Friday, October 30, 2020

Triumph Tiger Rally Pro: First Ride Impression

Triumph Malaysia finally has the demo bike for the Tiger 900. I have been waiting in anticipation to test ride this bike since their announcement release in December 2019 and the press test ride and articles in March 2020. The demo bikes was supposed to be available in March but it was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown. I was over the moon when Triumph informed that they have the demo bikes available for the weekend. Made the necessary arrangement and went for the test ride.

There were four demo bikes available: Rally, Rally Pro, GT and GT Pro. I booked the Rally Pro and GT Pro demo bike. Figured if I want to test ride the bikes I might as well go for the highest spec. The first bike I test rode was the Rally Pro. There are 3 colors available for the Rally and Rally Pro: Black, White and Green. They only brought in the Green and Black color. I was hoping the Rally Pro came in red but since it is only available for the GT version, I would go for the black.

When I first saw the row of Tigers I felt like a kid at Christmas. I wasted no time checking the bikes out especially the seat heights on both the Rally Pro and GT Pro. I was more comfortable with the height of the Rally Pro. The bike looks smaller than the predecessor and it also feels lighter too.

The sexy Triumph Tiger Rally Pro
I love the new look of the new Tigers; very aggressive and menacing. Imagine driving along minding your own business and when you look into the rear view mirror you are greeted with the look of the Tiger trailing behind. I would feel intimidated and move out of the way immediately.

The aggressive front look of the Tiger
 
The engine feels like a twin engine at low rpm; vibrations can be felt from the handlebars but when it goes into a higher rpm, that is where the triple shines. It is very smooth and the engine can be felt when accelerating. This is one bike which is very easy and tempting to go fast and get into trouble with the law.
 

The Pro version comes with a quickshifter installed. Up-shifting is very smooth but not so when downshifting. It is choppy and the engine breaking could be felt so I would manually downshift for a smoother transmission. Another function which comes with the Pro is the auto off turn signal, engine protection bars, skid plate, a centerstand, LED fog lights, phone/motorcycle connectivity, and heated seats for both rider and passenger and heated grips.

 

 

 

Being on an adventure bike means it has a higher center of gravity. I would expect it to be hard to do a U-turn but that is not the case. The bike is well balanced and very easy to do a u-turn on even when riding two up.

 

 
The bike is very stable at highway speeds. There are no vibrations felt and little wind buffeting at the hanndlebars and front. This is because of the wind deflector at the sides and the huge windscreen. There are 5 positions for the windscreen and easily adjusted with one hand on the go.

There are 6 riding modes for the Rally Pro and 99% of the time the bike is on the Sport mode. Tried riding on the Road mode to see the difference and it is tamer but less fun. One can change the mode on the go using the joystick. Just turn off the throttle, change the mode, confirm it with the 'ok' button and the new mode is set.
 

   
Decals on the Rally Pro
 
Regarding the joystick, the location is very near the indicator switch. The first few times I was trying to change the modes, I thought the joystick was faulty. Turns out I was turning the right and left indicators on and off at the traffic lights. I bet the cars behind me must be thinking that I have lost my marbles turning the indicator left and right.

There is a foam lined compartment phone storage located under the passenger seat. There is also a 12-volt charging port next to the seat lock. It is very convenient as it protects the phone from the elements and charges it on the go.

The Tiger in the Artic

Riding standing up feels very natural. The tank is smaller than the 800 which makes griping them easier and more comfortable. When standing, the controls are perfectly placed and reachable.

The complain about the Tiger would be the lights. The passing light only can be used when the daytime running light is on. If the normal lights are used, the passing light button turns on the high beam instead. It is also a shame that when the daytime running lights are on, the fog lights cannot be used. It would make the bike have a better presence on the road. Hopefully Triumph will rectify this issue on the next update. Using the normal light makes the Tiger look weird with only one side lit and the other is for the highlight.
 
 Remember to ride safe, be vigilant and keep the rubber side down

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