Tiger Explorer
Maybe you liked the new Triumph Tiger 800 and 800XC adventure-touring bikes last year, but worried that 81 horsepower and 51 foot-pounds of torque just weren’t going to be enough? Well then, maybe the brand-new Triumph Explorer is just what you’ve been waiting for, with a new three-cylinder engine Triumph says is “in excess of 1200cc.” Given that the 1050cc Triumph Speed Triple twisted our dyno to the tune of 117 horses and 73 ft.-lb., the new even-bigger Triple should be quite the powerhouse, far surpassing the venerable BMW R1200GS and probably in the ballpark with the Ducati Multistrada.
The new engine will be the first use of Triumph’s new ride-by-wire electronic-throttle system, and will include cruise control as standard equipment—a first in the class—along with switchable ABS and traction control. In the photo, the frame looks very similar to the steel unit used on the Tiger 800s, but with a single-sided swingarm instead of the 800s’ conventional arm. Wheels are cast 19- and 17-inch units, which aligns the big Explorer more closely with the streetier Tiger 800 and less with the dirtier 800XC and its 21-inch front wheel.
Hard and soft luggage, low and high seats, and a wide range of heated and electrical accessories will be available as options—and the Tiger Explorer’s 950-watt generator should have no trouble powering up all of them.
Speed Triple R
There’s very little not to like about Triumph’s lascivious Speed Triple and its powerful, soulful Triple—and for 2012, a new “R” model is even more desirable, being turned out in Öhlins suspension, PVM wheels and Brembo Monobloc calipers. Öhlins’ gold-anodized NIX30 fork and 43mm sliders up front caressing those lovely four-piston calipers and red-striped lightweight wheel identify the R model immediately, as do the TTX36 shock and five-spoke wheel bringing up the rear. Triumph says the wheels remove 3.7 pounds of unsprung weight from the bike (which should have it down to 477 pounds, wet) and together with the upscale brakes will offer 5 percent better braking performance; ABS (that can be switched off) will be available as an option, which sounds like a good thing to have if you intend to go looking for that last 2 or 3 percent. For 2012, the smaller Street Triple R gets Triumph’s electronic quickshifter; maybe the Speed Triple R will get the same? Triumph’s clamming up on the details ’til the big EICMA show November 8.
Colors available are Metallic Phantom Black or Crystal White with red subframe and detailing. The price differential between Street Triple and Street Triple R was a mere $700 last year, when the Speed Triple sold for $11,799 (and the ABS version for $12,599). Then again, the Street Triple R didn’t get the PVM wheels, so we’ll have to see if the fancier Speed Triple R stays within $1000 of the base model.
Triumph Steve McQueen Edition
Everybody who slobbered all over the Hammarhead Jack Pine back in the August issue of CW will love this one. Triumph’s T100 Bonneville Twin gets the full Great Escape treatment, with matte Khaki Green paint and Steve McQueen’s signature on the sidecovers (Triumph says it got the okay from the late actor’s estate). From there, it’s full black-out, with a black luggage rack, skid plate, black headlight, wheel rims and hubs, fork gaiters, handlebars, rear springs, mirrors and front-fender supports. Each bike will come with a numbered plaque on the handlebar clamp and a certificate of authenticity to prove it’s one of 1100 McQueens Triumph says it will build for the world, and that some residual cool therefore devolves upon the owner.
