The idea of embarking on a motorcycling adventure is not exactly new to Harley riders. Way back in 1928, when motorcycling was still in its infancy, a fellow by the name of Zoltan Zulkowsky talked his buddy, Gyula Bartha, into taking a bit of a ride with him on his new Harley. 170,000 k’s and years later, after cruising the globe, they returned home.

Considering the lack of infrastructure, tar roads and spares outlets and even fuel availability at the time, this was an incredibly brave (or stupid) undertaking. It makes our most hardcore motorcycling adventures fade into total insignificance. In the fullness of time, motorcycle manufacturers started building bespoke motorcycles designed with adventuring in mind, and so it was with Harley-Davidson. 120 years after they built their first bike, enter the Pan America, the first dedicated adventure bike built by The Motor Company.

The Pan that is the subject of this review is the base model, as opposed to the Pan America Special which has enough bells and whistles and unique features to choke a mule. This Pan is the kind of model that floats my boat. Generally speaking, manufacturers want us to just pay for every feature which they build into the bike, whether we actually want it or not.

We even brag about the bike’s features in the pub as if they really matter, as opposed to actually evaluating the pros and cons of each feature. This has filtered down from the car industry. You can even start your new Ford Ranger remotely from your cell phone. This might be the bee’s knees to a millennial, but to me, it is indicative of how uncommon sense has become.

To term, the Pan which I rode as ‘base’ is an injustice as it suggests that the bike is in some way lacking, which is absolutely not so. The heart of the bike is the excellent new 1252 cc 60-degree V-Twin, pumping out 150 hp and 128 Nm of torque, utilised as a stressed member to reduce weight and size. The motor is a gem, feeling KTM responsive but, dare I say it?—more refined. More on that when we chat about how it rides.

Speaking of size, the Pan America is quite compact, yet enjoys spacious and extremely comfortable ergonomics. Comfort which is enhanced by a firm, yet all-day comfortable saddle, for both rider and pillion. It is flat, with a fantastic foam density rivalling the best seats out there. This is a vital feature for any bike on which you are likely to spend extended time. Bars are wide and fall comfortably to hand, giving you a feeling of control.

I have now become accustomed to the looks of the Pan and I dig it. If you are shown a picture of all the Adventure bikes on the market, this is the one that clearly has Harley DNA. It is tall and slim with a functional cockpit housing a 6,8” TFT display and a one-hand adjustable screen. It has a lever and trigger mechanism, which once mastered, allows easy ‘on the move’ adjustment. The screen does a great job of weatherproofing the rider and making high-speed cruising effortless. Both the seated and standing positions are intuitive and spot-on.

The TFT display tells you everything that you need to know. Speed, gear, odometer, trips, temperature (and low-temp warning), side-stand warning, cruise, range, rev counter and phone paring for music and calls. Satnav is available via the Harley app and Bluetooth from your smartphone. Battery voltage is also displayed. The non-reflective screen stops unwanted reflection, but in truth, also makes the screen illegible in direct sunlight. The info is accessed via a touch screen at standstill, or the left-hand switchgear whilst on the move.

The 6-speed gearbox shifts accurately and precisely but does require a firm foot. Similarly, the clutch takes up sweetly but is just a trifle heavy. This is a man’s bike after all. In both cases, these are things I noted when I rode off on the bike and after an hour’s riding was irrelevant. Probably because I was just so enjoying riding what is honestly a very good motorcycle.

This Pan rolls on a 120/70×19 front and a 170/60×17 rear wheel and tyre combo, mounted on alloy mag wheels. I hear all you naysayers chirping but honestly unless you do really dumb stuff or run crazy low tyre pressures, you will never have an issue, given the intended use of the bike. I love the simplicity of plug and bomb to fix a flat over the concern of maybe dinging a rim in the small potential time that these bikes will spend off-road. If you absolutely must, you can pay a hell of a premium for the ‘Special’, which has spoked rims (Also tubeless).

