Triumph Motorcycles India has opened the bookings of its Tiger 900, which is its all-new Tiger in a decade. The booking amount is Rs 50,000 and you may book yours either at http://tiger-900.triumphmotorcyclesindia.com/ or at your nearest Triumph dealership. All Triumph dealerships are accepting bookings of the new Tiger. This story will help if you're confused about which variant to book.
What's new?
Almost everything. I shall tell you all about it as and when I get to review the motorcycle. As of now, you should be content in knowing that in a world of twin-cylinder adventure motorcycles, the Triumph Tigers have stood out, among other things, for being inline-threes, which, thankfully, hasn't changed. What has changed, in addition to the bump in cubic capacity (it's 888 cc now), is the firing interval. Again, we'll talk about that in detail while and after testing the motorcycle. For those of you who cannot function properly unless the power and torque figures are mentioned, here they are: 95.2 PS at 8,750 rpm, and 87 Nm at 7,250 rpm.
Also, Triumph has gotten rid of the confusing nomenclature. Gone are the XR, XCA, XCX, XRX, Triple X, Tyrannosaurus Rex, etc., model designations. The new bikes have easier-to-remember names now. GT, GT Low, GT Pro, Rally, and Rally Pro. GT Pro and GT Low are not coming to India as of now. There is also a base version that's simply called the Tiger 900. That's also not coming to India.
The base version and all GTs are more road-biased Tigers (can hunt a red junglefowl at best), whereas the Rally variants are obviously more off-road focussed (can hunt bigger prey and most other ADVs). Let me tell you a bit about each one of them.
Triumph Tiger 900
This base Tiger 900 is essentially the Tiger 900 GT without the latter's cornering ABS and traction control, 7-inch TFT screen, four riding modes, cruise control, and adjustable suspension. Therefore, the base version makes do with just two riding modes (Road and Rain), 'regular' ABS and traction control, non-adjustable suspension, and a 5-inch TFT screen.
Please note that the suspension hardware in both motorcycles is the same—both bikes have 45 mm Marzocchi USD forks, and Marzocchi monoshocks. The only difference is in the adjustability, or the lack of it. The fork in the base model is non-adjustable, whereas in the GT it's adjustable for rebound and compression damping. Similarly, while the base model's monoshock is only adjustable for preload, the GT's is adjustable for both preload and rebound.
Everything else—Brembo Stylema 4-piston monobloc calipers, twin 320 mm rotors, radial front master cylinder, 810-830 mm seat height, wheel and tyre sizes (100/90-19 and 150/70R17)—remain the same. Of course, the engine and chassis remain the same across all variants. So does the 20-liter fuel tank.
This base Tiger 900 costs 9,500 pounds in the UK (Rs 8.83 lakh).
Please, Triumph, can we have a base Tiger 900 with GT's adjustable suspension, but no riding modes, traction control, and TFT screen? Please?
Triumph Tiger 900 GT
The paragraphs above explain the GT as well, but I shall reiterate for everyone's benefit. The GT sits just above the base Triumph Tiger 900, and gets cornering ABS and traction control, four riding modes (Road, Rain, Sport, and Off-Road), adjustable suspension, cruise control, heated grips, and a 7-inch TFT screen.
It costs 11,100 pounds (Rs. 10.31 lakh) in its home country, and would be the base Tiger variant in India.
Triumph Tiger 900 GT Low
Another variant that Triumph isn't getting to India is this—the Tiger 900 GT Low. It's the same as the GT, but with a beautifully low 760-780 mm saddle height, which would have been a boon for shorter riders who want an adventure motorcycle.
However, that low saddle height comes at the expense of suspension travel. There's 40 mm less of it at the front (140 mm vs GT's 180 mm) and 19 mm less (151 mm vs GT's 170 mm) at the rear. But it would have still sufficed.
The UK price for this one is exactly the same as the GT's.
Triumph Tiger GT Pro
Triumph isn't getting this one as well to India. It's the only Tiger to feature electronically adjustable suspension. Yes, even the top-end Rally Pro doesn't come with it. Integrated "My Triumph" connectivity system, up/down quickshifter, heated seats, illuminated switches (Pulsar boys will laugh here), five riding modes (Road, Rain, Sport, Off-Road, and Rider-Programmable), and tyre pressure monitoring system comprise the other additional goodies.
Its UK price is 12,800 pounds (Rs. 11.89 lakh).
Please also note that all Tigers, except the Rally variants, come with alloy wheels.
Triumph Tiger 900 Rally
As mentioned earlier, this is the off-road focussed Tiger. Hence, it gets spoked-rims, Pirelli Scorpion Rally tyres (tubeless, of course), and way more suspension travel (240 mm at the front, and 230 mm at the rear) than the road-biased Tigers. There's Showa suspension front and rear, and while the monoshock is adjustable for preload and rebound, the 45 mm USD fork is adjustable for preload, rebound, and compression damping as well.
The seat height is 850-870 mm. All other features are the same as on the GT. Therefore, you get the same four riding modes, cornering ABS and traction control, etc. Strangely enough, Triumph has not mentioned ground clearance of the new Tigers anywhere.
The 900 Rally's UK price is 11,700 pounds (Rs 10.87 lakh)
Triumph Tiger 900 Rally Pro
It gets everything that's on the 900 Rally, but the riding modes here are better than even the GT Pro's. The Rally Pro gets six riding modes—Road, Rain, Sport, Off-Road, Off-Road Pro, and Rider-Programmable.
The dry weight of the Tiger 900 Rally Pro is 201 kg, which makes it the heaviest Tiger of this group. However, the outgoing 800s are heavier. The heaviest Tiger 800 (the top-end XCA) weighs 208 kg dry. The lightest Tiger 800 (the base 800 XR) weighs 199 kg dry. The lightest 900 (the base Tiger 900) weighs 192 kg dry. It can be concluded that Triumph has managed to make the new motorcycle lighter by seven kilograms.
The 900 Rally Pro's UK price is 13,100 pounds (Rs 12.16 lakh).
2020 Triumph Tiger 900 India Price (*all prices mentioned are ex-showroom*)
The cheapest Tiger—the 800 XR—used to cost Rs 12 lakh in India. It costs Rs 8.54 lakh (9,200 pounds) in the UK. As mentioned earlier, the Tiger 900 GT costs Rs 10.31 lakh in the UK. Even if your math is as bad as mine, you'll still be able to figure out that the price difference between the 800 XR and 900 GT in the UK is a whopping Rs 1.77 lakh!
Of course, Triumph India can't even think of maintaining a similar price in India as no one is going to buy an entry-level Tiger, that too road-biased, at an ex-showroom price of Rs 13.77 lakh. The recently launched BMW F 900 XR's price of Rs 11.50 lakh should ideally compel Triumph to keep at least the Tiger 900 GT's price below Rs 12 lakh.
The top-end Tiger 800 XCA used to sell for Rs 15.17 lakh in India. The competing model from BMW, the F 850 GSA, sells for Rs 15.40 lakh. Keeping both figures in mind, I would not expect the top-end Tiger 900 Rally Pro to cross Rs 16 lakh.
Do let me know in the comments section below what you think the prices will/should be. Triumph will disclose them next month.
