Triumph Tiger Tramontana

5th October 2017

Panafrica Rally | David & Felipe Lopez | 800XC

◄PREVIOUS STORY                     NEXT STORY►

It's been dubbed "The Road into Hell", and with 40-degrees centigrade temperatures, baking sand, thousands of square miles of hostile desert, a growing terrorist threat and a lot of headshaking in the UK Foreign Office, the 1,242 mile, 5-day Panafrica Rally across Eastern Morocco isn't exactly everyone's idea of a fun excursion. But that didn't stop Triumph Motorcycles fielding a highly modified Tiger 800XC.

Developed over six months, a team of Triumph experts, we hear, cobbled together this motorcycle, the features of which include longer suspension travel, revised body panels, improved guards, a modified sub-frame, lightweight headlights, a custom screen and dozens of other, more subtle mods to bring the weight inboard and rebalance the riding package. There's no word on whether Triumph is likely to produce this bike for general sale. But no doubt a few of the modification will filter down to future road models. This year's Panafrica Rally was held on 23rd and 30th September 2017.

Brothers David and Felipe Lopez vied to win the right to pilot this motorcycle. For months, the pair honed their skills and ate a lot of dust riding a brace of Triumph Tigers. Finally, Felipe won the fraternal duel and went forward to Morocco. That's the story, anyway.

And what does Tramontana mean? Well it's the north wind which blows across the Pyrenees into Spain. That's where the Lopez boys are from.

Meanwhile Joan Pedrero, astride a Sherco, was the overall winner of this year's Panafrica Rally. But where was the Triumph Tiger? The last time we checked, Felipe Lopez was in 24th place, or last place, at the end of Stage Three. So maybe next year, huh?

www.triumphmotorcycles.com

◄PREVIOUS STORY                     NEXT STORY►