Triumph Tiger 1200 | First Ride

I am a lot of things, but I am not one to turn down an opportunity to ride a brand new motorcycle. So when I was invited to the NZ launch of the brand new Triumph Tiger 1200, I had my flights booked within the hour.

Leaving home in Wellington around 4am, I was headed to Auckland to join the Kiwi Rider team. I was picked up from Auckland airport around 7:30am and we headed for Kumeu.

Walking into the venue, there were 4 stunning looking Triumphs on display to greet us. one of each model that Triumph NZ are bringing into the country.

The Triumph Tiger 1200 is split into 2 families, the road bias GT, and the off road bias Rally models, each with 2 feature sets.

GT Pro
Cast Alloy Tubeless rims
19" front / 18" rear
20L fuel tank
Metzeler Tourance Tyres
200mm suspension travel
Skid plate
850-870 mm seat height

GT Explorer
Cast Alloy Tubeless rims
19" front / 18" rear
30L fuel tank
Metzeler Tourance Tyres
200mm suspension travel
Skid plate
850-870 mm seat height

Rally Pro
Spoked Tubeless rims
21" front / 18" rear
20L fuel tank
Metzeler Karoo Street Tyres
220mm suspension travel
Sump guard
875-895mm seat height

Rally Explorer
Spoked Tubeless rims
21" front / 18" rear
30L fuel tank
Metzeler Karoo Street Tyres
220mm suspension travel
Sump guard
875-895mm seat height

The Triumph Tiger 1200 has been redesigned completely from the ground up. not even the engine remains, though it still resembles the screaming triple from the likes of the speed triple models,  we are assured it's all new. With a new 1-3-2 firing order, New triple 1160cc engine has a T plane crank and puts out 150ps @ 9000rpm and 130nm @ 7000rpm.
Some interesting facts thown at us during the presentation were, 58% more power, 49% more torque and 10% more weight than the Tiger 900. which equates to something like 25kg more, and a whole load more go!

The new 1200 is around 25kg lighter then the model it replaces. This was a big focus for the designers. things like swapping out the steel fuel talk for lighter alloy units.The Rally model does weight slightly more than the GT models, but impressibly the Tiger 1200 starts around 240kg wet. thats 17kg lighter than the direct competition bike the BMW R1250GS.

Triumph have held a lot of focus groups and really listened to the public during the design of this bike, and one thing they asked for was a low maintenance shaft drive.

Tech includes, Cornering abs, 7” TFT, blind spot radar on the two explorer models, Active suspension - the bike automatically adjusts the rear shock to suit the weight on the bike, my triumph connectivity app which includes Google and GoPro integration. All bikes come with rain, road, sport and off road modes, explorer models get off road pro also. All models get triumphs shift assist quick shifter, Led lighting all around, Key less and security system, USB charger in the under seat storage, Hill hold, Heated seats on the explorer models, this is an option for the other models. This includes independent temp controls for rider and pillion. Cruise control, but no mention of adaptive cruise control and all models get heated grips.

The rear subframe is boot on, and the pillion pegs are removable. 16000 km service intervals, and for the first time from triumph, a 3 year unlimited km warranty.

So, how does it ride?

Well, remember this is a first ride, we only got to the ride some of the 4 models available for a very short time. But I was very impressed. I rode the GT Pro and the Rally Explorer.
The GT Pro was smooth and powerful. We didn't get a lot of time to get to know the bikes before setting off, so I spent the first half of my short test ride in Rain mode. Which I can report, does a great job of removing the power when you give it a handful, to keep you out of trouble. I found my self on a gravel road with a lot of corrugations, and the traction control was kicking in quite a lot. But once I worked out what I was doing, I got the bike into off-road mode and we were away laughing.
In reality, the bike was perfectly adequate for the conditions. To ride the majority of the roads that most kiwis find them selves on, the Triumph Tiger 1200 GT Pro would be ample. There really wasn't much need for a 21 inch front wheel over the 19 inch cast alloy. I had power to spare, the gearing seemed long, and I found myself in 1st and 2nd more often than any other gear. The power comes on really nicely. It's not savage like some other bikes with similar sized engines. Don't get me wrong, there is a hell of a lot of power, but the engine delivers it so progressively and smoothly that you may be forgiven for thinking you were riding a bike with a much smaller engine... then you look down and realise you're exceeding the speed limit somewhat.

One benefit of riding the Rally pro or Rally Explorer models is an additional rider mode. Off-Road Pro, which allows you to turn all the rider aids off completely. Unlike the standard Off-Road mode which comes on all models, and allows you to turn everything off, apart from the front ABS. I took the Rally Explorer off Kiwi Rider magazine test rider Jock Mclauchlan, who is known for turning off every rider aid he can find. So, the bike was in full manual and "Full-send" mode. It was snappy, responsive, lights on its feet and ready to get stuck in to some tough stuff. It felt more like my Tenere 700 than any other bike with a 1L+ engine I've ever ridden. i had a blast on it and instantly grew the confidence to kick the tail out around some corners.

So that's about all I can say about my short experience with the Triumph Tiger 1200. I really enjoyed them, and am looking forward to an extended ride where I can share more of these bikes with you.