2015 Triumph Tiger 800 XRx and Tiger XCx Review

‘Malaga’ – that’s the place listed as the final destination on the itinerary, and that’s where we deplaned after hopping three different flights from New Delhi within the course of about 22 hours. An hour more on the highway along the coast, and we rolled into our digs at Marbella.

Costa del Sol – literally translated as the Coast of the Sun – is a coastal strip in the autonomous region of Andalusia, and also includes the city of Malaga and several picturesque coastal towns in the vicinity, including Marbella.  

Costa del Sol gets over 320 days of sunshine every year and even in winter, daytime temperatures rarely go below 17 degrees Celsius, with the minimum staying at around 9 or 10 degrees. Perfect riding weather!

Geography lessons apart, Marbella was to be our base while test riding the 2015 Triumph Tiger 800 XRx and Tiger 800 XCx around the beautiful countryside of Andalusia.

The first generation Tiger 800 and 800 XC were launched in 2010 and met with considerable success across the world. And Triumph’s engineers have been working hard these four years to build upon an already successful and popular motorcycle.

Their objective: to refine the machine further to provide even more riding pleasure and increased fuel efficiency. The result is the new range, spanning four different variants – the XR, XC and top of the line XRx and XCx.

In a nutshell, the XR variants are more focused to the world of road riding whereas the XC has a more off-road intent.  The main difference are different suspension set ups and wheels. While the XR range comes with Showa forks and a Showa monoshock at the rear, the XC variants are equipped with WP suspension with more travel to boost the bike’s off-road credentials.

The XR range has light-weight cast aluminium wheels, 17 inch at the rear and 19 inch at the front. The XC, on the other hand, has spoked wheels for better durability on rough terrain and comes with 17 inch rear wheel and an off-road oriented 21 inch front wheel.

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The base variants (XR and XC) come with traction control and switchable ABS, but the small ‘x’ on the higher spec machines denote more electronics control, including off-road traction control and ABS plus three configurable Rider riding modes. Chief Engineer on the project, Stuart Wood, sums it up best: “There’s a Tiger for everyone.”

The instrument panel is an analog tachometer and digital multi information display. Additionally, on the top spec variants, you get an advanced trip computer which displays journey time, average speed, average fuel economy, range to empty and instantaneous fuel consumption. There’s also cruise control and a choice of four different throttle maps – rain, road, sport and off-road.

Our ride the next day was the top of the line road-based Tiger 800 XRx with all the technological bells and whistles. We were handed over the keys at random and I was the lucky one to have bagged the only Tiger among the test bikes with an aftermarket Arrow exhaust.

The new Tiger 800 has a new radiator shroud and tank side panels that have sharp lines and taut surfaces.  But these have been designed with purpose – the Tiger’s fuel tank styling also ducts hot air from the engine away from the rider’s legs. And what Triumph calls the “Titanium” powder coat finish on the engine and wheels certainly endows the bike with a premium look.

So, how’s it to ride?

For an adventure bike, the Tiger 800 XRx is not particularly tall, at least it didn’t feel uncomfortably tall for my 5’9” height. At 830mm seat height, I could reach both sides on my toes, but you could reduce the height by 20mm without any tools and it takes all of two minutes. Of course, for shorter riders, there’s also an optional 790-810mm low seat available.

I thumb the starter, rev the engine and the 800cc in-line triple cylinder engine howls with a familiar whine. Of course, the Arrow exhaust makes the bike sound meatier than the rest of the pack. New fuel injectors, higher fuel pressure, new cam profiles, revised air box and revised primary drive tooth profiles are only a few of the enhancements done to the engine to improve efficiency and improve performance.

The gears slot in precisely, thanks to parts from the Daytona 675 supersport bike, and acceleration is strong and smooth. In no time, I had slotted into sixth without realizing so and downshifting to fourth gear is good enough to pull cleanly from 25kmph.

The second generation liquid-cooled in-line 800cc produces 95PS at 9250rpm and although maximum torque of 79Nm is claimed at 7850rpm, the power is spread over a wide range and the bike begins to take off at anything over 4,000rpm. The power band is wide, so just a twist of the throttle in any gear and you have entertaining power over a wide set of revs.

At 216kg wet weight, it’s not a light bike by any standards, but the power is more than enough to haul around all that mass, including the rider, in quite an effortless fashion. Handling is outstanding, and through the twisties of the Sierra Blanca mountains, the Tiger begs to be pushed harder, tighter into corners, never for once losing its poise or making me feel uneasy.

The more I rode it, the more confident I became of the bike’s agility and ability on the road. Of course, the cast aluminium wheels shod with Pirelli Scorpion Trail tyres make it seem too easy to carve corners.

The beautiful roads of the Andalusian countryside not only offer jaw dropping vistas but also the best possible roads to push such a bike’s capabilities. The howl of the engine, particularly when red lining in second and third, becomes an addiction. Precise gear changes, smooth throttle response – thanks to the ride-by-wire technology – make the already spectacular scenery even more enjoyable on the Tiger 800 XRx.