21,2 litres of fuel allows for a decent fuel range given the 5,5 to 6,5 l/100 fuel consumption which you will experience in general riding. At an all-in weight of 242 kg, the Harley is in the ballpark with its competition. Radially mounted 4-pot Brembo callipers and 320 mm front discs, aided by a single pot 280 mm rear disc, give powerful and predictable braking performance with a typical Brembo feel. Good brakes are pretty damn important on the Pan America for the simple reason that this bike really hauls!

The bike is endowed with brilliant dynamic ability. Various engine modes allow for mapping to suit how and where you ride. Road, Sport, Rain and two Offroad modes. (One with Offroad ABS and the other with ABS switched off totally) I rode mainly in Sport mode and loved it. On a couple of occasions, I did feel as if the throttle position was not quite in sync with what the motor was doing. A bit like the fly-by-wire throttle on Yamaha’s Super Ten. It would probably be imperceptible to most riders, however, given the different bikes that I ride and evaluate, I am probably more critical than most.

The Harley Pan America is a revelation to ride. It is fast, agile and utterly stable, even at the ‘inappropriate’ speeds which the bike attains so effortlessly. It has an almost ‘Motard’ like quality. It begs to be ridden briskly and responds brilliantly. The Showa suspension has full manual adjustment. It is firm, well-damped and keeps the bike tracking straight and true, even over the dodgy surfaces that unfortunately are the norm in SA today.

The motor contributes wonderfully to this frivolity. It is smooth and punchy right through the rev range. The power and torque curves allow you to not need to rev the motor mercilessly to get a hurry up. Changing up in the upper mid-range has the bike rocketing forward effortlessly. It is definitely an all-round match for its competition. It revs with the same urgency as your big KTM’s but with a little more refinement. Power delivery is also Katoom-like, with less really low down torque than a 1250 GS, but revving out in a lusty fashion. It actually reminded me a lot of the Indian FTR in terms of proper riding enjoyment, albeit with more power.

This bike is incredibly relevant. It is multi-talented and very capable. It offers a great alternative to what is available in this space, but with a heritage second to none. It gives you a few bikes in one, with no real compromise, a recipe that BMW has used for their GS range to such good effect. I would tour the Tankwa as happily as I would do a track day.

If you dare to be different, go ride the Pan America. Pricing just north of R300K is totally competitive. You owe it to yourself. It is that good. Hats off to The Motor Company! I would love to own a Pan. I’ll have the basic spec in black, please…

Harley-Davidson Pan America

For more information on the bike featured in this article, click on the link below…

When we speak of the ‘new’ Tiger, we mean new, as in completely new. Triumph embarked on a complete redesign of their big Tiger in the same way that they redesigned their 800s into the current 900s. So what is different, you may ask? In short, everything! Let me give you a rundown on the new Tiger’s specs and it will be clear as the gonads on a dog that this bike deserves, in fact, demands, your attention.

The motor has received the T-Plane treatment. This means a 1,3,2 firing order for a longer gap in firing impulses into the crank, allowing the rear wheel a moment’s power respite from the crank and thus hooking up rather than spinning up. The same idea as a 270-degree crank on a parallel twin. It works. The downside for owners of the previous 1200 is a smidge more engine vibration, albeit with significant engine character and a soulful exhaust note. Personally, I love the sound and feel of the new T-Plane engine.

The 1160 cc oversquare DOHC Triple pumps out a healthy 148 hp @ 9000 rpm and 130 Nm of torque @ 7000. This propels the bike that is a huge 25 kg lighter than the ‘old’ Tiger. There is no shortage of shove, in fact, you pretty much always have power to spare. The gearbox has 6 speeds and is equipped with a seamless quick-shifter which is a pleasure to use, even at low revs. Triumph has done an excellent job of channelling engine heat away from the rider. The previous Tiger was known to cook your legs in hot weather. Not so with the latest Tiger which keeps its cool wonderfully. The frame is tubular steel with forged aluminium add-ons for passenger pegs and the like. The sub-frame is also separate. Triumph clearly listens to its customers.

