| July 3, 2023
Ever wonder what it’s like to live with a Tiger? Or two of them? We did with Triumph’s Tiger 1200 Rally Explorer and Tiger 1200 GT Explorer.
The Triumph Tiger 1200 Rally Explorer loves playing in the dirt.
Words and Photography by Keith Dowdle
I first rode the new Tiger 1200s at the global press launch in Portugal in April 2022. We wanted to revisit Triumph’s flagship adventure touring lineup on our home turf, so Triumph Motorcycles America loaned us, not one but two Tigers—the more off-road-focused Tiger 1200 Rally Explorer and the more street-going 1200 GT Explorer. Both models represent the top-of-the-line offering in the company’s five-model Tiger lineup.
All Tiger 1200 models ride on the same chassis, with different features on the varying trims. The Explorer comes with all the bells and whistles, including high-end amenities like blind-spot monitoring, heated rider and passenger seats, fog lights and a larger 7.9-gallon tank versus the 5.2-gallon tank on the others.
I’m not getting deep into the weeds regarding technical details and specs in this review since that information is readily available in our previous review, 2023 Triumph Tiger 1200 GT & Rally Lineup, and on the Triumph website. However, the wheel size and the fuel tank size will impact the ride characteristics, so that’s important to know as we discuss how these motorcycles handle on and off the road.
The tires are also important. For this review, I rode the same tires that come on the bikes from the factory, which, for the Rally are Metzeler Karoo Street, and for the GT are Metzeler Tourance. I point this out because, in my initial review, the Rally model I rode in Portugal was fitted with the Triumph-handbook-approved knobby—the Michelin Anakee Wild. Having a full knobby versus an 80/20, which is just an aggressive-looking street tire, makes a huge difference off-road, and I quickly found the limits of the Karoo Street tire when riding off-road.
So, let’s get into it.
The Triumph Tiger 1200 GT Explorer would just as soon stick to the pavement (but doesn’t mind getting a little dirty).
First Up, The Rally Explorer
The idea was to ride these bikes as much as possible to get to know them and understand what it would be like to own one. I planned to ride every day, rain or shine, for the two weeks I had each bike. After picking up the Rally, I proceeded straight to the closest Forest Service roads and began scrolling through the beautiful menu on the full-color seven-inch TFT screen, looking for the Off-Road Pro ride mode. Triumph has made it perfectly clear that their goal is to make the Tiger 1200 a better choice for the consumer than the current best-selling large-displacement ADV bike, the BMW GS, which makes this a perfect review for me since I own a GS. Knowing that, as I approached the first dirt section, I asked myself: ‘Why is Triumph forcing me to stop before I can switch to an off-road mode?’ I don’t have to stop on the GS to go from road mode to off-road mode. For me, this is big because if I ride a Backcountry Discovery Route, or if I’m riding my favorite routes in the North Georgia mountains, I’m constantly going from street to dirt and back again during my ride. I don’t want to have to stop every time the surface changes. You could leave it in Off-Road mode, but if it’s raining and you’re on twisty tarmac, it’s nice to have the protection of all that expensive lean-sensitive ABS and traction control when you’ve got 147 horsepower under your butt. That said, once in Off-Road Pro, I pushed the windscreen down to its lowest position and got after it.
Even when sitting still, the Rally 1200 looks ready for some serious off-road fun.
The motor, with its unique 1-3-2 firing order, wants to be ridden differently than the rival GS, and that’s a good thing if you like to ride aggressively, but as to be expected, the stock tires quickly met the limits of their capability. However, after I stopped to let a bit of air out of the tires and backed the aggression off just a touch, the bike was a dream to ride off-road.
The Showa semi-active suspension and the 21-inch front wheel make this bike a much better off-road machine than the GS. The conventional fork provides more feedback and precise steering than the Telelever suspension found on the GS. It also clears large obstacles like logs and deep ruts better, thanks to the 21-inch front wheel.
Turning the bike by sliding the rear—with the rear brake and under power—feels natural. I think the Triumph engineers nailed it regarding the overall geometry of this bike. Even when the Rally 1200 sits on its center stand, the bike’s stance looks ready for some serious off-road fun. The motor is fantastic, and the power delivery is linear, but again, the bike really wants to be ridden aggressively, and while it has more low-end torque than the previous Tiger, you do need to have good clutch and throttle skills at low speed to keep it from stalling. That said, if you’re like me, you don’t like going slow anyway and drifting the rear through the turns on the new Tiger is a blast.
Lot’s to look at.
