Triumph Tiger 800

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Triumph Tiger 800 review & road test

Triumph Tiger 800 launch

Tiger 800 engine

Riding & handling

The Triumph Tiger XC

Second generation Tiger 800

Conclusion

2010 Tiger specifications

2015 Tiger specifications

Triumph Tiger
800 launch

The Tiger 800 was launched in 2010 and marked a significant change for Triumph Motorcycles. Before this bike came along, Hinckley Triumph was carving its own peculiar niche with its distinctive 900, 955i and 1050 range of pseudo off-roaders; we're talking about bikes that talked the talk, but couldn't really walk to the walk.

Not that there was anything wrong with these big cats. We've ridden them all, and we liked them plenty (a little top heaviness and a hint of blandness notwithstanding).

And it's not that the 2010 Tiger 800 is half as dirty as it would like to be, either. As with the 900, 955i and 1050 Tigers, the 800 is most definitely a road bike built for high speed touring, a machine capable of effortlessly knocking down the two-up miles complete with hard  or soft luggage, plus whatever travelling accessories you care to bolt on.

That said, there's no doubt that the 800 is far more competent on the dirt than any of its forebears, and the XC version, with its longer travel suspension, wider bars and 21-inch front wheels (as opposed to 19-inch on the standard 800) is an even more serious dirt devil.

Tiger 800 engine

But first the road bike. The engine is all new. Unsurprisingly, it's an in-line, four-stroke, liquid-cooled, DOHC, 4-valve-per-cylinder triple. If you're interested in mechanical anthropology, it shares some features with the earlier 675 Street Triple; actually, pretty much just the cylinder bore size (74mm) and the cylinder head which has been re-engineered for the 799cc Tiger 800 to provide very different power and torque more suited to the envisaged market requirements.

The longer 61.9mm stroke of the 800 (up from 52.3mm on the Street Triple) has something to with the way this engine feels. But the simple way to look at it is that it's a different engine with plenty of clear water between the two.

The motor sounds good and pulls well, even from around 30mph in top. The 6-speed gearbox is hardly worth a mention. It simply does what it's supposed to without deviation, repetition or hesitation (and if you understand that reference, you're probably more of a radio man than a TV potato). Triumph gearboxes are known to be slightly notchy at times, but this one was smooth all the way through.

The clutch is equally good. It's by no means the world's lightest. But it just does what it does without distraction. In fact, with this bike, Triumph is making it hard to say anything except good, great and excellent.

But it's worth mentioning that you sometimes need to feather the clutch a fair amount on tricky surfaces. Why? Because the Tiger 800 is fairly top-heavy and occasionally needs a more patient approach. It's never irritating. It's just one of the small crosses you have to bear with this exceptional motorcycle.

Riding & handling

It's not a lightweight bike either (as opposed to merely top-heavy). Not by a long way. The attractive (and very rigid) twin spar trellis frame is fabricated from steel tubing. The bike has a reasonably beefy 43mm Showa front fork and a heavy duty rear Showa monoshock, and the wheels might well be cast, but we're talking about cast aluminium and not cast magnesium.

So all up, you're looking at around 462lbs, wet. But for all that, the 800 is well-balanced, both side to side and front to back, and it's definitely more Twiggy than Mama Cass (and if you understand that reference, you've probably been around the block a few times and are probably due for another pill).

Braking is excellent, but we found the rear brake pedal a little awkwardly placed. That could be due more to the size and shape of our boots, or it could be that Triumph tucked it in a little too far and didn't dial in any adjustment (and it's not the first Hinckley Triumph with this malaise). ABS, incidentally, wasn't fitted as standard on the first-of-type bikes. That system cost an extra £600.

Handling is crisp and taut and needs very little rider input for everyday commuting and suchlike. And the bike doesn't need a lot of bullying either when you're cracking on and looking for your next roundabout thrill.

So okay, we didn't screw our example into the tarmac, but we had our moments out there, and there wasn't a single second that didn't inspire confidence.

But is that really what we want? Well maybe not. Some guys and girls prefer a little more edginess, a kind of controlled instability, like playing a tricky pinball machine unsure of when the PENALTY light and buzzer is going to kick in. So if that's what you want from your ride, go look elsewhere.

In any case, there can't be more than a handful of riders in a hundred who can reach, let alone exceed, the handling capabilities of this machine. However, go fit your favourite rubber and practice your moves for a bit and you'll soon be approaching new high-speed cornering territory (for a bike in this class, anyway).

The Triumph Tiger XC

The Tiger 800 XC is a slightly different beast, albeit reared in the same stable. The wheels are wire (which Triumph insists on calling "spoked"; almost all wheels are spoked, ain't they?). The front fork has a longer travel. A small BMW style beak is fitted (not that BMW was first with that appendage). And the XC has a more sit-up-and-beg seating position. It's taller than the standard 800. But if you like the XC looks whilst preferring other aspects of the standard bike, Triumph will happily flog you some upgrade bits.

Pillions are well catered for on either bike. They've both got a decent seat that allows a little fidgeting movement front and back, and there are sensible hand rails for increased security.

Hard and soft luggage is available, and while the hard styling doesn't exactly grab us, the boxes are reasonably capacious and will suit most tourers. However, a tank bag is also available, but that sits a little high for us.

The screens on both bikes are divisive. They're great. They're not great. They're noisy. They're quiet. They throw yards of air straight in your face. The aerodynamics are impressive. There's more turbulence than a hurricane. Mm, nice and smooth.

Just believe your own witness, or try one for yourself. That usually settles it.

A higher screen is optional.

Second generation
Tiger 800

The second generation Tiger 800s appeared in 2015. The big change was ride-by-wire throttle and traction control. We didn't have occasion to seriously question the competence of the traction thingy, except that you need to fool around for a long while to work out the best settings for the conditions you're in, and then you need to do it again when the weather changes. So okay, you can trundle along in a single setting and never touch the buttons. But what would be the point of paying for all the electronics if you're not going to exploit the system?

That's not to say you'll spend hours on it. But if you're the kind of guy or gal who's tired of pressing buttons and optimising everything from your web browser to the dishwasher, you'll need to find a quite day with an hour or two to spare.

The buttons aren't as intuitive as we'd like. You need to rehearse your moves a little. But that's true of pretty much any similarly equipped bike, or car, or TV remote.

Meanwhile, the throttle twist grip left us wanting. It's way too sensitive for us. Flex your fingers or move your hand a millimetre and you've wound another 1,000 revs on the crank. Maybe other riders have more control. And maybe it's just a question of laying down a lot more miles. But we feel it needs some kind of throttle damper; something adjustable. The trick might simply lie in fully understanding the traction control. And there's the rub. It adds complexity to what was once simple.

So okay, like baldness, we could live with it. But we don't particularly want either.

Conclusion

If the country was run anywhere near as efficiently and as competently as this Tiger 800, we'd all be a lot happier with our lots. It's one of those rare bikes that comes along and defies meaningful criticism. But importantly, it does it without being bland. Some riders will opt for the more powerful 1200 Tiger Explorer. The bigger Tiger certainly has more muscle if not necessarily sharper claws. However, the 800 is no pint-sized pussy cat. It roars and will take you and your significant other as far and as fast as you want in security, comfort, and style.

Full marks to Triumph.

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