Triumph Tiger Explore – Top Speed

Any way you say it Triumph‘s adventure Tourer has ‘power to spare, it’s more tour than adventure, but still an easy handful of fun

The Triumph Tiger Explorer accelerates down the hill. Below, a pack of ambulance drivers on big scooters comes rounding a corner, the inverted blue sky of Georgian Bay at their backs. There’s a little side road down there on the left, and the approaching scooter riders slow and turn onto it, one after another, until the fourth or fifth rider locks up his front wheel and crashes. He lies in the road, not moving, and when the Triumph gets slowed, turned, and brought back to him, he is sitting up, encircled by his scooter pals and a few others who have stopped. Did you lose consciousness? No, he didn’t, and he doesn’t need our help. One of his buddies explains: “We’ve got this, we know what to do. We’re all paramedics.” They cluster around him, doing this and that, and one of the onlookers nods, smiling. “Business slow?” he says.

Triumph Tiger Explore – Top Speed

Later, the scooter-riding paramedics are gone, the onlookers have found the beach, and the Tiger Explorer is in its element, booming down the highway near Collingwood, Ontario. On pavement, the bike feels natural, composed, and capable, and that three-cylinder, 1,215 cc engine is a delight. Triumph claims 137 Pferdestarke and 121 Newton-meters for the new engine, and when the throttle is twisted, from any rpm range, that power makes itself felt, clearly, even if the units it’s measured in are anything but clear. Pferdestarke? The word is German, and the printed symbol is PS - it’s used frequently in measurements of power, describing (as horsepower does) a certain amount of work done in a certain period of time. And the Triumph works hard. But the Pferdestarke is only nearly a horsepower (more precisely, it’s 0.9863hp) and so that 137 PS becomes a claimed 135hp (at 9,000 rpm). And those Newton-meters, 89 lb-ft of Torgue (6,400 rpm).

That Pferdestarke peak arrives only 500 rpm shy of the engine’s rev limit, but, characteristically of three-cylinder power plants, there is plenty of horsepower available at lower engine speeds. The Tiger may be a hard worker, but it never feels as if it’s straining, and at 3,000 rpm it’s ready to produce a satisfying lunge with a twist of the throttle, even in higher gears. Triumph claims more than 73 lb-ft (100 Nm, actually) of Torgue measured at the crankshaft from 2,500 rpm to the 9,500 rpm red-line, and a graph of that Torgue is nearly a horizontal line. The horsepower graph is even more impressive: about 47 Pferdestarke at 3,000 rpm, about 93 at 6,000 rpm, and 137 at 9,000; that’s not a power curve, that’s a straight line, and even at only 0.9863hp per Pferdestarke, and with about 15 percent of that consumed by the transmission and drive-shaft, that’s a lot of power going into the rear Metzeler Tourance EXP tire.

The Explorer’s engine feels relaxed throughout its range, as if it could be made to produce more power without risking reliability, and that is an effect of the inline-three’s inherent smoothness. It is smooth all through the rev range, the only sensory indication of higher engine speeds coming from the muffler as the engine sound rises from a rumble to a satisfying growl. With a bore-to-stroke ratio of 85 x 71.4 mm, the Explorer’s engine is not excessively over square, which contributes to a lower rpm peak output and contributes to that relaxed-power feeling. But the Tiger Explorer is a ride-by-wire motorcycle, too, so the connection between your right hand and the fuel injector mechanism is not made by a cable, but by electrons. (The new Trophy SE, also powered by the 1,215 cc triple, is the only other ride by wire Triumph.) You can’t tell this by twisting the throttle, which feels normal, though light and smooth, but the reaction of the engine to small throttle-hand inputs is also light and smooth, which contributes as well to that feeling of engine smoothness. The fuel injection is well-programmed, and the bike moves steadily at low speeds without surging or stumbling.

With a seat height of 840 mm in the low position (860 in the high, and ranging from 810 mm to 880 mm with accessory seats), the Tiger Explorer is a tall motorcycle, but even our shortest tester was nearly immediately comfortable on it.

The Tiger Explorer is a tall motorcycle, but even our shortest tester was nearly immediately comfortable on it.

