Triumph Tiger Explorer 1200 - US price released

[Roadscum]

What is the gas tank capacity?

Tank is said to be 5.0 gal. but I was able to pump 2.23 gal. into the bone dry tank.

Triumph released an updated tunes for the 800's late last year to cure the stalling problem affecting many bikes. I'm thinking that upgraded tune has more to do with the poor gas milage the the Arrow tune.....  I could be wrong, but that would be the 1st time..      

Regards, Paul

[BlueRidgeKat]

I'm not sure what you mean by "fully" broken in but it's got 4500 miles on then odo, it also had the Arrow slip-on and tune. A few weeks ago the damn thing ran out of gas at 178 miles.  

Regards, Paul

Mine is bone stock with 12,000 miles on it. The gas light comes on at around 155 miles. At 180 miles you  better be finding a gas station damn fast.

[stk0308]

Tank is said to be 5.0 gal. but I was able to pump 2.23 gal. into the bone dry tank.

   So are you saying you think the tank is actually 2.23 gal?  That'd be 79 mpg

[Roadscum]

   So are you saying you think the tank is actually 2.23 gal?  That'd be 79 mpg

Oooops, finger slip or a brain fart, maybe both!  

S/B 5.23gal.... sorry for the confusion.

Regards, Paul

[stk0308]

Oooops, finger slip or a brain fart, maybe both!  

S/B 5.23gal.... sorry for the confusion.

Regards, Paul

I was hopin it was something like that    

Still, I'd have it back too the dealer for a checkover again.  34mpg is trackday kinda mileage.

[BBB]

Tank is said to be 5.0 gal. but I was able to pump 2.23 gal. into the bone dry tank.

So that is a 19 litre tank or thereabouts. So running dry after 178 miles = 35.6mpg. That is not very good economy, especially when compared to what a F658 or F800GS can manage.

[onetrack97]

Priced a little higher than I had hoped.

For me, the 800 with shaft drive and cruise control would be perfect.

I'll check this one out in 6 - 12 months if they can put enough supply out.  My 2003 ST1300 is due and I now am a Triumph owner also and a big fan.

[ConPilot1]

I'm also surprised at the fuel capacity of this new Tiger. That's a big selling point in this class of bike and makes you wonder WTH were they thinking?

And that tank doesn't look all that small to me, the bigger capacity GS tank actually looks smaller to me from the side. I know the GS looks like an C-5 cargo plane from the front.

Is it just me or does the wheelbase appear to be very short on the bike also?

I'm wondering also about the comments about you midgets not being able to touch the ground.
I'm damn near in that club myself at 5-9 with a 30 inch inseam, so no offense intended there.
What I've heard about the suspensions on these bikes (speaking about the GS anyway) is that there's so much fork and swingarm travel that the whole suspension compresses down pretty good when you have your body weight on it so is it such a big issue? Maybe these showroom bikes have the air pressures jacked up to the max and their sitting an inch higher?

I admit that if I had a small dirt bike, I'd probably spend WAY more time riding well away from people and cell signal, and might end up getting myself in a situation. I like exploring. One of my "dream ride" plans is to take something little and light, pick a rail line and ride it to the end.  

Lots of RR tracks in PA for that man. That sounds like fun. Lots of tracks up here run along the Susquehanna river valley, some real pretty spots. You could even eat dinner out of the river if you head further north and brought yourself a small travel fishing rig.  

[Rincewind]

The reports are coming in from the press launch.  Here is the first I've seen...

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/News/newsresults/First-rides-tests/2012/February/feb24triumphexplorer/



Triumph Tiger Explorer First Ride


MCN Editor, Marc Potter, is at the world launch of the Triumph Tiger Explorer and here are his first thoughts.

"Triumph admits it is aiming the Tiger Explorer squarely at the BMW R1200GS, and claims higher spec for less money, better handling, more luggage carrying capacity and at 135bhp, more power from the three cylinder all-new 1215cc engine.

"I’m about it ride it in the hills and fabulous mixed terrain near Malaga in Spain and will feed back my thoughts on how it handles later on today."

UPDATE, 09:24
"I’ve just done 30 miles on the new bike and first impressions suggest that this bike is as Triumph said - aimed squarely at the BMW R1200GS.

"No lightweight at 259kg fully fuelled compared to the BMW R1200GS at 225kg fully fuelled but the handling and accuracy of the steering defies it’s weight.

