Triumph Tiger 800XCx

This entry is part 10 of 22 in the series Adventure Rider Issue #10

Go anywhere. Do anything.

Triumph says it’s made ‘refinements’ to the Tiger 800. We think the bike’s had huge improvements – and it was already a great adventurer. Now it’s a-fricken-mazing.

We’ve loved the Tiger 800 since it was released in 2011.

It didn’t have any real faults, it was fast, agile, and a boy racer’s screaming delight on a twisting mountain road. But Triumph hasn’t rested on its laurels. For 2015 there are some considerable changes to the 800 Tiger.

Two good

Triumph offers two Tigers, the XR tourer and the XC off-roader. Also, each variant has a base model – the XR and XC – but there’s now an up-specced option, the XRx and the XCx. The additional features on the X models are significant, and, it seems to us, very keenly priced.

If you were to take an XC and add the features of the XCx, we doubt it could be done for anything like the price Triumph is asking.

Goodies

We’re riding the XCx for this issue, so we’ll leave the base model for another day Here’s a rundown of the X upgrades:

• Three selectable riding modes – Road, Off-Road, Programmable Rider
• Four selectable throttle settings – Rain, Road, Sport, Off-Road
• Three selectable traction control settings – Road, Off-Road, Off
• Three selectable ABS settings – Road, Off-Road, Off
• Cruise control
• Engine protection bars
• Advanced trip computer
• Auto-cancel indicators
• Centrestand
• Handguards
• Aluminium sump guard
• Additional 12-volt power socket

As we wandered wistfully through the spec sheet, there were a few things that caught our attention. Compared to the model we rode for issue #06, the new bike is five kilos heavier – no doubt a result of all the new gear – has its capacity increased by a single cubic centime-tre, the ’bars are five millimetres narrower, and of course there’s additional electronics and WP suspension.

The ride-by-wire throttle and cruise control were the first things to hit us in the eye of the Tiger, but there’s a stack of very high-tech and up-market features. Here’s a rundown of the ones we haven’t already mentioned from the supplied media material:

• Coded key immobiliser
• Switchable ABS as standard
• Adjustable handlebar position and rider seat height
• Hazard light switch on instrument panel
• Adjustable clutch and brake levers
• Radiator guard

That’s a hefty package of all-good gear.

In addition to those features, our test bike had a Touratech kit to raise the front guard, and several of the media bikes had Arrow pipes.

The Tiger sits well and truly in the ranks of the high-end bikes. We love it!

Driven

From a riding point of view, Triumph is claiming an increased fuel efficiency of 17 per cent, the new WP suspension is fully adjustable, and of course there’s the electronic rider aids.

As we climbed on board the new Tiger the first impression was the feeling the bike was slimmer around the front than the previous model, and that the switchblocks and gauges seemed a little busier than we remembered.

In fact the plastics protecting the tank and front end are slimmer, but so is the motor, thanks to a slightly smaller alternator. The seat is the same comfortable, long-distance-ready bum bucket, and the ’bars have a new shape we liked a lot.

A touch of the button had the restrained snarl of that fabulous three-cylinder motor purring aggressively, and we set ourselves to slingshot off into glory…only to find the traction control in the ‘Road’ setting is quite aggressive and doesn’t allow much dirt slingshotting. A quick change to the off-road setting – done on the fly – and we were well on our way. The familiar joy of the sharp throttle response and very linear torque and power delivery make this motor an absolute joy to roost around dirt roads.

It’ll lug along through sand and mud, or scorch along with everything screaming it’s brains out at the redline, and the motor seems to be always giving.

It’s superb.

Tough stuff

We’ve commented a few times on how Triumph seemed to encourage the media to go mental on the Tiger when it was first released. The media did too. The result was a big bunch of hard-to-impress media types coming away with a very high opinion of the bike.

The same thing happened with the XCx.

Some of the more outrageous things you’ll see in photographs around the place were the suggestion of the Triumph guys, and it all peaked with a run along Stockton Beach – on a 220kg adventure bike with used 50/50 tyres…

Holy mother of Dog!

The bikes did it easy. Not just the sand, but the whole ridiculous, extreme thrashing handed out by the journalists was fuss-free.

Just to sum up what we found: On the road? Superb. On dirt trails? Fantastic. In the shitty loose sand? Incredible.

Top gear

The Triumph guys set us up with really nice gear for this three-day ride, and we want to tell you about it because it was pretty damn good.

First up was the Triumph Navigator jacket.

It comes with a liner, but that’s only for the cold. The jacket itself is waterproof, well-vented and very comfortable. It had built-in, removable armour in the elbows, shoulders and back, stretchy bits right where we needed them, side adjustment zippers, and will zip up to the Triumph pants that go with it.

All for around $500. That’s a great price for a jacket as good as this one. We flanged it through the heat, rain,sand and mud, and it didn’t let us down.

