A NEW TIGER ON THE PROWL
“THE ROAD-ORIENTED GT HAS A MORE NOSE-DOWN PITCH AND FEELS LIGHTER AND LOWER THAN THE RALLY”
Let’s face it: big-bore adventure bikes rarely get ridden off road, not hard anyway. For the most part, the toughest terrain such bikes will see is gravel, and that’s fine. Sure, there’s a small percentage of riders who will take their BMW R1250GS, KTM 1290 Super Adventure or Yamaha Super Ténéré on challenging off-road rides, or even wander onto some single track — and, with the right skillset, those bikes can do remarkable things on dirt. But their size and weight still make them a handful. You can always opt for a middleweight, like the F850GS, 890 Adventure or Ténéré 700, which can handle deepwood excursions almost like a true dual-sport. But then you’d be making a compromise in long-distance comfort and convenience if the majority of your trips include loading up the bike or carrying a passenger when hitting the pavement.
Triumph seems to have hit the sweet spot with the redesigned 2023 Tiger 1200, producing a big adventure bike that has tons of power and space for two-up touring, yet is almost as manageable off-road as a middleweight machine. There are five models to choose from (see sidebar), split into two families: the road-oriented Tiger 1200 GT (base GT, Pro and Explorer) and the off-road-oriented Tiger 1200 Rally (Pro and Explorer). Among other differences, the GTs have cast 19-and 18-inch wheels, while the a 21/18-inch wheel combo.