"The motor is incredibly torquey, meaning you hardly rev after 5000-6000rpm and the riding position is one of the most comfortable in the adventure class and possibly tourer class."


‘I’ve now covered 100 miles on the bike and have to say I am massively impressed. It doesn’t do anything staggeringly better than its rivals but as a package it takes adventure touring bikes to a new level.

You hardly have to ever stress the engine but when you do it’s got loads more get up and go than the BMW R1200GS and although you wouldn’t want to put it on a track day the handling is extremely neutral and it’s almost as quick to change direction as a Ducati Multistrada though certainly not as sporty as that bike. But then it’s not meant to be.

It’s going to be fascinating to see how the new Triumph compares to the Honda Crosstourer and the GS when we get them together for the full intensive group test next month. But if you put a deposit down on a new Triumph Tiger Explorer you’ve made a good choice.’

[Croak]

Kevin Ash review:

http://www.ashonbikes.com/content/triumph-tiger-explorer-review

Will it make a dent in the Germans' armour? It's not going to outsell the GS, that's far too well established, just as the Triumph Thunderbird will never outsell Harley-Davidsons. But it's going to steal a lot of sales, and after discovering how good the Triumph is, I suspect more than either Triumph is expecting or BMW is hoping. If time shows it's as robust and reliable as Triumph is keen to keep telling us, then a few years down the line, who knows?

For now, it's a little cheaper than a similarly specced BMW, and by almost all criteria, it's also a better bike.

[ConPilot1]

It's nice to see GS contenders, but the fuel capacity still sucks ass I don't care about what they say about how good the bike is.

Bike this class should have 6.5 fucking gallons and no less. Nice to see a great review otherwise though.

Triumph is one of the more progressive thinking MC manufacturers' going these days I think. They're definitely doing something right.  

[Croak]

It's nice to see GS contenders, but the fuel capacity still sucks ass I don't care about what they say about how good the bike is.

Bike this class should have 6.5 fucking gallons and no less. Nice to see a great review otherwise though.

Triumph is one of the more progressive thinking MC manufacturers' going these days I think. They're definitely doing something right.  

GS has about the same range as the Explorer.  Don't confuse it with the GSA.  

[Rincewind]

Here is the first longer review with high-res pics...

http://www.visordown.com/road-tests-first-rides/first-ride-triumph-tiger-explorer-1200/20167.html

[BBB]

Given that the 1200GS has been on the market since 2004 a rival manufacturer should be able to produce a bike that betters it by now.

[Rincewind]

Kevin Ash's review is up - http://www.ashonbikes.com/content/triumph-tiger-explorer-review

On the screen popped up a graph of power and torque curves, with lines for what looked like three bikes. And there were, sort of… "These are the curves for the Tiger Explorer, and here are the curves for the customer BMW R1200GS. And here, just above those, are the curves for the R1200GS press bikes…"

Pause while jaws hit floor… In fact the main point was to show the superiority of the Triumph's power over the GS's - these were both comfortably above the German bikes'. But inevitably attention also focussed on the difference between the press bike's curve, with more peak power and less torque (as many journalists seem to prefer) than the showroom model. Very naughty, if still a surprise for Triumph to highlight it, and they've now asked for the graphs to be removed from this review - and I've obliged, it's their copyright after all - as it's stirring up rather more controversy than they anticipated. But it's only retaliation for BMW boss Hendrik von Kuenheim remarking how Triumph should be ashamed for copying the German bikes.

This is war then, so how does the British weaponry shape up?

[Rincewind]

It's a clean-looking design with a minimum of external pipes, and another comparison Triumph was keen to make: the service intervals are wide at 10,000 miles (16,000km) , with 20,000 mile (32,000km) gaps between the major ones, where the GS needs attention every 6,000 miles. In fact these are the widest service intervals of any current motorcycle, comfortable beating even Ducati's 7,500 miles (12,000km).

20k valve interval checks!  Second only to Yamaha then for valve checks, and longest ever for minor services at 10k.  

[Duc OT]

Yep, saw that review.  That 20k valve service is good to know.  What do they consider the minor service?  Is that the oil change?

[expatbrit]

Yep, saw that review.  That 20k valve service is good to know.  What do they consider the minor service?  Is that the oil change?

Looks like it. That's some miles between services -- pretty impressive.

[Rincewind]

Looks like it. That's some miles between services -- pretty impressive.

I hope the rest of the Triumph line-up follows suit.