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 P74 matched to a 282mm single disc at the rear. The Brembo calipers have completely resolved the weak braking I complained of on the Explorer, while retaining the same size front discs. Addition- ally, to provide what Triumph terms "smooth and progressive braking," the Tiger features an integrated brake system, again developed with Continental, which automatically applies a percentage of rear brake as you squeeze the front brake lever, though this is deactivated at low speeds, or off-road. I found this enabled me to return to the habits of a road rac- ing lifetime and rarely touch the rear brake lever—just working the front brake additionally delivered just the right amount of rear-end stopping power to keep the bike nicely balanced—it's a good system. The excellent bite from the front Brembos was predictable and effective—definitely the right kit for the bike, especially when combined with the slip/assist clutch fitted to the Tiger 1200, which has quite a bit of engine braking left dialed into it, without causing any instability or risk of chattering the rear wheel into turns on the overrun. The XRT I spent most miles on and the XCA I had a short spell riding on road with the same Tourance tires as the XRT, both also featured Hill Hold Control. You activate this via the front brake lever, which also applies the rear brake until it disengages automatically as you start to move off. Having gotten used to this on the cars that I drive it was good to find it on the Tiger, and it certainly made it easier to stay in charge while getting a tall, heavy bike off the mark on a steep slope—on tarmac as well as dirt. SWITCHES FOR SUSPENSION While the entry-level XR features manually adjustable WP suspen- sion, where the fork settings for rebound and compression damping can be adjusted, and the rear shock for spring preload and rebound, the midrange and high-end variants retain the same WP/Triumph semi-active suspen- sion system as the 2016 Gen 2 Explorer. This so-called TSAS system controls the front and rear suspension damping, as well as automatically adjusting the rear suspension for rider weight and payload, and has two modes of Auto damping, as well as one for Off Road, and it allows the rider to switch between types of ride via the left-hand joystick control. I kept the TSAS setting on Normal for most of the time as an ideal compromise, especially on the 20 miles of freeway we rode on, switching to Comfort for stretches of roughly sur- faced highway, where it soaked up the road rash well. However, there was noticeably more front end dive under heavy braking on this setting, whereas in Sport the settings were quite a bit firmer, which made the bike less eager to pitch back and forth under extreme conditions. But it was very easy to swap between modes—the electronic programs on the Tiger 1200 are very ac- cessible and pretty intuitive. Nice job, Triumph. (Left) Rider electronics are easily adjusted via the little joystick on the left handlebar. (Right) Brilliant! Proper off road pegs for an adventure bike!