JOIN USFor years there have been only a handful of touring motorcycles serving itinerant bikers of India.
The rugged construction of these machines equipped them to deal with the abuses thrown at them by bad road conditions, but they lagged competitors from abroad in technology. All that is about to change now.
Till now, buyers of touring bikes have been content with buying bikes with a large engine delivering strong power and torque that helps to gallop on the highways.
But if you’re an enthusiast and ready to dole out a premium price, there is a premium motorcycle available in the market that is built to provide you a never-before experience of an adventure-touring machine.
Imposing machine
British motorcycle maker Triumph’s Tiger 800XC is an intelligent mixture of technology and hardware that lets footloose riders enjoy their rides, irrespective of the road conditions. We got to ride an imposing phantom black machine. We test-rode it on various terrain, and came back mighty impressed.
The bike boasts of characters that turn it into a force to reckon with. It seems to be always primed and ready for any challenge. As you fire up the machine, you get a sense of the power throttling underneath, and it calls for a little maturity to temper your excitement to ensure that joyful ride. You take Tiger 800XC to the street; you instantly become a rock star. Curious onlookers would not take off their eyes till you vanish from their sight.
The main draw is its twin lamps. As soon as we got onto the highway, we realised it was a homecoming for the bike.
The bike’s liquid-cooled, 800 cc in-line-three cylinder engine produces a whopping 95PS and 79Nm of torque supported by chain-drive.
The engine works on a six-speed gearbox and you can pull the bike through at a low speed as the torque is available the moment you set the bike in motion.
It features spoked wheels — 21-inch front and 17-inch rear — which makes you want to throw yourself more into tight corners than is your wont. However, the intimidating wet weight of 215 kg is something you should be mindful of while you wind your way.
For the safety of the rider, the bike is equipped with a pair of two-piston sliding callipers and 308mm discs, and a 255mm disc with a single-piston calliper at the rear. It is also powered by ABS, which also enables the riders to switch it off if they want to.
The Tiger 800XC model is an all-rounder but it is primarily meant for off-roads. Its riding position is a plus for this. The bike’s seat is adjustable easily without the help of a tool kit.
And it provides enough room both for the rider and passenger to enjoy the trip. Let’s not forget it’s a touring machine and the tail has enough space to pack your luggage with comfort.
The handle position is upright and lets you take an aggressive riding position. The engine is great to produce short bursts of power while overtaking other vehicles and the comfortable riding position lets you to negotiate between vehicles at the speed you are clocking.
The Tiger 800XC has a huge 220mm suspension at the front, and 215mm at the rear. Further, it has 45mm Showa upside-down forks along with a preload and rebound adjustable Showa monoshock. These are adjusted for either off- or on-road riding.
Multiple challenges
The bike, however, struggled a bit to cope with off-road duty on pothole-riddled roads that throws multiple challenges at each stride.
Though we got past the challenges without too much of a struggle, we weren’t immune to shocks from the bumpy ride. The instrument panel is a combination of digital and analogue that boasts of data on speed, clock, gear position indicator, fuel gauge, service indicator, analogue tachometer, and switchable ABS.
The bike packs a punch when it comes to technology centered on the rider and his comfort. For instance, ride by wires puts out a better power performance and easy throttle response; and Triumph Traction Control (TTC) gives more power to the rider while controlling. The bike has other features that give more control to the rider.
The ex-showroom Bengaluru price of this piece of adventure-touring machine, the Tiger 800XC, is Rs 12,59, 747. And Tiger Explorer comes with a price tag of Rs 19,11,770.