Kiwi Rider Podcast 2022 | E28
In this week's show, Ray talked us through his insurance win, we have
Despite their size, Triumph's new Tiger 1200 range is quite accessible considering their heavyweight ADV classification. But Triumph clearly believed there was room for improvement and has taken a leaf out of Harley-Davidson's book by equipping the big cats with active ride height adjustment to drop seat height as the bike slows.
In Triumph's speak, they call the system "Active Preload Reduction", and it uses the Tiger's already impressive Showa semi-active suspension to achieve a lower seat height of 20mm when in use.
Importantly, Triumph isn't just making the handy new feature available on new bikes, with existing 2022 or newer Tiger 1200 owners set to get their bike's software updated at their next service to activate the feature.
For the GT, GT Pro and GT Explorer there are currently two seat height settings – 850mm and 870mm, while for the Rally Pro and Rally Explorer these are 875mm and 895mm.
By fitting the accessory low-seat option, owners are already able to lower the seat position by an additional 20mm, giving a lowest seat height of 830mm on the GT family and 855mm on the Rally family. However, the new Active Preload Reduction feature allows these seat heights to be reduced further. Depending on the combined weight of the rider, pillion and luggage this could lower the riding height by up to 20mm when the motorcycle comes to a standstill, offering the rider greater ease and confidence. New customers will be able to access this new minimum preload feature by simply pressing the ‘Home’ button on the switch cube for one second.
“The new Tiger 1200 range is already a global success, attracting new fans and increasing Triumph’s share of this highly competitive market, Triumph's Chief Product Officer Steve Sargent said. "This new feature can be enabled on the fly, lowering the centre of gravity at slower speeds, making it even more accessible, offering riders more confidence at slow speeds and better contact with the ground as they come to stop.”
The all-new Tiger 1200 was designed to be the world’s most capable, agile and manoeuvrable large-capacity adventure motorcycle, and the range includes the GT family, tailor made for the perfect road-focused adventure ride, and the Rally family, perfect for an all-terrain adventure. The Tiger 1200 GT Explorer with its 30 litre tank was even the bike of choice for Enduro World Champion Ivan Cervantes when he broke the record for riding the furthest in 24 hours on a motorcycle.