We received the Tiger Explorer with an optional 15 liter tank bag in place, which gave one the immediate sense of driving a vehicle with a distended airbag. The tank bag fastened to a tank-mounted plate by two snaps at the front and a magnetic flap at the back, and really did look intrusive; however, once again, looks deceived: even with arms wrapped around the bag in a manner reminiscent of a person carrying a barrel, the rider’s position felt comfortable and there was no sense of interference. Although it looked dangerously crowded, we became so comfortable with it almost immediately that we forgot about it (except, of course, when we wanted the additional cargo space; then we found it a useful storage option).

In off-road riding, the Tiger Explorer feels planted and easily controlled, but it’s a large motorcycle and is not meant for serious off-road activity. We were not able to give the Explorer a thorough off-road thrashing, but we found it to be stable and light over rough surfaces. The Kayaba 46 mm USD fork and rear shock are set up nicely for an average rider and we found the action to be plush and controlled. With 190 mm of travel in front and 194 mm in back, it’s capable of soaking up medium-sized jolts without upsetting the chassis. The balance, low-rpm smoothness, and tractable power lend confidence on loose, uneven surfaces, and while good sense prevented us from jumping logs or wading through mud bogs, we were tempted by the Triumph’s friendly, willing personality to take it farther off-road.

A 950-watt generator provides enough electricity to power fog lights, grips, seat, and other items. Instruments are easily readable and provide a wealth of info. Shaft drive, 150/70 rear wheel, center-stand, engine guards, hard luggage including top case, and big tank bag are useful features.

Still, the Explorer is a tourist, not a mountaineer. Even the Metzeler website makes this clear, calling our Explorer’s Tourance EXP rubber “the most street oriented enduro tire for big adventure bikes.” Unsurprisingly, the Explorer makes a very friendly and useable street companion. For some riders, a trip across the continent would be more fun on the Explorer than on a sport-touring or straight touring model, since the occasional dirt road, shallow stream, or backwoods trail might not be terra non grata on this bike.

But what is there about this Triumph that makes it a good street-bike? The weight, for one thing: at 259 kg with gas, it’s heavy for a road-going motorcycle, but that weight is carried on good suspension components and contributes to a cushioned, planted feel on pavement. You don’t need a lot of weight for stability, but with the right geometry, weight (up to a reasonable limit) can provide a reassuring feeling of solidity. The Explorer’s wide, comfortable handlebar, aluminum 19-inch front and relatively narrow (150/70) rear wheel, along with a 1,530 mm (60.2 in) wheelbase, come together in a motorcycle that feels steady but surprisingly nimble.

Other features contribute to its usefulness as a general purpose motorcycle: an LCD dash with everything but tomorrow’s breakfast on the menu; an effective and adjustable windscreen; well-engineered, usefully sized hard luggage: heated seat and grips; a 950 watt generator; electronic cruise control (with the target speed displayed a nice touch); traction control; switchable ABS brakes; shaft drive with minimal torque reaction; a center-stand, and adjustable handlebar.

We found the seat a little hard at the end of the day, but not painfully so, and we experienced some exhaust system heat on our thighs, but again, not excessively. It’s a bit heavy for stump-jumping and a bit tall for riders under about five-eight, but if it was shorter, it would be even harder in the stumps, and if it was good in the stumps, it would certainly be taller. Then, what? A compromise?

if those ambulance-driving scooter-boys ever decide to move up in the world, the Explorer’s Metzeler tires and big, ABS brakes should provide a measure of comfort

Yes, certainly, and in building a compromise, Triumph aimed for the rider who wants about 90 percent of the riding experience to be on hard, dry, smooth asphalt. There, the Explorer gives up little to dedicated sport-touring motorcycles and probably takes something back from them: it’s a comfortable motorcycle with a sit-up-and-beg riding posture, which means you don’t have to be moving at 130 km/h to feel happy on it. Of course, if you want to do 130 or faster, you’ll find that the one area the Triumph does not compromise in is right there at your right hand: all those Pferdestarkes.

And if those ambulance-driving scooter-boys ever decide to move up in the world, the Explorer’s Metzeler tires and big, ABS brakes should provide a measure of comfort, no matter how slow the business gets.