Mark Fattore•1 Jun 2012

REVIEW

Launch: Triumph Tiger Explorer 1200

Name: Launch: Triumph Tiger Explorer 1200
Brand: Triumph

The British company's new adventure tourer has been launched in Australia – and into the deep end with an epic four-day ride from Adelaide to Uluru

Triumph may have conservative engineering roots, but there was no playing-it-safe mentality about the recent launch of the company’s all-new adventurer machine, the Tiger Explorer 1200.

In fact, the launch was an epic, taking riders on a four-day 2000km marathon from Adelaide to Uluru via such famous locales as William Creek and Oodnadatta -- and then another batch of riders performed the route in reverse. That’s about 4000km in eight days: a real Aussie baptism of fire.

Obviously, Triumph Australia had full confidence that its 1215cc shaft-driven triple could stand up to the rigours of the Outback. And that makes complete sense, as the company’s original design brief way back in July 2006 was to produce not only a fully featured ‘globetrotter’, but also a bike that had “some off-road ability”.

And with about 50 per cent of the launch conducted on dirt roads, and a few of those with real teeth, we had ample time to put that off-road claim to the ultimate test.

We also learned to live with the full suite of standard features on the Explorer (an apt name for a British bike don’t you think?) including switchable ABS, switchable traction control and plenty of adjustment -- screen, handlebar and seat.

And to top it off, there’s the bedrock of performance, reliability and ‘well made’ factor that have become the key pillars of Triumph’s recent success, even through the demand-sapping GFC.

POWER PLAY

And is the confidence warranted? Without a doubt. It’s hard to really find a major fault with the Explorer at any level -- and certainly not with the fly-by-wire engine, almost bump-free torque curve, and pin-sharp mapping.

This is a bike that really does push on with some conviction from low in the rev range, and if you wanted a reminder of which manufacturer Triumph has in its sights with the Explorer then you only had to attend the launch presentation where the BMW R 1200 GS power curves were displayed -- and then picked apart…

However, the GS also has a 30kg weight advantage over the Explorer, so it actually produces more torque per kilogram of weight than its British rival… But does it really matter? It’s not a race, it’s an adventure.

Still, we’ll be conducting our own seat of the pants appraisal in a few weeks when we put the Triumph Explorer up against the R 1200 GS and also the new Honda VRF1200X Crosstourer in a ride through the High Country.

But that aside, there’s no disputing the power and torque curves on the Explorer, the result of many hundreds of hours poring over dyno graphs -- while also making sure emissions fall within the tight Euro 3 rules. Pity the engineers when Euro 4 is mandated in just a couple of years…

Triumph claims 121Nm at 6400rpm for the Explorer, and peak power is 137hp (102kW) at 9000rpm. The wide spread of torque equates to over 100Nm to play with between 2500-9500rpm, and it’s a beautiful wedge to play around in -- in top gear the whole time if you want. Very addictive indeed and we’ll also get this engine in the upcoming Trophy touring bike, which is set to make its public debut at Tridays in Austria in just a few weeks time.

When the throttle is pinned on the Explorer, the acoustics from the accessory Arrow ($1295) silencer are quite mesmeric, although the standard muffler isn’t mute by any stretch of the imagination. The Arrow is 2.3kg lighter than the standard system and adds another 3hp -- and not all of it at the top end.

During the launch, we also got to try out a number of other accessories, including 55W fog lights ($450), a tank bag ($245), high touring screen ($229), alloy belly pan ($295), heated grips ($245), adventure hand guards ($135), engine bars ($310) and various seats, including a heated one ($449).

A full biscuit Explorer would demand a lot of spark, which is why the Explorer has a 950W alternator, which offers best in class output.

A few of the press units were also fitted with Garmin GPSs and radios. Full a complete list of Explorer accessories, including prices, click here.

SMART WORK

Triumph has also been diligent in minimising potential for harm on the big triple, with no external pipes to be seen. Instead, there’s an internal oil/water heat exchanger, while the engine also has a back-torque limiter – but on the starter drive instead of the clutch, all under the guise of increasing durability.

And on the subject of longevity, service intervals on the Explorer are set by the factory at a whopping best-in-class 16,000km.

At 100km/h, the triple purrs along in top gear (sixth) at 3500rpm, and at 130km/h it jumps up to 4500rpm. And during those ‘transport’ sections, cruise control can be activated, and rolling off the throttle is the easiest way to deactivate the system, as well as the other normal means such as tapping the brakes.

A smart feature of the cruise control is that when the system realises the rider is pushing on way past the nominated setting, it eventually realises that its cause is futile and switches itself off.

At a gentle cruising pace and with cruise control activated, the Explorer is good for about 300km between fuel stops. The tank is 20 litres, which isn’t huge by adventure standards, but it could have been 25 litres had the original Explorer design gone into production.

But according to Triumph Australia, it looked “crap”, with its bulbous tank dominating the landscape. So it was jettisoned in favour of a slimmer, more angular tank on the production model, but five litres was sacrificed in the process.

The throttle action on the Explorer is extremely light, which kind of seems incongruous for such a brawny adventure bike. It did feel a little weird from the get-go, but it was something that soon faded into the background -- and at the end of a long day in the saddle I wasn’t complaining.

The light throttle action is a function of the excellent ride-by-wire system, which dispenses with all forms of external cabling.

The hydraulic clutch feels a lot like the unit on the Thunderbird cruiser, with a beautifully supple actuation that makes slow speed manoeuvring a cinch. The gearbox is a flexible unit, but there’s still enough ‘feel’ for those who ride the Explorer with adventure or motocross boots.

TRACTION CONTROL

The bike’s full electronic set-up also includes ABS and traction control, the latter a three-channel system -- which includes an ‘off’ setting. Both ABS and traction control can only be changed when the bike is in neutral.

