2018 Triumph Tiger 1200 range review

When the first Tiger 1200 came out (then known as the Explorer 1200) in 2012 I rode one from Uluru to Adelaide via the Oodnadatta Track during the Aussie press launch.

Five heady days of glamping in the bush with Coronas on ice, camp oven-baked dinners and cakes, starry skies, wallaby shanks in a crazy little pub, the Pink Roadhouse and the Flinders Ranges. And, of course, the high-speed adventures on the Oodnadatta Track!

At the time, I was amazed at the ability of such a big bike in the dirt. Sure, it was no Finke racer, but for kilometre after kilometre on those dirt roads it was a joyful experience.

Following the initial release, Triumph then added a wire-wheel option in late 2012 – which would have been handy on the outback launch as there were a number of busted cast wheels… – and in 2015 it formally introduced a road-biased XR range (cast wheels) and an off-road biased XC range (wire wheels).

That takes us through to the present, and the 2018 Tiger 1200 range with a similar nomenclature:

• Tiger 1200 XRX: $24,200
• Tiger 1200 XCX: $25,600
• Tiger 1200 XRT: $27,600
• Tiger 1200 XCA: $29,300

Been on a diet, have you?
The big talking point is the 10kg weight drop over the previous model. Sounds a lot – and it is when you’re riding off road. It’s a big bike, but the new bodywork gives the impression it’s smaller than before. And of course the weight loss compounds this when you’re on the move.

Triumph says there are close to 100 improvements for 2018. Stay with me as I go through the ones you’re likely to notice.

Adaptive cornering lighting is a cool addition. It does what the box says: lighting the way through the corner when you’re in it. Don’t dismiss it on face value unless you’ve sampled it first. It’s an added safety feature that’s worth having. Would I buy a bike solely on this feature? No, but I’d be happy if my bike had it. All lighting on the bike is LED by the way.

Like the Tiger 800s, the 1200s get the new adjustable colour TFT display instruments and the backlit switchgear. The instruments house an amazing array of features, which has a changeable display and is simple to use. It’s all-digital, and you can make the speedo or the tacho the main feature. It’s not complicated to use at all. One quirky thing I wasn’t too fussed about was the fact you had to actually select the electronic screen on the dash before you could move it up or down. It stayed ‘online’ as such after you did this but I thought it was an unnecessary step to have to navigate.

A quickshifter is new also, and Triumph has the tech nailed. To be honest, I’ve never been a fan of quickshifters on the road. I find them clunky, especially at low speeds, unless you’re on the pipe. I found this to be the case on the Tiger 1200, too, until I stopped being aggressive with my shift. This sort of goes against what I’ve experienced before. but once I started forgetting it was there and just using it I found it to be one of the best I’ve used. There were times I still used the clutch on changes from first to second as I found it smoother but overall it worked great. It works up, and down!

A keyless ignition. You either love them or hate them. I’m not overly fussed on them but I have been accused of being anti-tech in the past. Are they just another thing to go wrong? You won’t find one on the 2018 Tiger 800. It has a key. Why didn’t it have a keyless set up as well? Who knows, but it worked fine during the launch so I really can’t complain. More bikes will have them in the future so I best get used to it I suppose. It works up to a metre away from the bike and like most keyless systems it will allow the bike to be started and ridden off if you’re standing within that metre. If you’re into giving friends a ride of your new bike then you better remember to give them the ‘key’, fob, or whatever it’s called.

TIGER 1200 RANGE SPECS AND PRICING

It has an updated cruise control. The previous one worked well and this one does too. One button, press it twice and you’re cruising. Push the throttle back, touch the brakes or the clutch and you won’t be cruising. It worked seamlessly on the launch.

A choice of up to six riding modes is available on the 1200 for 2018 – on the more XC two-model range at least. Off Road Pro really does transform this bike in the dirt. It switches off anti-lock braking (ABS) and traction control to the rear wheel, so you can pretend you’re some sort of desert racing guru.

I got throttle happy on the 1200 in Off Road Pro mode and nearly found myself on my backside. This bike is not shy of power, with 141hp from the 1215cc three-cylinder engine. ABS and traction control (TC) can be switched off regardless of what mode you select but will automatically be ‘reinstated’ if you turn the bike completely off. It’s a default safety feature if you like.

