Five things you should know about the Triumph Tiger 800 XRx

We have already reviewed the Triumph Tiger 800 XRx. You can head HERE to get a detailed breakdown on the motorcycle. But, if you much rather have a quick espresso than a grande latte, then here’s a low-down the five things you absolutely must-know about this Triumph.

More road biased

The XRx might run on 19-inch rubber, but these get a road-tread pattern and sit on alloy wheels. There’s also not enough travel to do any serious off-roading. But, we must say, the Off-Road mode does make things better for the XRx on dirt and dusty trails.

Much easier to ride than it looks

The Tiger, even in this 800cc form, looks big. It looks bulky and tall. And it has a wet weight of around 215kg. But, once you are astride it, the low 790mm seat height, the lovely weight distribution, the wide but easy to reach handlebar, and the fluid but alert throttle response, make the XRx as easy to ride as the Himalayan. Well, almost.

Gets as hot as a hair dryer

Now, given the Tiger’s easy to ride nature, I would have pegged it as a brilliant commuter as well. It’s fast, relatively easy to filter through traffic with, has a good ride and a lovely view upfront. But, that engine in anything but the coolest of climes turns into a hair dryer. Okay, it's not as bad as it sounds, but it channels all its hot air right to the rider’s thighs, making it impossible to commute on. And that’s a little sad.

Rider modes work

We might not be fans of the way the Tiger’s instrumentation looks, but we love the info on it. It also acts as your rider mode interface; push a button, toggle through some menus, and you are set. The XRx comes with three rider modes. Road mode is great for touring and regular riding as it keeps the ABS and the traction control at its stringent best. Off-Road meanwhile dulls the throttle response, switches off the ABS to the rear brake, and allows the rear wheel to slip a bit before allowing TC to cut in.

Finally, there’s the Rider mode. Here, the rider can mix and match. For instance the Road throttle response can be matched with Off-Road ABS and traction control settings, or visa versa. What’s more, there are two additional throttle maps to choose from in Rider mode – Rain and Sport, the two obviously doing different things to the throttle response. We like Sport.

Great for touring

And now the most important bit – fitness of purpose. The Tiger 800 XRx is meant mainly for touring, and touring mainly on the road. In that sense, it ticks all the right boxes. It has a large and plush seat, good luggage carrying options, a windscreen that works, a reasonably large tank, and a good ride. Okay, so it might not be the best handling tourer out there and it could also do with more refinement when it comes to three digit cruising speeds, but then many other bikes aren't perfect either.