All-new Triumph Tiger 1200: Buyer’s guide

It was only recently that Triumph Motorcycle Malaysia launched the all-new Tiger 1200 adventure motorcycle in the local market. And we, like many riding enthusiasts, are excited about this new addition to the Triumph family, as this large-capacity motorcycle is built from the ground up and engineered to be the most capable and agile motorcycle around.

Fast Bikes Sdn Bhd Chief Executive Officer, Dato’ Razak Al Malique Hussain said, “The Tiger 1200, like all of Triumph’s new generation of motorcycles, underlines the brand’s philosophy moving forward to muscle out the competition by offering customers greater excitement on two wheels at exceptional value for money proposition,”

Let’s get to know the new Tiger 1200 in detail -

Variants & Price

Triumph Malaysia is offering the new Tiger 1200 in two variant options - the Tiger 1200 GT Pro and Tiger 1200 Rally Explorer.

As the name suggests, while the GT Pro is a touring bike, the Rally Explorer is more suited for on- and off-road performance. Thus, making it clear which one to buy as per your requirement.

Tiger 1200 GT Pro	RM 115,900
Tiger 1200 Rally Explorer	RM 130,900

Engine

The new Triumph Tiger 1200 is powered by a new-gen 1,160cc inline, 3-cylinder, liquid-cooled, 12 valves, DOHC, T-plane engine making a maximum power of 150 PS at 9,000 rpm and a peak torque of 130 Nm at 7,000 rpm.

Compared to the previous-gen model, that is a 9 PS and 8 Nm improvement, which in turn makes it the most powerful shaft-driven motorcycle in the class.

Weight

Triumph CEO John Bloor gave a very simple brief to the team building the new Tiger 1200. He asked them to ‘make it lighter, make it faster’ and that is what the designers delivered.

Compared to the previous-gen model the new version is 25 kg lighter. This coupled with the 58% more power and 49% more torque helps the new Tiger 1200 offer improved acceleration.

Wheels

The one thing that can help anyone differentiate between the Tiger 1200 GT Pro and Rally Explorer are the wheels. While the GT Pro rides on 19-inch front and 18-inch rear cast alloy wheels wrapped with Metzeler Tourance tyres (120/70 and 150/70). The Rally Explorer benefits from off-road-ready wheels, 21-inch and 18-inch, front, and back. These spoked wheels are shod with 90/90 front and 150/70 rear tyres.

Fuel tank capacity

As mentioned above, the Tiger 1200 GT Pro is a touring motorcycle
And therefore is designed for the purpose, for instance, it comes with a 20-liter fuel tank. The Rally Explorer, on the other hand, gets a 30-liter unit. Because of this difference, the wet weight (fully filled) of the two Tiger 1200 variants differ, i.e., 245 kg and 261 kg, respectively.

Seat height

The GT Pro seat height can be set at either 850 or 870 mm, in accordance to the driver. Triumph is also offering an optional low seat that reduces the seat height further by 20 mm. The Rally Explorer is the taller one with a two-position seat with 875 mm and 895 mm height in low and height positions

Braking and handling

The Tiger 1200 comes equipped with premium braking components from Brembo. At the front, it gets m4.30 Stylema Monobloc four-piston calipers on 320 discs with a Magura HC1 span adjustable radial master cylinder and a single-piston Brembo caliper with 282 mm disc with two-channel ABS on the rear wheel.

Suspension duties are handled by Showa’s semi-active suspension gears that include a 49 mm upside-down front fork and monoshock at the back.

Convenience features

The new Tiger 1200 comes equipped with - USB charging, keyless start, 12V power socket, and backlit switchgear on the handlebar pods. The adventurer tourer also gets hill hold control, cruise control, 8-step manually adjustable windshield, heated grips, handguards, and a center stand.

Also, part of the kit is a 7-inch TFT-LCD screen with My Triumph Connectivity to the rider’s smartphone (standard in Rally Explorer & optional in GT Pro).

Riding aids

The new Tiger 1200 is accompanied by a full suite of riding aids including cornering ABS, Blind Spot Warning radar, Continental Blind Spot Warning, and Lane Change Assist.

The motorcycle also comes with several riding modes like Road, Custom, Rain, Sport, and Off-road. The Rally Explorer gets an additional ‘Off-road Pro’ mode for its off-road capabilities.

All these features make the new Triumph Tiger 1200 riding experience super comfortable and convenient. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

Also Read: Gene Advance is Central Malaysia's new TRIUMPH Dealer