression stage damping (right stile)
11/2 (3/4) turns open
Suspension strut: suspension base, last ring visible, rebound damping 11/2 (3/4) turns open.
(Values ​​in brackets for sporty driving
or pillion ride)

MOTORCYCLE measurements

Performance
Top speed * 220 km / h

acceleration
0 100 km / h 3.4 sec
0 ?? 140 km / h 5.5 sec
0 200 km / h 12.1 sec

Draft
60 ?? 100 km / h 3.5 sec
100 ?? 140 km / h 3.9 sec
140 180 km / h 5.6 sec

Speedometer deviation
Effective (display 50/100) 47/96 km / h

Tachometer deviation
Display red area 10000 / min
Effective 9000 rpm

Consumption in the test
at 130 km / h 5.2 l / 100 km
Country road 5.4 l / 100 km
Theor. Range 370 km
Fuel type super

mass and weight
L / W / H 2140/850/1350 mm
Seat height 850 mm
Handlebar height 1120 mm
Turning circle 5700 mm
Weight with a full tank 229 kg
Load 199 kg
Wheel load distribution f / r 51/49%
Driving dynamics 1
Brake measurement
Braking distance from 100 km / h 41.8 m
Average braking deceleration 9.2 m / s2
Note: When hot, the blunt brake pads are satisfied with less manual force. At the rear, the Tiger lifts off and therefore demands a correction of the braking force.

Handling course I (fast slalom)
Lap time 20.3 sec
vmax at the measuring point 103.7 km / h
Comment: Due to the soft rear suspension, too much movement comes into play, which prevents even better values ​​and higher speed.

Handling course II (slow slalom)
Lap time 28.3 sec
vmax at the measuring point 57.0 km / h
Comment: With little steering force and
With a fine steering precision, the Tiger whistles quickly through the S-curves, gently grinding with the notches. The tight turning point is child’s play thanks to the soft load changes and the active seating position.

Orbit Ø 46 meters
Lap time 10.4 sec
vmax at the measuring point 54.2 km / h
Comment: The Triumph is extremely stable, safe and has a good grip. The fork and shock absorber effectively dampen the transverse grooves in full inclined position.

Performance chart

The 1050 engine has over 90 Newton meters of torque between 3500 and 9000 rpm. The dent between 5000 and 6000 rpm is not noticeable when driving. The gear diagram clearly shows that the spread from fifth to sixth gear is significantly greater than that from fourth to fifth gear. This gentle gear, technical jargon overdrive, lowers engine speed and consumption not only when driving on the motorway.

Delay diagram

The high center of gravity, the front-wheel-oriented seating position and weight distribution allow the rear wheel to lift off quickly, the driver then has to react by briefly releasing the brake (points 1 and 2).

Conclusion

Tailored to the wishes of the travel group and seasoned with a sporty note, the Triumph meets the competition at eye level. The fact that the English are foregoing any enduro properties and upgrading their roadworthiness is a logical step. However, it instigates poaching in their own territory, keyword Triumph Sprint ST.

Comment engine

With consistently good, in the segment of large touring enduros even absolute top performance, especially when pulling through, and an otherwise flawless engine, the Tiger rakes in points. The long sixth gear as overdrive fits the touring concept. The hooked gearbox spoils the brilliant debut of the new Triumph.

Comment chassis

Triumph also makes a big impact in this division. It scores particularly well when it comes to criteria relevant to driving dynamics such as handiness and steering precision. Only the softly tuned shock absorber costs a few points.

Comment security

In terms of brake metering, on the one hand the blunt pads interfere, on the other hand the early lifting of the rear wheel prevents better deceleration values. The Tiger collects plus points for the decent lean angle that is adapted to road tires. Only minimal attempts to hit the handlebars on rough roads and the low righting moment when braking in curves round off the positive result.

Comment everyday

For chain maintenance you would be happy about a standard main stand. A range of 370 kilometers and an impressive 199 kilograms payload should also suffice for the discerning tourist.

Comment comfort

The English were lucky when it came to ergonomics: the driver’s area is relaxed, has no rough edges and has good wind protection. Only the passenger has to complain.

Comment costs / environment

In terms of workmanship, the Triumph models are on par with the Japanese competitors. In terms of consumption, a light diet would not harm the three-cylinder. The price is tightly calculated and even remains below the previous model.

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