by Eric Day, Lone Star Triumph Sales

On Tuesday, February 2nd, I had the opportunity to ride Triumph's new Tiger 800 and Tiger 800 XC motorcycles. Triumph put on a dealer event in Fort McDowell, Arizona, called "Tiger 360". Dealer sales staff from around the country were the first to ride these two new models. All I have to say is one word. Wow! My first impression was how much torque you get at the twist of the throttle on both these models. Triumph designed this engine to have a wide and broad power band, and boy does it deliver! You can even roll on the throttle in sixth gear at 80mph and experience strong acceleration. That's a great attribute for an Adventure bike on the open road.

The Tiger is also very comfortable. The two piece seat design allows you to adjust the rider seat up or down 1". I set it in the low position so my feet could get to the ground a little easier. I'm 5' 8" with a 31" inseam. In the low position the Tiger 800 XC sits at 32.2". My heels were only 3/4" off the ground with my weight on the bike. This is an inch lower than the BMW F800GS with their low seat. The Tiger 800 model sits at 31.9" and 32.7" respectively. Triumph also offers a Gel Low Seat that will bring either model down an additional 1/2". For tall riders, put the stock seat in the high position and it will fit great.

Tiger 800 XC Phantom Black

Tiger 800 XC Intense Orange

Alright, now back to the ride! On this 30 degree Arizona Winter day we put about 100 miles on the two bikes. The first bike I rode was the Tiger 800 XC. About 25 of us in the "dirt group" rode out of the Fort McDowell Radisson Resort, and within half a mile we were off road in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. Sand, rocks, saguaros, whoopty-doo's, great stuff. We moved along at a good pace, second gear was the trick to maintaining traction in the loose soil conditions. Luckily the wind was blowing so the dust cleared fast.

The Tiger 800 XC handled excellent off road. The 21" front wheel took everything in its path and rolled through all the washes just fine. The suspension on this bike was spot on out of the crate.

Triumph had left the Bridgestone Battlewing tires on all the XC bikes (stock tires), and they worked fine. The Battlewing is an 80% street tire, 20% off road tire. The nice thing with this type of tire is as soon as we finished our trail section we rode 30 miles or so on twisty asphalt roads to our next off road destination.

Tiger 800 XC Crystal White

A Pride of Tigers

We hopped back in the dirt and did a few more loops around the cholla. Good times! After another healthy dose of cactus dodging we popped out of the desert and into the parking lot of an old miner's camp in Lost Dutchman State Park for lunch. Check out the pic with all 40 Tigers.

Following lunch my dirt group switched bikes with the Tiger 800 street group. Triumph wanted us to get a chance to spend some time on each model, so this worked out well. You should hear the sound of forty 800cc triple cylinder Triumph engines! Even the lizards were confused. "That doesn't sound like a twin..." One major benefit to Triumph's triple cylinder engine over a parallel twin cylinder engine is instant torque. This equals fun factor, and not to mention how smooth the triple runs at all RPM's.

Tiger 800 with Arrow Pipe

Both the Tiger 800 and XC models have the same engine, performance, horsepower, and torque. When we picked out bikes I made sure to get on an 800 with the new Arrow Racing exhaust pipe. It sounded great. Right out of the parking lot I immediately noticed an improvement in the road handling of the Tiger 800. The 19" front wheel allows for a wider tire to be run on the rim, compared to the XC's 21" narrow front wheel and tire. The Tiger 800 also sits a little lower than the XC, so its center of gravity is better.

Tiger 800 at old Arizona Mining Camp in Lost Dutchman State Park

At the end of the day, every rider liked both models, and for good reasons, but everyone had a bike they preferred if they had to choose one. I liked the XC the best. It handled the trails and rocks better and had a little more suspension travel to offer.

Many of the riders on the other hand liked the 800 better though. They said since their riding was mostly on the road and maybe only 10% on dirt or gravel roads, the Tiger 800 would fit their needs better. My best advice would be not to get stuck trying to decide which Tiger to get. Pick your Tiger based on where you will use it the majority of the time. I also recommend going with the bike that fits you best.

Tiger 800 Riders

Tiger 800 Grin

There's a lot more to talk about, so stop by the store some time and pick my brain. We're told the demo bikes will be here the end of March, so stay tuned for an official announcement. We'll be offering demo rides on a Saturday by appointment, and, hush, hush, maybe even a "Dirt Demo Day" on Sunday somewhere.

To be continued....

Eric Day

Sales Lone Star BMW Triumph
10600 N Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78753
512-451-7979 (Office)
512-452-5137 (Fax)
eric.day@lonestarcycle.com
www.lonestarcycle.com