Suspension is from Showa, with 49 mm semi-active front USD forks offering 220 mm of travel. The rear shock also has semi-active electronic damping and preload adjustment with 220 mm of travel. Brakes are the brilliant Brembo Stylema calipers chomping on twin 320 mm discs up front and a 282 mm rear with a single pot Brembo caliper. Faultless in feel and power. ABS is standard, with the ability to switch off the rear for off-road duty.

Triumph’s biggest Tiger has always enjoyed shaft drive. The latest version has a trick and light-looking shaft, which is devoid of ‘lash’ or ‘slop’. Where the Rally Pro is unique, is that it pairs its shaft drive with an off-road friendly 21” front wheel. This is music to the ears of the boys who like to spend the bulk of their riding time getting dusty. The spoked 150/70 x 18 rear and 90/90 x 21 front Metzeler Karoo Street tyres mount on superb Akront alloy rims. They are stronger than a strong thing! Not a single bike suffered any rim damage after some spirited riding on the recent 1200 Tiger launch.

The Rally Pro Explorer has a 30-litre tank for some serious touring range. As the range-topping 1200, it also has both upper and lower crash bars as standard. Also standard are hand shields, centre stand, heated grips, heated seats, cruise control, quick-shifter, hill-hold assist, and 5 engine modes. Switches are backlit too. Speaking of lights, the LED chaps on the Tiger (including adaptive cornering and spots) are as good as they get. A 7” TFT display with Triumph Connectivity is driven by a 5-way joystick, mode and home buttons.

All the info you may need and then some are available on the various screens that can be accessed on the display. This will require, as with all the new TFT-equipped bikes, an hour or two of study and playing before it is in any way intuitive. Clearly, I am not Playstation Generation. Give me the old one-button access displays any day. For those that want to, Smartphones, GPS and Go Pro are all available via the Connectivity App. Modes, (affecting fuel mapping, and suspension settings) are adjustable on the fly. Modes are Sport, Road, Rain, Off-road and Off-road Pro, as well as a Rider mode where you can set the bike up to suit you.

Luggage is available via GIVI-designed hard luggage, which will require fitting the appropriate brackets. I like this, as you can then use soft luggage too if you would prefer, for serious off-road. The excellent windshield adjusts up and down in an instant by hand. The riding position is perfect for my 6’ 3” frame, whether sitting or standing. The seat adjusts from a low of 875 mm to a high of 895 mm. There is a sponge-lined receptacle under the seat with a smartphone charging point.

I’m sure that you would have gathered by now that this top of the Off-road range Tiger is incredibly comprehensively spec’d. Even the bash plate shows great design. The thinner aluminium sides are welded to a heavy-duty aluminium bottom to protect against hits from below. Cable routing shows similar attention to detail, with clips keeping everything tidy and in place. Triumph, in my opinion, has become the leader in the industry when it comes to fit and finish. The attention to detail is astounding. The Tigers are handsome beasts. Just look at the photos and you be the judge.

Triumph offers various models across the 1200 Tiger range. The GTs being more road-biased with their more conservative suspension travel and 19” front wheels. The Rallys can then be unashamedly more dirt biased with their spec. This is great because you the buyer do not have to compromise, but can get the model that best floats your boat.

So how did the Tiger Explorer 1200 Rally Pro float my boat? Hopping on board I was surprised by the relative lack of bulk, given the 30-litre tank. I am used to a BMW R 1200 R Adventure after all. The Triumph once on the move feels light and agile for such a large bike. Please understand that despite the 25 kg weight loss over the previous 1200 it remains, at 249 kg, a large, heavy and intimidating motorcycle.

I love the feel of the T-Plane motor. It is full of soulful character and packs a proper punch. Power builds relentlessly as the revs rise and propel the Tiger effortlessly in all situations. Sport mode is slightly snatchy at low revs, but that is not what Sport mode is about, is it? Rolling off the throttle and back on again is not perfectly seamless, but requires a slightly more deft rider touch.

