Triumph Tiger Sport is a roaring success

The new model is a good all-rounder and perfect for navigating London’s roads
Animal magic: the Tiger Sport
Alessio Barbanti

The first glimpse most bikers had of Triumph’s sizzling new Tiger Sport model was when the most successful World Superbike rider of all time, Carl Fogarty, showcased it at the MCN Motorcycle Show in February.

As he rode it around the podium at London’s ExCeL, the fruits of the firm’s labours to rework this understated model into a taut, lithe, eye-catching sports-tourer were immediately evident. It was a sensational way to introduce this fine new all-rounder.

The firm has undergone a major renaissance in recent years. Housebuilder John Bloor acquired Triumph out of liquidation in 1983 after he initially went to the auction of the engineering site to buy it for house construction.

He hired many of Triumph’s former workers, with the factory starting to produce bikes in 1991. The first was the 1,200cc Trophy, but the range quickly expanded. Today, Triumph —with John’s son Nick as CEO — enjoys 18 per cent of the UK’s large-capacity motorcycle market and has a loyal fan base.

Headquartered in Hinckley, Leicestershire, the company achieved record global sales in 2015 of 55,000 bikes. This year, top selling models have been the Street Twin, the retro Thruxton and the Bonneville T120, while the 2016 Tiger Sport has proven hugely popular since its launch in April.

Littler wonder, I thought, as I fired the bike up for my first ride out through inner London and on to a mixture of congested roads and faster, twisty bits in rural Kent. It quickly becomes clear that it is the consummate all-rounder.

Immediately reassuring in town, where its well-balanced nimbleness and comfortable seating position make it easy to thread through thick traffic, it’s also brilliant on the open road where its smooth three-cylinder 1050cc engine delivers a great wave of torque and instantaneous acceleration.

So what’s new for 2016? Triumph says the engine alone has benefited from 104 changes and the torque is now delivered right across the rev range, and it shows. Other changes include new tapered bars, handguards, redesigned pegs, a better-padded seat, revised gearshift mechanism and much lighter clutch. There is now ride-by-wire throttle, cruise control and a redesigned ECU with three riding modes: Sport, Road and Rain.

There’s a two-level traction control and ABS too. Fuel consumption is claimed to be improved by eight percent, up to 54mpg.

What else? It has a superb new tinted screen that can easily be raised or lowered by two inches, with one hand, aided by two additional, discreet, side deflectors There is a 20-litre metal tank, ideal for magnetic bags.

Visual improvements are what stood out when Foggy showed it off and the black engine is a thing of beauty, with rows of shiny casing bolts. There are smart aluminium wheel spindle caps, great-looking two-piece mirrors, a new belly pan, new exhaust shield and embossed badges, with graphics in matt black or aluminium silver.

Priced at £10,300 with a top speed of 145mph, it could be ideal for Londoners wanting something relatively compact for inner-city work, but also capable of covering long tours. It handles well, turns neatly into corners, brakes strongly and takes urban ruts and bumps in its stride. It sounds pretty good, too — you can see how this bike got its name. This ride’s going to be a whole lot of fun.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in