RIDE REVIEW I 2023 TRIUMPH TIGER 1200 RALLY EXPLORER & 1200 GT EXPLORER
P112
throttle skills at low speed to
keep it from stalling. That said,
if you're like me, you don't like
going slow anyway and drifting
the rear through the turns on the
new Tiger is a blast.
The two off-road ride modes
offered on the Rally models are
noticeably different, and the
mode you choose will some
-
times depend more on the
terrain you're riding than your
mood. For me, Off-Road Pro was
by far the best simply because
there's no traction control that's
going to kick in when you least
expect it. The Off-Road mode of
-
fers more gentle throttle control
at low speeds and when you
initially apply the throttle, but the
traction control is too aggres-
sive for my liking. I found that
it would activate when I wasn't
expecting it, which almost
tossed me over the bars on a
couple of occasions. Off-Road
Pro also unleashes the full
147 horsepower and switches
the ABS completely off. While
some people will really love
having ABS disabled, I do like
having the front ABS on slightly
and configured for dirt, similar
to how most other brands are
doing it. After all, trying to slow
a 575-pound motorcycle while
coming down a steep gravel hill
can be tricky, and I've found that
having the rear ABS off but still
having the front active if only
slightly, makes it much easier to
handle these big beasts when
you're going faster than you
probably should be on scary
loose terrain.
Another thing that I got used
to doing over the two weeks of
riding the Rally was remember
-
ing to reset back to Off-Road
or Off-Road Pro after shutting
off the ignition. The bike auto
-
matically reverts to Road mode
when the ignition is shut off,
and although the TFT screen
does remind you upon start-up,
it's still easy to miss, and it can
catch you out if you've made a
stop and forget to go back to
your previous setting. Another
thing that happens when you
The GT Explorer (pictured)
feels "little" compared to
the Rally Explorer.
