Triumph Tiger 955i

What's new?
At first glance you'd be forgiven for thinking nothing's new, but the reality is that the new engine is vastly different from those that went before. Capacity is up to 955cc over the old 885cc which first saw life as the eye popping street fighter T509. Power output of the new Tiger sits at a claimed 105ps @ 9200rpm, and more importantly 92 fat Newton Metres of torque at a lowly 4,400rpm, all of which adds up to make the bike the most powerful in its class. Other changes include the relocation of the alternator to the end of the crankshaft, and the oil pump being chain driven instead of gear driven. Casings, which were previously sand cast are now high pressure die cast. The result of all the changes being that at long last the engine can be viewed as being 'full power', and it no longer sounds like a bag of spanners in a tumble dryer. Something which I'm sure has put many new and second hand buyers off unnecessarily. In the gearbox, a new 'claw type'selector mechanism that abandons the old selector drum has transformed the box into one of the best in the business, more of this later.

Styling is nominally different in terms of colours and graphics. The bike now sports a pair of eyebrows above the twin headlights, which give the bike something of an irritated frown, and in addition there are 'Tiger love scratches' on the tank, which frankly do less to disguise the somewhat bulbous looks than just leaving the bike a plain colour would have done. Beauty being in the eye of the beholder, people will either love it or loathe it.

In the road holding department, the long travel (200mm) forks and rear shock have come in for a long overdue work over to try and address the criticism of being to softly sprung. New Metzeler Tourance V rated radial tyres now protect the rims and provide the grip on the planet. As far as the rest goes, the bike is ostensibly the same as the predecessor.

What's it go like?
Courtesy of the bigger capacity, new camshafts and ignition curve, the engine is a exactly what you're entitled to expect. I could use all the usual superlatives in trying to describe the powerplant, but none would really do the thing justice. It's not unbelievably powerful, but it is very powerful and characteristically Triumph. Importantly it is ideally suited to the kind of bike that it is. There's always ample reserves of smooth linear acceleration that can launch you forward at the crack of the taps whatever the gear, yet at low speed, down to and below walking pace, the fuel metering is precisely controlled and even. Full lock U turns can be tackled with confidence, and rolling away from standstill with a mere 1100rpm on the dial can be achieved with ease. This engine can be all things to all people, whether jumping out of and into corners, killing freeway distance, or running the traffic in peak hour.

If the engine is good, then one of the reasons it feels so good is the six speed gearbox. Of all the Triumphs I've ridden this one shifts gears the best. Others have ranged from notchy but acceptable, to mechanically distressing, often made worse by quick wear linkages. Those days are gone, the next gear is just a mere click of the direct acting gear lever away, and not once did any sign of a false neutral make itself known.

The launch test route took in the kind of flowing corners that beg for a sports bike, and it was here that the realisation came. You see, Gary McDonald, Triumph's tech bloke reckons the bike is seen by the factory as a tourer, and in part they're right. To bring home the point they've supplied a colour matched optional pannier kit. However, the Tiger would be best described as a 'Sports Tourer'. You could ride this thing in the company of any contemporary sports tourer or sports bike, and never be left behind. For a bike weighing around 240kgs fuelled up, with a wheelbase of 1550mm and a decidedly lazy steering head angle of 28 degrees, changes of direction are remarkably easy. The twin spar tubular steel chassis is good and rigid, which in concert with the revised suspension and masses of ground clearance, provides absolute confidence. Even at a ride day a Tiger owner could acquit him or herself with little or no embarrassment.

There is only place the Tiger could and would come undone, and its in the world of off road travel that it alludes to being capable of. Sure you can cope with reasonable dirt roads, but just about anything could. Without any doubt, the Tiger belongs with its wheels on the road. Which brings me neatly to the tyres.

The Metzeler Tourance hoops are undoubtedly very capable tyres. More than able to explore the very edges of the tread, and quite able to drag the highly placed footrests along the bitumen. They are even surprisingly reassuring on wet and slippery roads, but are they even remotely dirt tyres? I suspect not. In the same way that the Tiger pretends to be an off road bike, the tyres are pretenders also. Given that the bike will hardly ever venture off road, give us an eighteen inch front wheel and 'proper' road tyres, as Cagiva have with the Navigator. At least replacement time will offer some choices.

Stop ti immediately
The Tiger comes equipped with a pair of Nissin twin piston calipers gripping 310mm discs up front, and a similar caliper acting on a 285mm disc at the rear . When the rest of motorcycling is fitting four and six piston calipers it's easy and incorrect to think that maybe Triumph have short changed us in the brakes department. To my embarrassment and surprise there's heaps of 'feel' and more than enough power to pull up in a surprisingly short distance with the rear wheel off the ground. Even travelling uphill! 

Be gentle with me
When it comes to comfort over distance, the saddle of the Tiger would I suspect, be a good place to be. The seat, which is height adjustable from 840mm to 860mm is broad and supportive in the right places but sadly the test route only covered around three hundred kilometres. A longer run would provide a better test, but first impressions are very favourable. The riding position is spot on, with the relationship between bars and pegs suiting my 180cm frame just right.

Despite creating a fair bit of noise, the fairing does a better job than some of the competition in keeping the wind blast off the torso, in addition it didn't create that annoying wobbly head turbulence that can so easily turn a ride into a nightmare.

OK, so we've established that the Tiger is the sort of bike that can take you a long way, and is more than game enough for a bit corner carving and throttle abuse but, nothing is going to limit the pleasure like being stuck by the side of the road with an empty tank. The tank holds 24 litres, which in theory should see a decent range, and it will. Over the three hundred K's of the test, the bikes returned a tad over 18 km/l, which gives a range of over four hundred, which is a useful figure that could be improved on quite easily.

Pillion accommodation looks to be equally sumptuous, and is aided by the provision of a well shaped rack for the pillion to hold on to.

Summing up
The 955i Tiger represents a major step forward for Triumph and needs people to ride it to see what it has to offer. Previous models have never enjoyed the success they deserved, and this may have been for a number of reasons, not the least being a stratospheric seat height, and a certain amount of uncertainty about where the model fitted in the range.

As a sports tourer, fitted with the optional hard luggage the Tiger is an excellent motorcycle that deserves respect and success in the market place. It now has an engine with the full compliment of horses in the stable, it handles very well, and its equipment and finish is amongst the very best. It needs an electronic cruise control as standard, as does any fuel injected bike, and it doesn't need to pretend to be a dirt bike. With that in mind, if anyone is likely to be bold enough to produce the first big bore SuperMoto, it'll be Triumph. Bring it on!