2016 Triumph Tiger 800 XCx - LONG-TERM TEST UPDATE

When we first received our long-term Tiger, it was lavishly outfitted with all sorts of parts from Triumph's acces­sories catalog. One glaring omission was heated handgrips ($250), which we longed for exactly once, while riding home from the Anaheim Supercross one chilly night in January. The Southern California weather soon heated up, however, and we found ourselves wishing things were a tad less warm.

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Poking around online revealed a few possible cures. A Spanish-Italian design firm called DragonTT offers a set of fairing shrouds ($125 unpainted) meant to deflect the hot air escaping the radiator, but these were designed for the older models and don’t look much different than the ones Triumph added for 2015. Another measure entails lowering the temperature at which the radiator fan turns on using Tune ECU software; unfortunately, there are currently no maps available for 2015-and-newer Tigers with the latest ride-by-wire EFI system. That leaves Triumph’s accessory plastic frame guards ($105), which look like they might provide a layer of insulation between the rider’s legs and the hot steel frame. We’ll add those to our wish list.

Our only other immediate complaint concerned the fork, which in stock trim bottomed under even moderate braking. Stiffer fork springs would surely solve this problem, and WP will be happy to sell you a set for $120. But first we tried the cheap-and-easy fix: raising the oil level to reduce the volume of air in the fork, thus creating a more progressive “air spring” as the fork nears the end of its stroke. Adding 20cc per leg worked wonders, to the point that we’re reconsidering the need for stiffer springs.