I was so enthralled at the idea of riding the Tiger in different terrain that I did a quick one-nighter on a farm stay. This would give me the opportunity to ride it in the dirt, on highways and on secondary roads. Comfort-wise, the Tiger is hard to fault. It effortlessly reels in the horizon. Seat comfort is good, both for rider and passenger, as confirmed by Irene after a stint on the pillion. Fuel consumption is pretty much in the large Adventure bike ballpark with 5,5 to 6,5 l/100, depending on cruising speed and prevailing wind conditions. The suspension soaks up road imperfections superbly, with the bike sailing along serenely as the wheels do their thing.

Let’s talk about off-road. The suspension firms up nicely in Off-Road mode and you find yourself covering ground at speeds that should not be comfortable on a 249 kg motorcycle with 148 hp. The suspension is superb when you stay within the rational design parameters of large Adventure bikes. Yes, it is possible to bottom the suspension across the gnarly ground at serious speed or when landing from a jump, both activities that are, to my mind, crazy on a motorcycle this expensive and large. You can get a proper hurry up off-road with everything working with you and inspiring confidence. It is only when you start doing crazy stuff, euphemistically called ‘riding aggressively’, that you will find the limits of the suspension. This will probably also result in finding the limits of your medical aid, but it seems that ego and brains are mutually exclusive.

Within the design parameters of a large capacity Adventure Tourer, the Triumph performs admirably in all situations. There is significant fork dive when you get hard on the brakes, as can be expected from long travel suspension, however, I found that if you anticipate properly, as you should do on a big fast bike on dirt, you can rely on good engine braking, with your brakes as back up. The off-road modes give you full power, but with a softer throttle response. As I became accustomed to the feel of the bike and its inherent stability, I relaxed and started to really enjoy the off-road experience. The sandy sections did not unsettle the bike on the throttle and it tracked straight and true.

Riding out of the campsite where I spent the night I almost launched myself over the handlebars. The track was steep, rocky and loose. As I accelerated up the slope, the bike lost power to the extent that I thought it had cut out. The sudden deceleration had me almost over the screen. It then dawned on me that the bike had gone back to the default road mode and the traction control had activated, cutting the power on the loose incline. Be warned.

One other thing that I need to get off my chest. There is no place on a bike used for travel to far-flung remote places for keyless ignition. The disadvantages far outweigh any possible advantage, when the key battery goes flat at Elephant Sands in Botswana, or the ignition won’t read the key and your mechanically perfect bike won’t start you will be royally screwed. Make sure you carry a spare battery and suitable tools to change batteries. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. All the manufacturers think the keyless thing is great, so Triumph, I am not pointing fingers at only you. When the ‘battery low’ icon appears on the dash it introduces a level of unwarranted anxiety that is so easily avoided. Give us the keys back!

Road handling is typically Triumph, in other words, good. Having said that, bikes with long suspension travel and 21” front wheels always feel just a bit vague when pushing on. Triumph appreciates this and gives you the GTs if really fast road riding is your thing. This is the advantage of a comprehensive range. You just need to be honest with yourself as to how, and where you are going to ride your bike.

There is a tendency to want to appear ‘hardcore’ and therefore buy the most badass dirt-busting model there is. You then venture into the dirt perhaps 5% of your riding time. That my friends, when you are spending over R300K, is just plain dumb. The GTs are more than capable of smashing dirt highways and going where any sensible person would want to go with a large Adventure bike should the occasional need arise. Think of the tyres you typically fit to your Adventure bike. If it lives primarily on knobblies, buy the Rally Pro, if 80/20s are your choice, buy a GT.

