Was out yesterday with a mate who’s just bought a Triumph Tiger 1200GT Pro Explorer ( road focused one with the 30l tank)
I’ve been keen to have a go as I liked the previous 1200 and 800 though never owned either.
Straight away its very comfortable, more so than the GS. Seat is firmer than the heated seat I have on my 1250GS which I think is a good thing and the riding position felt spot on to me.
The bike was in road mode and I thought it felt very eager, twist and away it went, engine spins up a lot quicker, I’d say bordering on snatchy, almost caught me out. In slow moving traffic I’d say it almost made it tricky to maintain a steady gap to the vehicle in front. You’d probably dial onto it pretty quickly but it’s how it felt on a 20 minute ride.
Feels quicker than the GS, could be the way the throttle is, almost sort on/off, like it’s been set to be very sporty.
Felt very planted and nimble for such a big bike though when we turned around my mate said that he found the GS a lot more confidence inspiring than the Tiger at slow speed.
What was a surprised is how mechanical it feels, you feel everything the engine and gearbox is doing though the bike, maybe it makes it engaging/ exciting to ride, maybe it’s a little unpleasant?
It’s a very sporty feeling bike. Though I do wonder if that may be a bit too much when long distance touring when you just want to chill? I think I’d have to get one on the motorway for an hour or so before I committed. After riding my GS my mate said the tiger felt agricultural, I wouldn’t have put it quite that strongly but it’s not far off. Almost like there was something not quite right with it.
I liked the original tiger 1200, so smooth but still punchy and then 800 was probably the smoothest engine I’ve ever ridden, I like smooth engines, The GS I’d say is a lot smoother feeling than the new Tiger, like the rider is a little more isolated from what’s going on if you know what I mean.
Wind protection felt better than the GS, screen felt as if it worked better. The dash seemed a little fussy and controls would take a while to get used to. GS is more intuitive I’d say.
The quick shifter is night and day better than the BMW, is superb, I’d say better than the XR1000 too, excellent.
I’ve always liked the Triumph Tigers and very nearly bought one when the first hit the market, only a friends experience with the cylinder head issue they had put me off.
The new one is lighter and faster and supposedly better but I’m really not sure about the way the engine feels, I do wonder if I’d find the vibration/maybe harshness through the bike tiresome. For me I’d have preferred the engine to have retained the refinement of the previous version.
If I was sat in a dealer tomorrow ready to sign on the dotted for a GS or a Tiger ( current engine paint issue aside) I’d choose the BMW again, just.
My mate said he’d choose the tiger so just goes to show we’re all different.
I’ve been keen to have a go as I liked the previous 1200 and 800 though never owned either.
Straight away its very comfortable, more so than the GS. Seat is firmer than the heated seat I have on my 1250GS which I think is a good thing and the riding position felt spot on to me.
The bike was in road mode and I thought it felt very eager, twist and away it went, engine spins up a lot quicker, I’d say bordering on snatchy, almost caught me out. In slow moving traffic I’d say it almost made it tricky to maintain a steady gap to the vehicle in front. You’d probably dial onto it pretty quickly but it’s how it felt on a 20 minute ride.
Feels quicker than the GS, could be the way the throttle is, almost sort on/off, like it’s been set to be very sporty.
Felt very planted and nimble for such a big bike though when we turned around my mate said that he found the GS a lot more confidence inspiring than the Tiger at slow speed.
What was a surprised is how mechanical it feels, you feel everything the engine and gearbox is doing though the bike, maybe it makes it engaging/ exciting to ride, maybe it’s a little unpleasant?
It’s a very sporty feeling bike. Though I do wonder if that may be a bit too much when long distance touring when you just want to chill? I think I’d have to get one on the motorway for an hour or so before I committed. After riding my GS my mate said the tiger felt agricultural, I wouldn’t have put it quite that strongly but it’s not far off. Almost like there was something not quite right with it.
I liked the original tiger 1200, so smooth but still punchy and then 800 was probably the smoothest engine I’ve ever ridden, I like smooth engines, The GS I’d say is a lot smoother feeling than the new Tiger, like the rider is a little more isolated from what’s going on if you know what I mean.
Wind protection felt better than the GS, screen felt as if it worked better. The dash seemed a little fussy and controls would take a while to get used to. GS is more intuitive I’d say.
The quick shifter is night and day better than the BMW, is superb, I’d say better than the XR1000 too, excellent.
I’ve always liked the Triumph Tigers and very nearly bought one when the first hit the market, only a friends experience with the cylinder head issue they had put me off.
The new one is lighter and faster and supposedly better but I’m really not sure about the way the engine feels, I do wonder if I’d find the vibration/maybe harshness through the bike tiresome. For me I’d have preferred the engine to have retained the refinement of the previous version.
If I was sat in a dealer tomorrow ready to sign on the dotted for a GS or a Tiger ( current engine paint issue aside) I’d choose the BMW again, just.
My mate said he’d choose the tiger so just goes to show we’re all different.
It's highly likely I'll be defecting to Triumph soon 
