Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/926976
2018 TRIUMPH TIGER 1200 XRT & XCA FIRST TEST P70 quently altering the height of the screen depending on the kind of road I was traveling along. Up high gives great protection on freeways for a 5'10" rider, while down low still gives you enough corner vision to place the Tiger correctly in turns, as well as the WP suspension's compliance for changes in the road surface. LIGHT ON ITS FEET That much lighter crank assem- bly and optimized fueling also paradoxically enhance the Tiger 1200's handling, thanks to the reduced gyroscopic weight and thus lower inertia which makes it much easier changing direc- tion in turns, and especially so compared to the original Explor- er, which, by comparison, was frankly a bit of a truck on which I never felt entirely at home. The Explorer seemed rather top heavy, plus distinctly cum- bersome, and Triumph has subtly addressed this on the Tiger 1200 by firstly pulling the bar end grips 20mm closer to the rider, and although the Under The Skin Triumph's Chief Engineer Stuart Wood says there are around 100 improvements in the new model over the uprat- ed G2 Explorer introduced two years ago, enough to make this worthy of a name change to a slicker, sharper-sounding Tiger 1200 moniker with the Explorer tag deleted. While the engine and tubu- lar steel trellis chassis remain essentially unchanged from its ancestor in terms of overall concept, the water-cooled, 1215cc three-cylinder in-line 12-valve motor, measuring 85 x 71.4 mm with chain-driven DOHC and a balance shaft to eliminate undue vibration, has been seriously revamped in- ternally to deliver a significant upgrade for a crisper, more immediate power delivery. Adding to this in terms of extra zest, the whole bike has undergone a serious diet, and is now much lighter, weighing in at up to 22 pounds less than the previous Gen 2 version, depending on the exact variant out of the six different model choices that are now available utilizing the same platform. Tri- umph claims that this weight saving has been achieved across the entire engine, chassis and exhaust package, delivering improved maneu- verability on all models, and better off-road agility and han- dling on the two wire-wheeled XCX and XCA dual-purpose on/off road variants. 31 degrees, illuminating a twist- ing road as you lean. That's part of the all-LED lighting equipment including the self-canceling indicators and twin headlights, plus there's semi-active WP suspension, an updated and very easy to use cruise control, cornering ABS developed with Continental, and a legible and readily adjustable full-color, five- inch TFT dash, with settings and data readily accessible via Tri- umph's five-way joystick on the left control pod. This allows you to access what you might term conveniences, such as the elec- tric windscreen and suspension settings, while the right-hand control allows you to go deeper into the fundamental setup of the Keihin ECU and Continental ABS, and even allows you to concoct a custom setting for the way you want to ride the bike here and now. Both lots of settings can be accessed on the go, and while I prefer not to fiddle too much with these while actually riding, I will admit to fre- Styling for the XRT has been slightly overhauled and the range doesn't quite have that fugly look it once did.