VOLUME 59 ISSUE 14 APRIL 5, 2022 P95
would be to the BMW S 1000 XR,
which is a motorcycle that I abso-
lutely love on twisty tarmac. The
T12's chassis combined with the
Showa semi-active suspension
(and have I mentioned the quick-
shifter?) all work flawlessly.
The quickshift action both up
and down is the best I've ever
ridden. You can bang through
the gears, stay on the gas, never
touch the clutch, and the trans-
mission is just as happy as you
are. That, along with the deep,
throaty sound of the T-Plane mo-
tor, makes this bike an absolute
blast to ride aggressively.
We rode both the GT and Rally
models on the road-ride day, and
while the Rally is not the intended
street weapon, it was the bike
that I preferred on the road. The
GT turns a little better, but both
bikes handle well, and I found
myself constantly dragging the
pegs on the lower-to-the-ground
GT, while the extra height of the
Rally eliminated the excessive
peg grinding and the 21-inch front
wheel turned in just fine for me.
After I told the Triumph guys at
the lunch stop about my frustration
with the cruise control, they went
over the operation again and I was
able to make it work on the return
trip without issue. More time on
the bike helped me work through
some of my initial gripes, and by
the end of the day I was more than
pleased with its performance.
The next day we were bused
to an off-road riding facility
where rally drivers and riders
train so that we could get an
uninterrupted—no police or
traffic—assessment of the off-
road capabilities of the Rally Pro,
which, unfortunately, was the
only bike we rode off-road. Along
with the other journalists, I really
wanted to try some of the other
models off-road, but Triumph
was running wave after wave
of international press through
this launch, and they just didn't
have enough units to allow for
additional models at this facility.
With that said, we geared up
and were led out by Triumph
Adventure Experience Guides for
a day of off-road fun.
As I've mentioned, Triumph was
unabashed about their intent to
dethrone the GS, and up to this
point I had just rolled my eyes like
a teenage girl (figuratively) and
thought, "Whatever," but from the
moment the wheels of the big Rally
Pro rolled onto the dirt, my attitude
changed, and my inner teenage
girl was now thinking OMG.
Within minutes I felt at home
and comfortable. With the ride
mode set to Off-Road Pro (ABS
and traction control disabled)
and the rear end sliding side to
side in a very predictable and
controlled way, I was already hav-
ing a ball and the day was just
getting started.