If you are critical of the limits of large-capacity Adventure bikes off-road, you are probably shopping in the wrong market. You would be better served with a Tiger 900 Rally Pro, KTM 890 Adventure R or a Yamaha T7. However, if effortless long-distance touring, predominantly two up is your thing, with regular forays on distant dirt highways, you will absolutely love this bike. I would wager that the bike’s abilities significantly outweigh yours and that over time, as you upskill yourself to take full advantage of what the Triumph Tiger Explorer 1200 Rally Pro is capable of, you may just find that it is a match made in motorcycling heaven.

I love the way motorcycle design keeps evolving, ebbing and flowing, as certain styles and engine configurations and capacities go in and out of fashion and then, years later, come back into fashion: nothing stands still.

For decades, when the British motorcycle industry ruled the world, the parallel-twin engine was pre-dominant, led by Triumph and copied by every other British manufacturer. As the 1970s dawned along with the rise of the Japanese motorcycle industry, the parallel-twin lost favour and inline-fours were the thing to have.

Then, in the early 2000s, Triumph reintroduced the parallel-twin to a new generation of engineers and riders and, from there the configuration has never looked back, with the likes of Yamaha, KTM and BMW adopting it.

More recently, Aprilia have jumped on the bandwagon, lopping their V4 motor in half and giving us the 660cc engine that does service in the RS660, Tuono 660 and, now, the Tuareg 660 adventure bike: it’s a great engine that just loves to rev. and puts out a healthy 100bhp.

On paper, that’s all wrong for an adventure bike, where what you really need is lots of low-down torque for plugging along the wild trail. So, for the Tuareg’s unit, Aprilia has done a lot of work internally: power is down to 79bhp but, more importantly, peak torque is delivered at 4,500rpm, 2,000rpm lower than the same engine in the Tuono and RS, with 75% of torque available at 3000rpm and 90% from 5500rpm. With a 270° firing order, it has the feel of a V-twin and, more importantly, a great sound: deep and gruff at low revs and a great howl at high revs.

Sit on the highway at the legal limit and snap the throttle open and the bike surges forward in a way that no 660cc engine should do. Gone are the days of gutless smaller-capacity engines: now you take a look at the Aprilia 660cc engine and wonder why you would ever need anything bigger.

While it is not a ‘retro’ design, the Tuareg does resurrect the name from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s adventure bike (not that they were called that back then). The new Tuareg is a tall bike which has a purposeful stance and has the appearance of a large trail bike as opposed to an adventure bike, although the lines are getting more and more blurred between the two descriptions as manufacturers look for more ways to find niches for new models and the middleweight category gains traction.

The Tuareg was designed by a team at Piaggio’s Advanced Design Centre in California – the same team that brought us the Moto Guzzi V85TT – but the Aprilia looks far leaner, with form following function and no-frills.

Aprilia have chosen not to give the front a beak, sticking to a wheel-hugging mudguard – straight out of the ‘80s! Not sure how that will work if the going gets muddy and it starts to build up in the small space between mudguard and tyre. The overall appearance is not dissimilar to the Honda Africa Twin, especially if you opt for the red, white and blue colour scheme.

The test bike, as you can see from the photos, was in the black/yellow-gold colour scheme which looks great, although you can imagine the yellow-topped seat getting pretty grubby very quickly, especially if the bike is used as intended, off-road.

We all know that a lot of adventure bikes will never see anything further off-road than riding up a kerb in Sandton but to reduce the Tuareg to a life on tar seems like it would be a waste of talent. Right here I have to admit that time didn’t permit me the opportunity of taking the Tuareg off-road but you just get the feeling that it might cope with such treatment very well and, certainly, any road tester who has had the opportunity to take to the rough stuff confirms this. There is an innate balance and lightness to the bike that suggests it would be very easy to throw around in the dirt.

Even riding it on the road, you get a sense that here is a bike that means business. The seat doesn’t look promising but is much more comfortable than its shape would suggest. It’s long and fairly narrow which helps when standing up on the pegs (yes, I did try that on the road but only when no one was looking…!). You even get the impression that a pillion might not hate you too much if you subjected them to a longer journey on it.