The two off-road ride modes offered on the Rally models are noticeably different, and the mode you choose will sometimes depend more on the terrain you’re riding than your mood. For me, Off-Road Pro was by far the best simply because there’s no traction control that’s going to kick in when you least expect it. The Off-Road mode offers more gentle throttle control at low speeds and when you initially apply the throttle, but the traction control is too aggressive for my liking. I found that it would activate when I wasn’t expecting it, which almost tossed me over the bars on a couple of occasions. Off-Road Pro also unleashes the full 147 horsepower and switches the ABS completely off. While some people will really love having ABS disabled, I do like having the front ABS on slightly and configured for dirt, similar to how most other brands are doing it. After all, trying to slow a 575-pound motorcycle while coming down a steep gravel hill can be tricky, and I’ve found that having the rear ABS off but still having the front active if only slightly, makes it much easier to handle these big beasts when you’re going faster than you probably should be on scary loose terrain.
The GT Explorer (pictured) feels “little” compared to the Rally Explorer.
Another thing that I got used to doing over the two weeks of riding the Rally was remembering to reset back to Off-Road or Off-Road Pro after shutting off the ignition. The bike automatically reverts to Road mode when the ignition is shut off, and although the TFT screen does remind you upon start-up, it’s still easy to miss, and it can catch you out if you’ve made a stop and forget to go back to your previous setting. Another thing that happens when you turn the ignition off, on both the Rally and the GT models, is that your heated seat, grips and fog lights all revert to off, even if you had everything on when you stopped. It was irritating at first, but after the first week of daily riding, I became accustomed to resetting everything back the way I had it. It’s a minor inconvenience, but I hope Triumph will change this with a software update because it is frustrating.
I spent two solid weeks on the Rally Explorer and learned to love the bike once we got to know each other. It handles exceptionally well off-road, and when you transition to the pavement and change into Sport mode, the motor, combined with the super-smooth quickshifter, makes the Rally Explorer a blast to ride on twisty tarmac. The Rally, even though it rolls on a larger 21-inch front wheel and carries almost an inch more suspension travel than the GT, is still my weapon of choice on pavement, mainly because it’s tall enough that I don’t find myself dragging the pegs in every turn as I did on the GT.
Like sport-touring bikes that are fast and comfortable, the Tiger GT 1200 GT Explorer feels much the same way.
Good-Bye Rally, Hello GT
I parted ways with the Rally Explorer after two weeks and start my next stint on the GT Explorer. Since the GT is equipped with cast wheels and street tires, I had no plans to take this bike off-road, even though it offers one off-road ride mode. So, I planned several long, paved loop rides and started my two-week regimen again. Having already spent so much time on the Rally, I basically knew what to expect with the GT.
The GT sits much lower than the Rally and feels much smaller than a GS in similar trim. I kept referring to it as “this little bike” whenever I’d talk about it over the next few weeks because it felt small. But great things come in small packages, and that’s certainly the case with the GT. The smaller 19-inch front wheel and lower stance still pack the same 147 horsepower, but with the weight slightly lower to the ground, the GT easily rips through the tight twisties. I was passing sport bike riders like they were standing still. In Sport Mode and with the RPMs kept between six and eight thousand, the T-Plane Triple sounds incredible—and the action of the quickshifter is smooth and flawless. You can bang through the gears, and the shifter will blip the throttle on downshifts, while upshifts are quick and effortless. I had a ball on some of my favorite mountain roads.
The Rally Explorer handles exceptionally well off-road and is still a blast to ride on twisty tarmac.
I prefer riding on dirt, and I wasn’t really looking forward to staying clean and sticking to the pavement for two weeks, but the more I rode the GT, the more fun I had on it, and I honestly didn’t want to give it back after what seemed like a really short time. But, before I knew it, the weeks had flown by, so I asked the guys at Triumph if I could keep it a little longer. No deal—they already had plans for it, so I had to return it. Damn. I really enjoyed that bike. It reminded me of the days when sport touring bikes were popular. They were fast machines that were comfortable to ride, which perfectly describes the Tiger 1200 GT Explorer. It’s super-fast, very comfortable, and has all the modern technology to keep you safe and happy.
After spending significant time reviewing these bikes, I could easily own either the Rally Explorer or the GT Explorer. I grew up racing motocross, and I still like getting dirty, so the Rally would be my first choice, but you can’t go wrong living with any of these Tigers. CN
VIDEO | Triumph Tiger 1200 Rally Explorer
What You Need To Know
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