If it wasn’t for the oversized “800″ graphics on the sides of the tank, it would be easy to think you’re simply looking at Triumph’s existing Tiger Sport 660. However, despite the similarities the new Tiger Sport 800 packs more than 40 percent more power and promises to be one of the most appealing adventure bikes in the company’s range as a result.
From a capacity increase of only 20 percent (for a total of 798cc) the Tiger Sport 800 manages an additional 33 hp over the visually similar 660 model, increasing the total peak output from 80 to 113 hp. That shifts the bike into a higher category altogether, landing between Ducati’s 111 hp Multistrada V2 and the 117 hp Yamaha Tracer 9 GT+ in terms of power, but achieving it at a substantially lower price than either. The power peak arrives at 10,750 rpm, and while the maximum torque of 61.9 lb.-ft. doesn’t arrive until 8,500 rpm, 90 percent of it is accessible throughout the midrange.
How has Triumph achieved that transformation? It’s largely thanks to an engine that the company classes as “all-new.” It shares elements of the familiar triples used in other models, but in a different combination to anything currently in the range. Even from the outside, the triple’s covers and cases are noticeably different to those of the 660 version, and internally there’s a 78mm bore that is shared with the Street Triple 765 but a new 55.7mm stroke, both substantially larger than the 74 and 51.1mm dimensions of the Tiger Sport 660. The new engine also gets three individual throttle bodies where the 660 uses just one, and exhales through a larger, side-mounted exhaust instead of the smaller bike’s underbelly design.
The exhaust is one of a handful of visual clues, badging aside, that you’re looking at the 800 rather than the 660. Others include new running lights arranged just above the intake on the nose, plus transparent wind deflectors on each side. Lower down, the radiator cowls are more extensive than the smaller bike’s, and a new bellypan wraps around the lower part of the motor. Triumph-branded and radial-mounted four-piston brake calipers at the front are another clue to the increased performance, replacing the axial-mounted Nissins of the 660 model, and they clamp on at the end of a new 41mm Showa fork that is now adjustable for compression and rebound damping.
The unseen changes are more substantial still and extend as far as a slightly redesigned frame to accommodate the wider, triple-throttle body intake system of the new engine. A rebound-adjustable rear shock is added, too, to match the uprated fork, and Triumph has uprated the electronics package to include cornering ABS and traction-control systems, complete with a six-axis IMU. An up-and-down quickshifter and cruise control are also standard, as is the My Triumph Bluetooth connectivity module that allows turn-by-turn navigation, calls, and music information from your phone onto the instrument panel, which is made up of a monochrome upper LCD above a small color TFT panel.
Despite the strong spec and equipment, Triumph is also at pains to point out the low costs of the bike, not just in the initial purchase price, which will be $12,495 when the machines arrive in dealers in March, but in affordable service costs. The company says that the bike has the lowest workshop service times in its class, with intervals set at 10,000 miles.