| January 22, 2024
Triumph has been fast-tracking the development of its adventure bike lineup over the past few years with one target in mind: to capture the majority of market share in both the U.S. and Europe and reign supreme over its big German competitor. But they’ve got a multiple-front campaign on their hands because the Italians and the Austrians are also looking to take the same prize. Nothing good comes from a war, unless the war is for supremacy in a retail segment, and in this case, you and I are the real winners.
The 2024 Triumph Tiger 900 GT Pro (left) and Triumph Tiger 900 Rally Pro.
By Keith Dowdle
The Tiger 900 isn’t new to this battle, but the engineers at Triumph have thrown another punch at the competition by reintroducing their smallest Tiger and giving it more, well, more punch, since we’re using fighting terms. Thirteen percent more, to be exact. That’s a lot more punch from a motor that was already good enough to win its class in the Aragon Rally, the 1000 Dunas Raid, and at the Bassella Enduro. But Triumph didn’t stop there. In addition to more ponies, there’s also more comfort, more capability, and more attitude.
Let’s be clear: the current Tiger 900 is no slouch. They’ve already sold more than 45,000 units, and everyone from the press to their customers love it. It’s a great bike, but Triumph wasn’t satisfied with good enough, so they took the same T-Plane triple from the 2023 model, added new pistons, a new cylinder head, new camshaft, new intake trumpets, a new exhaust header—and if that’s not enough for you, then you can add a specifically tuned Akrapovic titanium silencer as an accessory. All these changes make for a motor that sounds fantastic and is an absolute blast to ride.
The Tiger 900 Rally Pros were fitted with Michelin Anakee Wild tires for the press intro.
We spent two days in southern Spain, riding the GT Pro on-road the first day and the Rally Pro off-road the second day. Triumph has dropped the Explorer trims and the base model Rally from its lineup for 2024, but you can still get a base model GT, although I’m not sure why you would, since for just a bit more money, you get a lot more features in both Pro variations. Regardless of which you choose, these bikes work exceptionally well. The GT models offer a smaller 19-inch front wheel to produce a steeper geometry for fast on-road riding and better initial turn-in on pavement, while the Rally Pro comes with the more off-road orientated 21-inch front. Each model has a 17-inch rear wheel, using cast for the GT trims and tubeless spokes for the Rally Pro to align with their intended use. Both new Tigers come with twin 320mm full-floating front discs and Brembo Stylema four-piston Monobloc calipers. The brakes work like magic, smooth as silk and very predictable, as you would expect from these high-quality components.
The GT Pro, which we only rode on pavement, is fun to ride and right at home in fast twisties. Plus, if you’re inseam challenged, the low seat height of just 32.3 inches in the low position makes for a very comfortable experience when you come to a stop. But you do pay for that low ride once you start to lean the bike over in fast turns, and I found the constant dragging of foot pegs to be very annoying. If I purchased the GT, I would probably remove the extra-long curb feelers from under the pegs to give myself a bit more lean angle. Wind protection on both the Rally Pro and GT Pro is very good, and the on-the-fly adjustable windscreen is super easy to use and offers a wide range of adjustability. The base model GT comes with a manually adjustable Marzocchi rear suspension, while the GT Pro steps up to an electronically adjustable rear Marzocchi shock and maintains the same manually adjusted front fork found on the base model.
The Showa suspension of the Rally Pro is also excellent on the tarmac.
The vast array of electronics settings offered on the Tiger 900 come in handy when riding on-road. Choosing between Rain, Road and Sport makes a noticeable difference in the way these bikes perform; plus, if you’re not happy with one aspect or another in any of the preset modes, you can make changes within the mode itself, or you can go into a User setting and dial the bike in exactly the way you want it. Personally, I found Sport with just a little extra damping added to the rear shock to be the sweet spot for me in the fast and flowing Spanish roads where the press intro was held. Another new, very cool electronic feature that’s been added to the ’24 model is an emergency deceleration warning wherein the rear blinkers flash several times to warn traffic behind you that you’re stopping fast. I witnessed this feature in action during the press intro when the rider in front of me came around a fast sweeper and met a herd of goats crossing the road in front of us. The flashing blinkers definitely catches your eye, and I can see how this safety feature could be a lifesaver on our roads here in the U.S., where no one seems to be paying attention.
Leaving the pavement behind and getting off-road is where the Rally Pro, which is my favorite of these three variants, shines. The Rally Pro’s long-travel Showa suspension takes the Tiger 900 to a whole new level of performance, providing 9.4 inches of travel in the front and 9 inches in the rear, with manually adjustable preload, compression, and rebound damping. Even if road riding were my focus, I would buy the Rally Pro just for the suspension. Some will argue that the 21-inch front wheel makes the bike feel heavy on the tarmac, but for me, it felt better on the road than the 19-inch front. The action of the higher-quality Showa suspension makes a huge difference in how the bike performs, and once you get off-road, there’s no comparison.
Playing with Tigers in Spain. Cycle News checks out the new Triumph Tiger 900 lineup.
While the seat height in the low position is one and a half inches taller than that found on the GT, I had no trouble touching the ground with my five-foot, nine-inch frame and 34-inch inseam. The center of gravity is well positioned, and the bike doesn’t feel top-heavy even while navigating tight technical terrain. The low-end torque of the T-Plane triple comes in handy in technical situations, and the clutch action is super smooth and easy to manipulate, almost eliminating the concern of stalling.
