Triumph has finally launched the much-awaited Tiger 900 in India. Sold in five variants internationally, the Tiger 900 has been limited to just three in India - GT, Rally and Rally Pro. The range starts at Rs 13.7 lakh with the GT while the Rally and Rally Pro are priced at Rs 14.35 lakh and Rs 15.5 lakh, respectively (all prices, ex-showroom pan India). Allow us to tell you more about the Tiger.
What is it?
The Tiger moniker needs no introduction. The bike that started out as a sport enthusiast’s machine, slowly evolved into one of the world’s most sought-after ADVs. In January 2018, Triumph stunned the world by bringing out the Tiger Tramontana Rally bike to the gruelling Panafrica Rally, which set a lot of tongues wagging. The Tramontana featured a lighter headlight, rally instrumentation, modified body panels, sump guard, seat and rear mudguard. It also featured a shorter rear end to improve mass centralisation. Needless to say, it featured a longer suspension and revised rear shock linkage to survive the rally, or heck, even the apocalypse. The bike was designed by David and Felipe Lopez who had been involved in the Triumph’s chassis development. So the possibility of a meaner, leaner and faster Tiger couldn’t be ruled out. And now, the cat is finally out of the bag!
Triumph has launched the 2020 Tiger 900 family with as many as three variants in India — GT, Rally and Rally Pro. As the names suggest, the GT variants are the tarmac-biased, touring-oriented versions while the Rally variants are all about satisfying that inner dirt junkie. But there’s a lot more that has gone in the new Tiger than new bodywork and simpler names.
Ditching the buffed-up styling, Triumph has opted to go for the maxi enduro styling of the bike, a la Honda Africa twin, which should make the bike easier to manage when riding off-road. The motorcycle now gets smaller-scale bodywork, which includes a slimmer tank, tank end panel, high mudguard, seat panel, radiator cowl and radiator duct exit. Even the headlight is much smaller than the previous Tiger’s.
The finer details
An all-new 888cc, DOHC-equipped inline three-cylinder engine breathes life into the new Tiger 900. The Brit cat now has a unique roar, thanks to its 1-3-2 cylinder firing order as opposed to the 1-2-3 of the 800. The company claims the new firing order replicates the stronger throttle character, sound and feel of the inline triple motor in the lower RPMs without losing the mid to top-end power delivery of an inline three. Compared to the outgoing model, the engine delivers 10 per cent more peak torque at 87Nm at 7,250rpm. The power has also gone up by nine per cent in the mid-range and now the bike delivers 93.7bhp at 8,750rpm.
This new engine is cocooned in a new steel trellis frame which is a claimed 5kg lighter than the previous model. The Tiger finally gets a bolt-on aluminium sub frame and removable pillion footpegs. The ADV also gets a new split radiator now, for better cooling performance and reduces the ambient heat felt by the rider. Another addition is the slip-and-assist clutch and a new airbox with an accessible air filter. The standard and GT variants of the Tiger 900 get 45mm Marzocchi pogos with 180mm travel and a gas pressurised RSU unit with 170mm travel. While the standard variant gets no adjustability, the GT and GT Pro get adjustability. The 900 Rally and Rally Pro, on the other hand, get 45mm fully adjustable Showa forks offering 240mm travel, and a Showa monoshock with 230mm travel.Braking duties are handled by top-of-the-line Brembo Stylema monoblocs clamping onto twin 320mm discs at the front, while the rear gets a 255mm disc with a Brembo single-piston caliper.
The bike now gets a 7-inch TFT display for the GT, GT Pro, Rally, Rally Pro variants seen on the 2020 Triumph Street Triple RS. All the variants feature a variety of riding modes. While the base variant gets Rain and Road mode, the GT and Rally variants add Sport and Off-road modes to the mix. The GT Pro gets a rider configurable mode in addition to the aforementioned modes while the Rally Pro gets the exclusive Off-Road Pro mode. Triumph has also thrown in a bi-directional quickshifter for the GT Pro and Rally Pro variants. Rider aids on the bike include ABS, traction control. The mid and top variants get cornering ABS and cornering traction control aided by an Inertial Measurement Unit developed in conjunction with Continental.
The Tiger 900 goes up against the Honda Africa Twin, Ducati Multistrada 950, BMW F 850 GS and F 900XR.