If you happen to be in the market for a practical motorcycle, you are genuinely spoiled for choice these days. While adventure bikes continue to capture the imagination, they are a degree more compromised than the average middleweight tourer. A lighter touring bike stands out as a particularly shrewd choice, as they all offer a pretty decent balance between practicality and comfort.
There is a growing contingent of these versatile motorcycles competing for sales in the middleweight segment, all of which are pretty good options. While the Japanese bikes all offer great value and long lists of features, it is the one and only Brit that is more confident on the open road. It also offers a degree of refinement not usually associated with this end of the market.
To give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from Triumph. Whereas, the opinions are our own.
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The Triumph Tiger Sport 800 Tour Feels Calm In Traffic And Confident On The Open Road
MSRP: $14,695
In this value-packed space, the Tiger Sport 800 Tour represents something of an alternative choice. This 800cc platform was developed to take on the middleweight Japanese offerings, and the Tour trim was added recently in an effort to offer buyers a more comprehensive touring package. Its competitors all offer equally attractive packages, though, and are well worth considering.
The Honda NT1100 offers incredible value if you want a fully automatic tourer. It makes use of the same proven platform as the Africa Twin, and this is something of a double-edged sword. While this more or less ensures reliability, it is a pretty heavy frame, and with all the added features you get with the tourer, it is actually pretty heavy for a middleweight. Unlike the Triumph, luggage remains optional.
At this price point, the Suzuki GSX-S1000GT+ comes sharply into focus. This runs on an old sports bike platform, which means it is significantly more powerful than the Tiger. In the same breath, the Yamaha Tracer 9 offers an equally comprehensive touring package at a lower price, and just like the Tiger, it has a triple. Unlike the other reimagined Japanese bikes, it actually is a proper middleweight bike. All of these tourers have their merits, but there are a few good reasons why you might choose the Tiger.
The Tiger Sport 800 Tour Has A Brand New Triple
Power: 113 Horsepower
In an effort to take the fight to the aforementioned Japanese bikes, Triumph made the decision to develop an all-new powertrain. With 113 horsepower and a linear torque curve, the 800 gives the Tiger some much-needed bite. In an effort to save manufacturing costs, a lightly modified Tiger Sport 660 chassis was utilized, and although this might not be the best choice if dynamic handling was the goal, it certainly saves weight.
The One Small Wrinkle With Touring Triples
Triples offer the best of both worlds in terms of performance. You get the desired top-end performance characteristics associated with an inline-four, and the desired punch associated with a twin. Sadly, there is always a compromise, and with triples, that compromise comes in the form of vibrations. Any triple is inherently unbalanced. Triumph has been building triples for decades now, and certainly does a good job of mitigating the ill effects, but some vibrations will be felt. Unfortunately, they will be felt mostly higher up the rev range. Some will actively hate the sensation, and others won’t even feel it.
Why The Triumph Tiger Sport 800 Might Be The Sweet Spot For All Riders
This impressive triple blends features, comfort and performance better than any other middleweight tourer
The Tiger Sport 800 Tour Offers Us A Ready-To-Go Travel Package
With the addition of luggage, the Tiger Sport 800 becomes the complete tourer. Offering everything you might expect from a more expensive, more dedicated touring bike in a lighter middleweight package. It is light and nimble enough to handle tight city streets with confidence, yet perfectly at home on longer highway stints too.
We also appreciate the fact that Triumph has resisted the temptation to add a big TFT to a bike that doesn’t really need it. All the important modern features are there, including lean-sensitive traction control, cornering ABS, cruise control, ride modes, and a quickshifter. The Tour spec adds luggage, hand guards, heated grips, and a center stand.
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An Exceptional Alternative
In this highly competitive space, it is pretty hard to stand out from the crowd. Each manufacturer has a different approach, but over the past decade or so, Triumph has gotten really good at building high-quality, value-oriented motorcycles. Any bike that offers value as opposed to comprehensive luxury will need to compromise in some areas, though.
As we previously alluded to, this makes use of a modified 660 chassis. Which is a fairly simplistic steel perimeter frame, and it is most certainly a budget-minded decision. But, at the end of the day, this is not a bad place to compromise, considering the fact that this is not meant to be a track bike. It is simply meant to be fun on a twisty canyon road, and comfortable enough for you and your passenger on the open road and within the confines of the city. In this respect, its fully adjustable suspension is more than up to the task. Offering a balanced package like this makes the Triumph an exceptional alternative to the other bikes currently on the market.
Chassis, Suspension And Weight Specifications
|
Chassis |
Steel perimeter frame |
|
Front Suspension |
41 mm Showa upside-down separate function cartridge fork, adjustable compression and rebound damping (5.9-in travel) |
|
Rear Suspension |
Showa monoshock (RSU), adjustable rebound damping and remote hydraulic preload adjustment (5.9-inch travel) |
|
Weight |
512 lbs |