In life, sometimes, the distance between plan and reality is influenced by inadequate knowledge.
Before I bought my motorcycle, the plan was clear. Commuting during the week as much as I could. Regular breakfast runs on the weekend for pancakes and exploring. Longer rides every couple of months, including riding to Lesotho to visit family.
The choice of which motorcycle to purchase was guided primarily by its aesthetics and by an invitation to the launch. I didn’t know enough to determine whether the motorcycle I was buying would be comfortable enough to do all of the above.
Then life happened. Commuting fell by the wayside after a few years. The longer rides were often on test motorcycles because I was writing about them. I had to cancel two multi-day rides because of work. Weekend runs dried up a bit because of family responsibilities. And, more recently, I wasn’t allowed to ride for over six months due to health reasons.
My decision regarding what motorcycle to purchase would be very different now. And the reality is, it leans towards what can be classified as the middleweight sport-touring category or what some call a “tall-rounder”. The Triumph Tiger 800 Sport, which I recently had the opportunity to ride for a couple of days, falls firmly within this category.
It is essentially a multi-role motorcycle with adventure aesthetics and design, in particular a more upright riding stance. The Tiger 800 Sport draws from the more adventure-focused Tigers while being a sporty, road-biased motorcycle that you can comfortably commute with yet use to go on longer runs over the weekend.
While middleweight motorcycles run the risk of lacking personality or character because they are designed to be a bit more efficient and functional, the Tiger 800 Sport does not fall victim to this and was not overshadowed by the Speed Triple or the Tiger 900 in the showroom.
Design-wise, it looks like the offspring of a Speed Triple and a Tiger 900, with the fairing giving it a sporty look, even when standing still, while also providing decent wind protection. The windscreen is adjustable; I found the lowest point worked best for me. When I had it higher, the wind buffeted around my helmet. It also has daylight running lights.
On the road to meetings, it was easy to handle and responsive with some oomph while lane splitting. It has three riding modes, namely Road, Rain and Sport. I stayed in Road mode when commuting, shifting to Sport on the highway and on my Sunday run.
The new 798cc inline three-cylinder engine puts out 84.6kW of power and 84Nm of torque, while the Triumph Shift Assist up-and-down quick shifter is smooth. I even experimented with it a bit on roads through town.
To fully experience the Tiger 800 Sport, I decided to ride to Brits (because I have never been there) via Satellite Road towards Hartbeespoort and then back home past Hennops (after a slice of cake and a coffee in Harties), which allowed me to both open up the throttle a bit and flip it through the curves. I played between riding upright and leaning into the curves, and at no stage did my heart start beating faster or, proverbially, jump into my throat.
After an hour and a half in the saddle, I still felt comfortable enough to go a bit further. Its height was perfect, enabling me to easily have both feet on the ground when stopping in the streets of Brits.
The full-colour TFT display is easy to read and has Triumph’s standard connectivity system, providing all the necessary data as well as control of calls, music and navigation.
The bike rides on 17-inch tyres, front and rear, and has a Showa suspension system and OCABS brakes. It comes in four colour variants, namely the standard Graphite/Sapphire Black or Sapphire Black, Cosmic Yellow/Sapphire Black and Caspian Blue/Phantom Black, which are an extra cost.
If, like me, you have realised that what you need is a motorcycle that is versatile enough to incorporate into your day-to-day while allowing for enjoyable longer rides on the weekend, you won’t go wrong with the Triumph Tiger 800 Sport.
Wanted