While Aprilia has foregone a separate bolt-on subframe to ease the pain of off-road accidents, suggesting that the company isn’t pitching the Tuareg at the hard-core off-road crowd, the suspension feels to be configured for off-road work. There’s a generous 240mm of suspension travel with full adjustment at the front and preload adjustment at the rear – all manual. At first, it feels off-road-bike soft but actually proves to be great for road riding, with a lot less fork dive under braking than you might expect and, of course, on our terrible roads, that suppleness is more than welcome.

But it would be a shame to buy this bike only to confine it to road riding. With all the work that Aprilia has done to the engine and the chassis into which they have installed it, why would you not be tempted to take the road less travelled and have some fun?

That’s not to say that it isn’t fun on the road: with that chassis, suspension and engine, it is a blast to ride on a twisty road, the riding position and wide bars giving great leverage and a confident feel, despite the off-road-biased Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tyres (21” at the front and 18” at the rear).

The natural rival to the Tuareg 660 is the Yamaha T7 and it is another of those interesting things about modern motorcycling that the two companies have set off for the same destination taking completely different routes. While the Yamaha is simple and unadorned by electronics, the Aprilia is the polar opposite.

The electronics suite on the Aprilia is comprehensive: switchable traction control has four levels of adjustment and engine braking has three levels of adjustment. There are four riding modes: Urban and Explore are pre-set while Individual and Off-Road have adjustable parameters.

The bane of the tester is coming to terms with the complexities of modern electronic systems on lots of different motorcycles with only a few days to get used to them before the next bike comes along and you have to unlearn and relearn. Nevertheless, the system on the Aprilia appears to be fairly intuitive and certainly, longer exposure to it would render it easy to use. The TFT dash isn’t the largest but still perfectly legible.

Build quality appears to be first class: nothing rattled or had the look of being too flimsy: Aprilia has done a lot of work to ensure that the Tuareg’s strength is more than skin deep. The screen is not adjustable but actually did a very good job of keeping the frosty early morning air off the rider.

In terms of price, it is time to stop goggling at the price of bikes these days and accept it for what it is. Yes, the Tuareg 660 is expensive – R260,000 is a lot of money and it is R20,000 more expensive than the Triumph Tiger 900 and R60,000 more than the Yamaha T7. But to concentrate on that price difference is missing the point: buyers these days buy on brand loyalty above a cold, hard calculated appraisal of each bike’s pros and cons – maybe they always have?

In terms of weight, the Tuareg is the lightest of the three at 187kg (dry), while the Triumph tips the scales at 201 kg and the Yamaha a close second at 189kg (both also dry). The Tuareg can fit a useful 18-litres of fuel in its tank, the Triumph 20-litres and the Yamaha 16-litres. Certainly, the fuel gauge on the Aprilia seemed very reluctant to move, attesting to very good consumption and, therefore, excellent range.

So, someone who is interested in the Tuareg 660 is interested because he or she likes Aprilia and neither the Triumph nor Yamaha will ever be a viable alternative and, in choosing the Aprilia, they will be by no means choosing second-best. The days of deeply flawed models are long gone and every new bike offers immense capability. The Aprilia is not necessarily better than the Yamaha or Triumph but, by the same token, it’s certainly no worse: I suppose that, in the long run, it all comes down to what name you want on the tank. For Aprilia to achieve such a high standard at its first (modern) attempt is high praise indeed.

Looked at that way, the Aprilia Tuareg 660 is a very tempting proposition, a bike with a lot of ability and no small amount of Italian flair and that, for some, will be the icing on the cake.

To the outside world, attending a new motorcycle launch might seem like the best thing in the world: ride bikes, eat, drink and stay in great hotels before returning to the mundanity of everyday working life.

However, if you’ll believe that there might be a downside to that, it’s not all a bed of roses: modern motorcycle design and manufacture has largely negated any justified criticism of a new model: they are simply all too good. Gone are the ‘easy’ days of wayward handling, badly set-up carburettors or early fuel injection systems and their jerky fuelling, non-existent brakes, forks or frames that have all the rigidity of drinking straws, questionable ergonomics and styling directions: we are now at a pinnacle of motorcycle design and any improvements are incremental rather than ground-breaking.