Switching to Off-Road Pro, which is only available on the Rally model, allows you to fully turn off traction control and ABS. The basic Off-Road mode, which is standard on both the Rally and GT models, activated the traction control and ABS a little too frequently for my taste, and while being able to switch both completely off in Off-Road Pro is nice, I would like to be able to fine-tune the amount of traction control and slide allowed at the rear wheel, like you can with a KTM 890, for example.
The new Tigers feature a newly revised seven-inch optically bonded TFT screen that is beautiful to look at and a pleasure to work with.
Additionally, in riding the Tiger 900, I realized that I’ve become spoiled by having the protection provided by an off-road front wheel ABS setting, which most of the other manufacturers offer. Not having it caught me out on this press ride when I tossed the bike after driving too hard into a slick off-road turn with a little too much front brake applied. No matter how good you are, we’re talking about a 502-pound bike with over a 100 horsepower that you’re trying to control, so having just a little bit of electronic intervention is a good thing, in my opinion.
As with the other Tiger models, you need to stop the bike to switch into or out of any of the off-road modes, which is frustrating for me. There are plenty of other brands on the market that have found a way around this, and I don’t understand why Triumph insists that it’s a “regulatory” issue that they can’t change. Oh, and don’t turn the key off if you’re only stopping for a short break because doing so resets all your off-road settings back to road mode. Argh.
Leaving the pavement behind and getting off-road is where the Rally Pro excels.
While we’re on the subject of electronics, all the settings available on the new Tiger are controlled via a newly revised seven-inch optically bonded TFT screen that is beautiful to look at and a pleasure to work with. It’s the same screen that’s used on the current Tiger 1200, which we found to be very intuitive when we tested that model last year. Scrolling through the screens allows you to change all kinds of settings—from bike performance to how the screen itself appears and what information you see. Your heated seat and grip settings are displayed here, as well as the My Triumph Connect screen, which allows you to connect your smartphone and control music, phone and navigation. Both models also include cruise control, self-canceling turn signals and a quickshifter. All great features that you won’t find on some other competitive models.
The base model GT comes with a manually adjustable Marzocchi rear suspension, while the GT Pro steps up to an electronically adjustable rear Marzocchi shock.
Overall, there’s not much to complain about with the new Tiger. If you’re not riding off-road every day and dealing with those settings quirks I mentioned, you probably won’t find anything to complain about. Offering even more performance, capability, comfort and attitude, the new 2024 Tiger 900 is an incredible machine, and I would own one myself, no question about it. With so many features and benefits, from optimized cornering ABS and traction control to all LED lighting, an estimated 260-mile range, heated seats for both passenger and rider, heated grips, and a motor that growls with attitude, who could ask for more? But Triumph has given us one more incentive to buy this bike—they’ve made it more affordable to own by extending the valve service intervals to a whopping 18,000 miles. That makes for a 27% reduction in service cost based on three years of ownership. The British are definitely coming, but it’s not a bad thing. Unless you’re BMW.
Look for the new Tiger 900 to make its appearance in dealer showrooms in early 2024 with retail pricing starting at $14,995 for the base model GT, $16,895 for the GT Pro, and $17,395 for the Rally Pro.CN
VIDEO | 2024 Triumph Tiger GT Pro & Rally Pro Review
2024 Triumph Tiger 900 Rally Pro Specifications
| MSRP: |
$17,395 |
| Engine: |
Inline 3-cylinder |
| Valvetrain: |
DOHC, 12-valve |
| Cooling System: |
Liquid |
| Displacement: |
888cc |
| Bore x Stroke: |
78.0 x 61.9mm |
| Compression Ratio: |
13.0:1 |
| Horsepower (claimed): |
106.5 bhp at 9500 rpm |
| Torque (claimed): |
66.444 ft-lb at 6850 rpm |
| Fueling: |
Multipoint sequential EFI w/electronic throttle control |
| Exhaust: |
Stainless steel 3-into-1 header system, side-mounted stainless-steel silencer |
| Final Drive: |
O-ring chain |
| Clutch: |
Wet, multi-plate, slip and assist |
| Transmission: |
6-speed |
| Frame: |
Tubular steel trellis main frame, fabricated, bolt-on aluminum rear subframe |
| Swingarm: |
Twin-sided, cast aluminum alloy |
| Front Wheel: |
Spoked tubeless, 21 x 2.15 in. |
| Rear Wheel: |
Spoked tubeless, 17 x 4.25 in. |
| Front Tire: |
Bridgestone Battlax Adventure 90/90-21 in. |
| Rear Tire: |
Bridgestone Battlax Adventure 150/70-R17 in. |
| Front Suspension: |
Showa 45mm upside-down forks, manual preload, rebound, and compression damping adjustment |
| Rear Suspension: |
Showa rear suspension unit, manually adjustable preload and rebound damping |
| Front-Wheel Travel: |
240mm |
| Rear-Wheel Travel: |
230mm |
| Front Brake: |
Twin 320mm floating discs, Brembo Stylema 4 piston Monobloc calipers. Radial front master cylinder, optimized Cornering ABS |
| Rear Brake: |
Single 255mm disc. Single piston sliding caliper, optimized cornering ABS |
| Instruments: |
Full-color 7-in. TFT instrument pack with My Triumph Connectivity System |
| Seat Height: |
33.86-34.65 in. |
| Wheelbase: |
61.06 in. |
| Rake/Trail: |
24.4°/4.59 in. |
| Fuel Capacity: |
5.28 gal. |
| Weight (wet, claimed): |
503 lbs. |
| Fuel Consumption (claimed): |
45 mpg |
| Service Interval: |
6000 miles/12 months (whichever comes first) |