Along with the jacket was a new Bell MX9 helmet.

For a helmet priced below $250, we couldn’t believe how light and comfortable it was, and how well-made it seemed to be.

Good stuff!

Technically speaking

We’re glossing over a great deal here because we’re short of space, but we want to make sure we get the message across about how capable and versatile this bike is.

Let’s quickly look at the new features.

The suspension is really good. We don’t know that it could be a lot better for the bike’s intended purpose. It can be tuned for individuals to improve its performance for sure, but straight off the showroom floor it’s good. We rode the bike on the tar, over some rocky ground for quite a distance, pancaked it off erosion mounds and never moved a clicker from the factory settings. We didn’t see any-one else playing with the suspension either.The rider modes are really interesting.

We’re not big fans of electronic aids, but they’re getting so good they can’t be ignored.

The preset road configuration gave an aggressive traction control and ABS set-up, as you’d expect. The traction control is so aggressive we thought we’d run out of fuel on some dirt corrugations, but it was the traction control trying to regulate the rear wheel as it bounced. It works fine on the road and is brilliant in the wet.

The Off-Road preset was really good. The traction control backs off considerably and the ABS applies to the front wheel only, so that’s got to be the setting for about 95 per cent of adventure riders. Finally there’s a ‘Rider’ setting which allows a customised mix of all the presets on offer, and that’s where we ended up. Although it allows turning off all the electronic rider aids, we liked the Off-Road ABS setting so we went with it. We also had the traction control off, and because the XCx allows a choice of throttle response we opted for the ‘Road’ setting.

‘Throttle response’ isn’t a great way of saying what happens. The Tiger allows the rider to choose how far he wants to twist the throttle to get the engine responding. It’s like being able to choose between a short-pull and regular throttle on a carby bike, but in this case it’s at the touch of a button.

It’s very effective, too. Ride-by-wire, eh? Awesome.

Love it

One touch of the starter button on the Tiger and we were instantly transported to our Happy Place – where bitumen is always curving tightly around mountainsides, tree-lined trails are loamy and wide, and deserts beckon bikes that can sit on speeds in excess of 150kph in comfort.

That’s how the Tiger has always made us feel. But now it’s a wet dream on wheels. If you’re a capable rider who can make the rider aids work for you, the XCx is going to have you cutting stinging times and conquering mountains – figuratively and literally.

If you love the aggression of an in-line mutli-cylinder engine but want to be confident you can tackle the terrain no matter what gets thrown at you, the Tiger XCx should be very high on your shopping list.

And if you’re looking for a bike that will help you along a little as your skills improve, this could be a good choice.

More to come

We’re fretting because there’s so much we want to tell you about this bike, but we just don’t have room this issue. The good news is the folks at Triumph have parked an XCx in the Adventure Rider Magazine shed for a while, so we’ll be able to tell you more over the next few issues.

For now, go ride one at your Triumph dealer. You’ll straight away see why we’re so excited.

While you’re doing that, we’ll start prepping this bike for ADVX, and you know what? It’s ready as it comes off the dealer floor. All we’re going to do is a few comfort changes and organise to carry some extra fuel.

The Tiger is that good.

Triumph 800XCx Tiger
Web: www.triumphmotorcycles.com.au. Rec retail (with ABS) $17,690 plus ORC

Engine type: Liquid-cooled, 12-valve, DOHC, in-line three-cylinder
Displacement: 800cc
Bore/stroke: 74.05mm x 61.94mm
Rated output: 95PS (93.6hp) at 9300rpm
Maximum torque: 79Nm at 7850rpm
System: Multipoint sequential electronic fuel injection
Exhaust: Stainless steel 3-into-1, high-level stainless steel silencer
Gearbox: Six-speed
Final drive: O-ring chain
Clutch: Wet, multi-plate
Oil capacity: 3.7 litres
Starter: Electric
Fuel tank capacity: 19 litres
Transmission: Six-speed
Frame: Tubular steel trellis
Swingarm: Twin-sided, cast aluminium alloy Front suspension: WP 45mm upside-down forks, 220mm travel, adjustable rebound and compression damping
Rear suspension: WP monoshock with remote oil reservoir, hydraulically adjustable preload, rebound damping adjustment, 215mm travel
Front wheel: 36-spoke 21 x 2.5 inch, aluminium rim
Rear wheel: 32-spoke 17 x 4.25 inch, aluminium rim
Length: 2215mm
Width (handlebars): 851mm
Height (without mirrors): 1390mm
Seat height: 840mm/860mm (adjustable)
Wheelbase: 1545mm
Brakes front: Twin 308mm floating discs. Nissin twin-piston floating calipers, switchable ABS
Brakes rear: Single 255mm disc. Nissin single-piston floating caliper, Switchable ABS
Wet weight: 221kg
Dry weight: 196kg