We are constantly reminded, when riding the cream-of-the-new-crop of models, what a rarified world we live in, when every new product is, if not necessarily better, at least as good as the opposition. There just aren’t any glaring defects anymore upon which to hang your easily reached and colourful conclusion. Nowadays, you really have to scratch to come up with anything that might be a negative to balance out the gushing praise.

In any case, finding the faults was always cheap journalism: it’s always easier to blame than praise. Now, one has to look solely for the positives and find a way of distinguishing them from the positives of all the others. But what a fantastic position to be in, where everything you get to ride is almost perfect!

In the adventure bike world, BMW and KTM reign supreme in the sales figures. Whether either one reigns in your own particular book is down to personal preference (or is that blind allegiance?). You could also say that both those companies determine the direction that adventure bikes are moving in—whatever they do, everyone else copies. But it’s not as simple as that. Yes, there is a large element of keeping up with the Joneses but, while the broad strokes of design may be in place, there is a lot of room for individual flavour and it is this that makes riding models from different manufacturers so rewarding.

So, after that rambling introduction, it’s time to stop procrastinating and try to set down my thoughts on the new Triumph Tiger 1200 which has its own very distinctive design flavour.

To their credit, Triumph has made no bones about the fact that, with the new Tiger 1200, their sights have been firmly set on the BMW R 1250 GS. Both are shaft-driven so they are natural rivals in the adventure field. On paper, Triumph has the BMW licked: more power and less weight – not to mention visually less bulk but the same fuel capacity – tells a story but, as always, it’s only part of the story: the new Tiger 1200 might just have the BMW licked in the real world as well.

As is Triumph’s way, the new generation of an existing model is light years ahead of the old model: the new Tiger 1200 is measurably better in every way than the outgoing model. It almost makes you wonder what they were thinking with the old version? But that is being unfair: you can look at any previous generation of any bike from any manufacturer and wonder how they managed to make something so clunky.

That’s not to say that the old Tiger 1200 was a bad bike, but time and technology have moved on and any manufacturer knows that to stand still is to die in the market. But it is the amount by which the Tiger 1200 has moved on that is impressive. Triumph said it would be better and, by gum, it is!

A strict diet has resulted in shedding 25kgs from the overall weight (making the all-in weight 17kgs less than the R 1250 GS) and this has transformed the Tiger’s chassis dynamics. The one word that kept springing to mind, whether on dirt or tar was ‘confidence.’ The new Tiger just instils so much confidence no matter the surface upon which you are rolling.

There are five models in total, although only four are coming to South Africa. The Rally models are the off-road focussed ones and run on a 21” front wheel (18” rear). The GT models, are more road-focused and run a 19” front wheel, also with an 18” rear. Both Rally and GT are available in Pro or Explorer configurations, the differences between the two being the size of the petrol tank: 20-litres for the Pro, 30-litres for the Explorer.

All models have the same engine and chassis components – semi-active suspension, cornering ABS and Traction Control, Brembo Stylema brakes, a TFT dash with connectivity, cruise control, an up/down shifter, hill hold, auxiliary lights, cornering lights, heated grips, a centre stand and six riding modes, which adjust the ABS, semi-active suspension, traction control and throttle map. The Explorer adds a 30-litre tank (10-litres bigger), tyre pressure monitors, blind spot detection and heated seats.

What is immediately impressive about the 30-litre models is the lack of bulk at the front of the bike. Somehow, Triumph engineers have managed to fit in another ten litres of fuel seemingly without increasing the size of the tank, although, of course, it is larger but in a fore-and-aft dimension and crucially no wider. The seat, while being supremely comfortable, is very narrow at the front so that when standing up on the pegs, you just don’t feel as if there is a large machine between your legs. Look down while standing, and the enormous bulk that characterises the GS Adventure just isn’t there: it’s a very impressive piece of packaging.