The default setting on the traction control is always ‘1’, which is the most intrusive, and that’s the level I left it on for all the road riding.

On dirt roads, it doesn’t take long for that setting to start plying its trade, and retardation -- via management of the butterflies in the fuel injection -- is especially felt on corrugated and/or uneven roads. If you’re keen to just poke around that’s fine, but if not then that’s the cue to engage level ‘2’, which allows some slip before reining in the show.

And that was the sweet spot for me, as it does a wonderful job of trimming power without feeling like the bike is stopping dead in its tracks. That means stalled momentum hardly warrants a blip on the radar. And, most importantly, it breeds confidence and helps you to get into a groove – on level ‘1’ that just wouldn’t be possible as there’s too much swift justice.

On one stretch of unruly dirt road just before reached Uluru, I turned off the traction control altogether and it felt like the Metzeler Tourance tyres were flat. It actually became quite unnerving, so I toggled back to 2 and the nervousness disappeared.

This is good example of a well-thought out traction control approach, and the same goes for the ABS. I’m not about to reignite the old chestnut about the value of ABS in the dirt, as the Explorer launch wasn’t the best indicator of the system's efficacy. That’s because long straights and wide corners were the staple, rather than punchy straights and tight turns which required heavy braking.

But based on what I saw, the ABS produces very little pulsing through the bars, but with still enough venom to leave tell-tale marks on terra firma -- with minimal overrun. The back-end doesn’t feel as crisp, but that’s probably a function of the heavy shaft-drive taking the edge off it.

NICE BEHAVIOUR

Like the Tiger 800, the Explorer has a steel trellis frame, supported by KYB (formerly Kayaba) suspension.

If handling isn’t best in class, it must go close as the weight feels low on the bike and it delivers a predictable, flowing ride. It’s also a hoot through the twisties.

The suspension -- 46mm upside-down fork and monoshock -- serves up a lush ride and also handles most road imperfections with ease, including all the rough house stuff on the dirt. And most importantly, there’s no ugly jarring transferred through to the rider, even on some of the harder hits.

The suspension is preload adjustable at both ends (via a remote reservoir on the rear), while there is also rebound on the rear. Travel is 190mm (front) and 194mm respectively, which is on a par with the BMW R 1200 GS.

The Explorer’s front end did bottom out a few times on the launch, even with preload close to a maximum setting, but that was only when speeds were on the rise.

The 150-section rear tyre has copped flak in some reviews for not delivering a big enough footprint, but I’m a big wrap for it off-road because it slices and dices its way through soft sand and dirt, and on the road it’s cooperative -- and may only become a liability when the riding becomes extreme. The Explorer runs Metzeler Tourance tyres -- 19-inch (front) and 17-inch respectively on cast alumiumium wheels.

The shaft drive delivers a smooth ride, with minimal lurching and jolting at low speed -- it’s like a chain is doing all the work. Triumph has fitted a torsional damper in the shaft drive to reduce loading on the transmission, which is a system it pioneered with the Rocket III cruiser and the masses of torque it pushes trough its 2.3-litre engine.

The fully featured instruments are a big improvement for Triumph, with a couple of switches on the handlebar used to toggle through all the functions and setup menu, and it becomes second nature within minutes. The only shortcoming for me is that time on the LCD screen is too small to see, especially with dust and sun glare thrown into the mix.

IN CONCLUSION…

Triumph is forecasting 4500 worldwide sales for the Explorer in 2012, which would be a solid debut. Just like the Tiger 800s, which were released in 2011, the Explorer has been carefully planned and executed, and very keenly priced at $21,790 -- complete with most of the mod cons (cruise control. Traction control, ABS) as standard.

Make no mistake: Triumph is targeting BMW head-to-head with a robust, reliable and user-friendly big-bore adventure bike. Let the fun begin.

Colours for the Explorer are Phantom Black, Graphite and Sapphire Blue.

Visit the Explorer in Bike Showroom

GEAR WORN ON TEST

Adventure helmet – Icon Variant
Adventure boots – Forma
Adventure jacket – Triumph
Pants -- BMW ComfortShell

SPECS: TRIUMPH TIGER EXPLORER 1200

ENGINE

Type: Liquid-cooled, DOHC in-line three-cylinder

Capacity: 1215cc

Bore x stroke: 85.0mm x 71.4mm

Compression ratio: Not given

Fuel system: Electronic fuel injection

Emissions: Euro 3

Claimed maximum power: 137hp (101kW) at 9000rpm

Claimed maximum torque: 121Nm at 6400rpm

TRANSMISSION

Type: Six speed

Final drive: Shaft

Clutch: Wet

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR

Frame type: Tubular steel cradle

Front suspension: KYB 46mm upside-down fork, preload adjustment, 190mm travel

Rear suspension: KYB monoshock, preload and rebound adjustment, 194mm travel

Front brakes: 305mm floating discs with Nissin four-piston calipers, switchable ABS

Rear brake: 282mm disc with Nissin twin-piston caliper, switchable ABS

Wheels: Cast aluminium -- front 2.5 x 19, rear 4.0 x 17

Tyres: Metzeler Tourance -- front 110/80-19, rear 150/70-17

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES

Rake: 23.9 degrees

Trail: 105.5mm

Claimed wet weight: 259kg

Seat height: 840-860mm (820-890mm accessory units)

Wheelbase: 1530mm

Fuel capacity: 20 litres

OTHER STUFF

Price: $21,790

Colours: Phantom Black, Graphite and Sapphire Blue

Test bike supplied by: Triumph Australia, www.triumphmotorcycles.com.au

Warranty: 24 months, unlimited kilometres

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Launch: Triumph Tiger Explorer 1200

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