The suspension on the XRx comprises Showa 43mm upside down forks with 180mm travel and a Showa monoshock at the rear with hydraulically adjustable preload and 170mm of travel. It’s more than adequate for road use and the slightly stiff set up makes for a confident handling bike.

The ABS-enabled brakes, with Nissin 2-piston sliding calipers on twin 308mm floating discs offer confident and certain braking, even when braking mid-corner. Braking on the rear wheel is taken care of by a Nissin single piston sliding caliper on a single 255 mm disc. 

In all, we rode about 190km around Marbella on the Tiger 800 XRx and it just kept getting better and better with the hours we clocked on the saddle. The last 20-odd kilometres back to the hotel was through a busy highway with fast traffic and the Tiger brings a grin every time you twist the throttle, at any gear.

Redline it through the lower gears and the in-line three cylinder howl gets highly entertaining. Twist the throttle at a sedate 60kmph on sixth and the strong pull over the rev range gives more than enough confidence on the highway.

Long after we had parked the bikes back at the hotel, we kept hanging around, wishing to take the keys and take it for one more 200km spin.

The next day, we were handed over keys to the Tiger 800 XCx.

On the XC model, spoked wheels, fully adjustable front suspension, fully adjustable rear suspension, trip computer, traction control, switchable ABS, 12V power socket and sump guard are standard features.

As with the XRx, you get the same advanced trip computer on the XCx, cruise control, aluminium sump guard, additional engine protection bars, road and off-road riding modes, three configurable rider riding modes, auto cancel indicators, a centre stand, hand guards and an additional 12V power socket.

Visually, the first difference you notice on the XCx is the beak, and the taller seat height. Of course, it’s got a bigger front wheel as well - a 21-inch spoked one to take on rugged terrain. It’s 5 kg heavier as well than the XRx, and combined with the taller seat height, it makes its weight felt, as long as you are standing still.

It's a different story once you start moving, even over broken terrain. The first part of the day’s ride started with riding an off-road section. It’s not much, but just enough to get you to feel the off-road capabilities of this Tiger 800.

If dirt is your playground, then the XCx is just the toy for you. The WP suspension soaks up bumps easily, both off road and on road. The suspension travel is also longer than the XRx, at 220mm travel for the upside down forks and 215mm rear wheel travel.

This means you can take on almost any kind of surface on the XCx, and in ‘off-road’ position, the traction control system allows increased rear wheel slip compared to the road mode. This limited rear wheel slip allows you to have fun sliding around a bit in the dirt, but the electronics will ensure you don’t spin out of control. The off-road bit was fun, although it ended too soon and too quickly.

It was now back to the road and on a ride from Marbella on the beautiful Ronda road. I decreased the seat height once again, but the softer suspension and taller height of the XCx somehow didn’t inspire as much confidence on road to me as the XRx.

That’s not to say that the XCx isn’t fun or is unwieldy. It’s the same engine, has the same characteristics and the wide power band and throttle response brings instant joy, whether you’re accelerating through corners or taking on an arrow straight incline.

Even on corners, the WP suspension soaks up undulations beautifully, but to me, the slightly stiffer suspension and smaller front wheel of the XRx inspired much more confidence on the twisty bits. Most of all, I was just missing the meaty exhaust note of the Arrow on the XRx.

After lunch at a restaurant overlooking the turquoise blue waters of a lake at a stunning village called Zahara, it was a non-stop ride back the same way to Marbella – all of 86 kilometres. And the Tiger entertained throughout.

Triumph says the new Tiger 800 is good for 65 mpg – that translates to just about 23 kmpl. We filled up at the end of the day, just before pulling up to the hotel, and rough calculations by a few of us on our respective bikes displayed fuel consumption figures of about 22 kmpl – and that too, with spirited riding and red lining through the gears.

With a 19 litre tank, that's a lot of range to go between fuel stops.

Sure, toggling through the different settings, rider modes and road modes is a bit cumbersome at first, but it’s not so complicated that one will not get used to over time.

Overall, the new Triumph 800 left me wanting for more. Two fantastic days on these bikes over some spectacular scenery is just like the perfect ride on a perfect bike in perfect weather.  

Now, the question is, would I buy one or recommend one?

Most certainly, yes. It just feels like the perfect motorcycle for touring, commuting and some bit of off road riding too, whichever variant you look at.

And there are over 70 different accessories available, including heated grips for cold weather riding, aluminium panniers for the serious inter-continental tourers and five different accessory packs as well. 

If you’re going to be mostly off-roading or use the bike for at least 50:50 on-off road use, by all means go for the XC or the XCx. For me, the kind of riding I do, which involves riding mostly highways and the occasional snow, sand and slush, the XR or top of the line XRx is capable enough.  

All four variants are going to be launched in India sometime in spring – that means March or April next year. Our guess is, the top of the line XRx and XCx will retail in the region of Rs 14-15 lakh ex-showroom. So, that means it’s time to start saving up for the Tiger.