If the Explorer models lack bulk, then the Pro models are positively anorexic! They manage to make any other adventure bike feel very large and this, naturally, translates into a supremely accessible bike to swing a leg over. Yes, they’re tall, but it’s an adventure bike: they’re all tall so get over it (literally!). If you’re too short, well, I’m afraid it’s just tough luck. There is a low seat option but that will only go so far in solving the height problem.

The weight loss is the real story here. 25kgs is a huge amount of weight to lose (try picking up a 25kg bag of sand) and it’s immediately noticeable on the move. The old Tiger handled well but the handling could never be accused of being quick or nimble. The new Tiger is another thing altogether: the handling is quick and sharp on tar and, off road, it’s as easy to control as the Tiger 900.

A large factor in this ability is the new Showa semi-active suspension. Automatic preload adjustment is one thing, but it is the nine levels of damping, from comfort to sport, that is the real icing on the cake. Even better, it can be adjusted on the fly using the toggle switch in the left hand cluster so you can instantly change the damping rate dependent on the surface or how you feel like riding.

In full comfort mode, the ride has a magic carpet quality, easily a match for the GS’s system which impressed me so much when the 1250 version was launched here a couple of years ago, and a few flicks of the toggle firms everything up for a press-on style of riding.

You can also simply select ‘Rain’ or ‘Road’ riding modes which are preset with their own damping levels – generally towards the softer side – but ‘Sport’ is the bees’ knees, providing a confidence-inspiring (that word again!) stability to the front, especially in the long, fast sweeping turns of Mpumalanga, where the launch was held. The (linked) brakes, with Brembo Stylema callipers are, of course, monstrously powerful but never sharp: just mountains of smooth and progressive stopping power.

Much has been written about the new T-plane crankshaft first seen in the Tiger 900. The offset crankpins give a firing order of 1, 3, 2, with a firing ‘gap’ between 3 and 2. Not only does this give the engine more vibration (never intrusive – let’s call it ‘character’) and a much gruffer exhaust note, as well as better traction off-road, but it also addresses one of the criticisms of the ‘old’ 1200cc triple: it was simply too smooth and lacked low-rpm grunt.

The new engine has bags of torque when pottering along at 2000rpm and then screams up to its redline, accompanied by a bass howl from the exhaust, with an unending surge of power. Such is the power delivery that you tend to forget that you are riding a triple sometimes. It’s just a relentless surge of power that manages to be both intoxicating and unintimidating at the same time.

The ‘cockpit’ is an attractive place to occupy. Switchgear is chunky and solid, the TFT dash is large, clear and well-designed, the screen is small but gives good wind protection and is easily (manually) adjustable for height. The rider triangle was near perfect for me (6ft+ tall) and the handlebars were ideally positioned for standing off-road without resorting to a tool kit to adjust them. And over it all, is typical Triumph build quality which I would argue no other bike can approach.

If there was one disappointment, which is purely subjective, it is that the colour schemes are a bit dull and not up to the style of the rest of the bike. If that stops you from buying one, however, then I’m not sure you’ve got your priorities right! It is an extremely good-looking bike, especially in Rally guise with spoked wheels: the right balance between style and functionality.

Is it better than the GS? I don’t think that’s the relevant question here. The new Tiger 1200 is enormously better than the old model and is a brilliant adventure bike in its own right, that can hold its own in any company. Will it take sales away from BMW or KTM? That’s a harder question to answer as both brands have such a loyal following.

If rejection of the Triumph Tiger 1200 as a serious adventure proposition was based on the performance of the old model, then that assessment has to be completely revised with the new one. This is a truly brilliant bike that has not only addressed all the criticisms of the old but improved in every other area, whether those areas needed to improve or not.

Now you can talk about Triumph, BMW and KTM in the same breath, with neither giving anything away to the other and that has to be Triumph’s biggest achievement with the new Tiger 1200.