All this electronic wizardry is controlled via a six-axis Inertial Control Unit (IMU). All the riding modes have mode specific throttle, ABS and TC settings. The more aggressive the mode, the less intrusive the safety features, and both the ABS and TC are cornering adaptive, so they change their settings on the fly as you brake or accelerate while leaned over.

It’s like most other systems on most bikes, in regards to the ethos of the whole idea. I had no issue with any of the riding mode settings. They all worked fine and gave very good feedback. When I was on the loose stuff I preferred Off Road mode instead of Off Road Pro, because I enjoyed the way both the ABS and TC worked. On some very loose surfaces I would switch off the TC but still retain ABS, as the TC could be overwhelmed in very loose gravel and dirt and not give the drive needed to get up the hill. Overall though, it’s a big tick on the general mode settings.

Easy does it
The big ‘jump’ if you like from the 800 to the 1200 is the TSAS: Triumph Semi-Active Suspension. It changes settings to suit whatever riding mode you’ve selected, and it changes in micro seconds to suit the road conditions and the speed at which you’re riding. You can override this to a degree, and have the suspension in full comfort mode while having the throttle/engine in sport mode for example. In fact, this was how I had it while on the road most of the time. I attended the launch with a really crook back, and initially the suspension was set hard to match sport mode.

This gave me a hard time so it wasn’t long before I was looking for a smoother ride. Once I worked out the suspension could be tuned full soft it was like I was miraculously cured. And when having a bit of a crack on the road, the soft suspension settings were fantastic. The whole TSAS suspension really impressed me, and it’s dead easy to navigate the controls/joystick to change the settings.

Now this is one comfy motorcycle, built to do long distances. The Tiger 1200 has the same seat design and makeup as the 800, and yes, it’s wonderful. And gone are the days when the standard screen on just about any bike was crap and destined for the tip. I could not fault the standard screen in any way, and most of the time I had the electric screen at a height where I could swan along, taking in the scenery with my visor open and without any buffeting to speak of.

Two seat heights are available, too. It’s done manually and takes less than a minute to do. At six foot I preferred the highest setting.

If I have one complaint it’s the standard rubber/steel footpegs on the XR models. When you go off road – as they are more than capable of doing so – my boots never had the grip I would have liked, especially in the wet. It’s a different story with the XC line-up of course, with the chunky steel pegs. I would assume you could put XC pegs on an XRs if you want.

Luxury, sir
With four main Tiger 1200 models, essentially it’s down to a price point and what inclusions you get.

For those wanting to do mostly road work with some dirt, and even the odd fire trail or two, the XR range is what you want. The XRX is the less ‘equipped’ one compared to the XRT, but still has plenty of standard features.

The XRT has the quick shifter, cornering lighting, fog lights, hill hold, touring screen and heated rider and pillion seats – all features the XRx doesn’t have. Both models have decent sump guards and centrestands, though. On the XR range you’ll find 17-inch rear and 19-inch front wheels.

For the adventurous out there, the XC range is the go. Spoked wheels with a 21-inch front allows way more aggressive tyres to be fitted, and like the XR range, there’s two models, an XCX and an XCA. Like the XRT, the XCA has more standard features. In line with the XC range’s more off-road focus, you’ll find things like alloy sump and radiator guards to cater for those wanting to sample life in the bush. Both the XRT and XCA get Arrow silencers as standard and they emit a growl, which is worth the price of admission all by itself. It’s not overly loud, but as Goldilocks said: “Just right.”

All the bikes have Brembo monobloc four-piston calipers, which use an integrated, or ‘linked’ set up. How do you fault a set up like this? I couldn’t, and I wanted for nothing more.

Summing up
I think the Tiger 1200 pricing is more than reasonable. Plenty of people complain about the cost of motorcycles being far too expensive these days but not when compared to say 20 years ago when premium motorcycles like this were near us much. My pick? I’d have to go for the XCA I think. It offered the opportunity to do some serious adventure riding, while being more than well suited to long distance road work. Saying that, if my budget only allowed me to step into the base XRX, I’d still be more than happy.