The cat’s out of the bag and has become the entry-level variant in its lineup. The case in consideration here is of the newly unveiled Triumph Tiger 850 Sport which recently broke cover. As expected, it will serve as the base variant in the Tiger family and is set to arrive in India in February 2021. Triumph says that there is a sizable number of prospective customers, mostly first-time big bike buyers, who seek an affordable motorcycle which is not overloaded by the latest electronic gadgetry and offers a non-aggressive yet strong performance.
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The Tiger 850 Sport is aimed at that particular set of motorcyclists. It is an entry-level ADV-tourer and is developed for tarmac riding rather than busting down the trails.
Powertrain
As we reported earlier, the moniker might suggest that Triumph might have downsized the engine but that isn’t the case here as it features the same 888 cc in-line three-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine with T-Plane crankshaft which can be found on the other Tiger 900s. But Triumph has slightly detuned the maximum power and torque output, in order to make it more approachable.
The Tiger 850 Sport puts out 85 hp (10 hp less) at 8,500 rpm and 82 Nm (5 Nm less) at 6,500. The transmission is a 6-speed unit which is connected to the engine via a slip and assist clutch. Triumph has also thrown in two riding modes in the mix, namely: road and rain.
Looks and features
As far as looks are concerned, the Tiger 850 Sport looks similar to the Tiger 900s and differentiates itself by means of dual-tone colour themes (Graphite and Diablo Red, and Graphite and Caspian Blue). This entry-level ADV rides on 19-inch front and 17-inch rear wheels shod with latest Michelin Anakee Adventure tyres. When it comes to features, the Tiger 850 is equipped with a five-inch TFT instrument panel that offers all the essential readouts like speed, odometer, trip meter, etc. The new Tiger also gets a switchable traction control system.
Other specifications
Despite being an entry-level model, Triumph has made sure that the Tiger 850 Sport is equipped with premium cycle parts. The Tiger 850 adventure-tourer gets 45 mm Marzocchi inverted forks with 180 mm travel along with a gas pressurised mono-shock rear suspension unit with manually adjustable preload and 170 mm rear-wheel travel. Braking is taken care of by a pair of 320 mm front discs stopped by monoblock 4-piston Brembo Stylema calipers and a 255 mm single rear disc with Brembo single-piston sliding caliper. The bike gets dual-channel ABS as standard.
Expect the new variant to be priced well below the current Tiger range which starts at INR 13.7 lakh (ex-showroom) for the GT variant.