Adwin Miller
03-03-2011, 10:59 PM
It's almost a pity the Tigers' 799cc triple is such a flexible friend of a motor, because it means you don't have to change gears so often - and whereas in the past that probably wouldn't have been so regrettable, Triumph's gearboxes not haVing the smoothest of changes. But within five minutes of riding the Tiger 800, you realise there's been a transformation in the shift action, which is now as slick and precise as the best of any transmission made in Japan.
7592
The light, positive response means you never need the clutch to shift up and this is a big asset off-road, standing on the pegs negotiating a tricky stretch of terrain, let alone carving canyons on the highway. The sure-footed handling of the Tiger 800's steel frame matches the confident nature of the engine, especially with the excellent Pirelli Phantom multi-purpose tyres giving more than enough grip to ground the footrests on either side if you really start going for it on clean tarmac.
In spite of lacking adjustable damping except for rebound on the XC's rear shock, the Showa suspension is well dialled-in, plush yet just taut enough to combine compliance with comfort - when you close the throttle, the weight transfer doesn't sort of semi-collapse the front end even before you start leaning on the .brakes and make it worse, like on the BMW twin, but there's still enough wheel travel to eat up rough road surfaces. Really, the only slight disappointment riding the Tiger 800 on tarmac were the brakes - the twin-piston calipers gripping the twin 308 mm front discs didn't have as much bite as I'd like for street use, plus there's a lot of travel on the foot pedal before the rear brake's single-piston caliper starts to work.
As I later found for myself riding the 800XC in the dirt, both of these characteristics are fine for riding off-road or on a gravel surface. But for those who'll treat the Tiger 800 as a road bike, the Nissin brake package is disappointing, even though on paper,
it's strangely the same as the Street Triple's up front.
7592
The light, positive response means you never need the clutch to shift up and this is a big asset off-road, standing on the pegs negotiating a tricky stretch of terrain, let alone carving canyons on the highway. The sure-footed handling of the Tiger 800's steel frame matches the confident nature of the engine, especially with the excellent Pirelli Phantom multi-purpose tyres giving more than enough grip to ground the footrests on either side if you really start going for it on clean tarmac.
In spite of lacking adjustable damping except for rebound on the XC's rear shock, the Showa suspension is well dialled-in, plush yet just taut enough to combine compliance with comfort - when you close the throttle, the weight transfer doesn't sort of semi-collapse the front end even before you start leaning on the .brakes and make it worse, like on the BMW twin, but there's still enough wheel travel to eat up rough road surfaces. Really, the only slight disappointment riding the Tiger 800 on tarmac were the brakes - the twin-piston calipers gripping the twin 308 mm front discs didn't have as much bite as I'd like for street use, plus there's a lot of travel on the foot pedal before the rear brake's single-piston caliper starts to work.
As I later found for myself riding the 800XC in the dirt, both of these characteristics are fine for riding off-road or on a gravel surface. But for those who'll treat the Tiger 800 as a road bike, the Nissin brake package is disappointing, even though on paper,
it's strangely the same as the Street Triple's up front.