It must be in the OEM motorcycle launch handbook to tell testers, “These are some of the best roads you’ll ever ride.” To the point that, if they didn’t say it, I’d almost be more intrigued. And to be fair, they’re always good or great, but for the launch of the Tiger Sport in Alicante, Spain, they were bloody amazing.
The only problem I had was being human.
You see, Triumph launched both the Trident 660 and Tiger Sport 660 at the same event, so I spent half the day on each. The first part of the ride, my duty was to assess the Tiger Sport. But on the mesmerizing strips of asphalt ahead, I let comparison be the thief of joy, and wished that I was rounding each corner on a Trident rather than my Tiger Sport because the roads seemed more suited to that chassis.
It wasn’t until I’d ridden both bikes, decompressed, and flown to Georgia, the country I was visiting, that it hit me; I kept daydreaming about all the places and roads I’d love to explore here on the Tiger Sport 660, and I hadn’t once thought about the Trident. I didn’t give the Tiger Sport the credit it’s due during the ride, but thankfully, hindsight is 20/20.
One thing that didn’t escape my appreciation on the day was the buttery 660 powerplant in Triumph’s entry-level to the Tiger range. But as soon as I got on the gas, I forgot this was aimed at newer riders upgrading to their first big bike.
Entry-Level?
I’ve never ridden a Triumph triple engine that I didn’t like. That doesn’t mean that I hop on a Triumph and expect a near faultless powerplant; it’s almost the opposite. I look with even more scrutiny, thinking, “This might be the time they messed it up.” I hadn’t ridden any Hinckley brand’s 660 powerplants before, but by the time I was in second gear, it felt like an old glove.
The ride from the hotel to the city was forgettable, not in the sense that it was extremely dull, but the Tiger Sport’s engine put my mind into cruise control thanks to how intuitive and non-intimidating it was. I’d had a rough night’s sleep, and this was exactly what I needed to ease my way into the ride. Triumph said the Tiger Sport is made for riders who use their bikes every day, and based on what I’d call ‘the commute’ portion of the ride, I’d happily hop on this and evaporate the sadness of knowing I was riding to the office.
From idle to 3,000 to 4,000 rpm, it feels like anyone with a basic understanding of how to ride could hop on and enjoy this machine. It picks up smoothly and with enough power to get you going effortlessly without ever feeling like it’s making you pay for being a bit harsh. But by 4,000 rpm, the engine issued a warning, not like it was going to attack me, but more like a ‘Party time?’ warning.
When I explored some of the midrange in my urban environment, the Tiger Sport made me feel like, if I were running late for work, I’d still make it on time. But without scaring the crap out of myself.
Once the road opened up, so, too, did my right hand.
How beautiful it was to rev an engine out that excites the hell out of me and gives me enough time to enjoy that before worrying about losing my license. This time is still measured in seconds on the Tiger Sport, but when compared to more extreme tall-rounders, you have a few more seconds of enjoyment and a couple more snips on the gear selector before you’re in license-losing territory. And, since it’s a triple, there’s a rich depth of character all the way to the top of the iconic Triumph howl.
From a smooth run to the first showing of torque at 4,000 rpm is the first of the Tiger Sport 660’s guises—Mr. Effortless. From there, I lived in the meaty midrange that picks up significantly by the engine’s peak torque output of 50.2 lb-ft at 8,250 rpm. Now, on the final stretch to the new 12,650 rpm redline—20% higher than the previous model—the engine felt most alive and responsive, pumping out 94 hp at 11,250 rpm, while still having plenty of room to stretch my chosen gear out on the overrun.
The 660cc triple beneath me made me totally forget that the Tiger Sport is positioned as a “first big bike,” according to Triumph. Not because it was light-years ahead of what a first big bike should produce, but because it was undeniably enough for what any motorcyclist should need on the road, regardless of what your ownership history reads.
On the gas, it takes only a moderate crest to pop the front wheel skyward, so if you’re used to treating the throttle like an on/off switch, as you might on a bike with half the Tiger Sport’s power, this model will force you to measure your application of power with more precision. It’s hard to describe this as an entry-level machine; the way it dishes out what it has to offer means that entry-level riders who are mature and respectful of the power it wields shouldn’t have a problem. And likewise, because of the way it produces power in the mid-to-top end of the rev range, seasoned riders should have very little to complain about.
Although the engine made me completely forget about this bike’s target audience during the ride, the chassis components had me somewhere in between, as I tried to figure out how much ‘sport’ lives in the new Tiger Sport.
Going With The Flow
Everything on the Tiger Sport feels well put together and fairly premium. Yes, it’s the cheapest Triumph you can buy wearing the ‘Tiger’ moniker, but it’s not made cheaply. From the switchgear to the bodywork, there aren’t any major creaks or squeaks. The power delivery of the triple engulfed me in a sense of refinement so much so that it made me forget this could be an entry-level motorcycle, that was, until I started to push onward with the group of Trident 660s that were more suited to these twisties.
As the pace quickened, I became a bit more aggressive with the Tiger Sport. It was nothing obscene, but I braked later and harder, and trailed deeper into the corners. The long-travel (5.9 inches) 41mm non-adjustable Showa forks were perfect when I wanted to soak in my surroundings through the city and on the way to the twisties. The suspension was as smooth and unbothered as the engine. But after my first strong pull of the brake lever, the forks dove and broke the illusion I was living in; this isn’t a $14,000 tall-rounder, and it has to reflect its $10,445 price tag somewhere.
At the time, I wished I were experiencing these unbelievable roads on the Trident 660 and instantly felt ashamed, because I was here to test this bike and not simply enjoy the ride. In hindsight, I feel even worse because the Tiger Sport is far from a bad-handling bike. I just had to put in a little time and figure out how it needs to be ridden.
If you never ride aggressively, then you might actually prefer the fact that this model is a tad soft. But if you want to enjoy all that the Tiger Sport has to offer, you just need to learn how to work with it because it’s still a thoroughly engaging chassis on a mountain road. The bike prefers to flow rather than be rushed, and requires a more well-thought-out plan with regard to linking up turns and not relying too much on hard braking, which will make the front end perform like a yo-yo.
A smooth ride is what we should all be aiming for on any bike—it’s generally the fastest way to ride anyway—and if you can ride with that in mind, the Tiger Sport is arguably more rewarding than its Trident sibling. Nailing corner after corner on a larger, softer bike that’s more punishing to ham-fistedness is delightful. The Tiger Sport 660 shouldn’t really have kept up with the Trident, but it did, just with a little more effort required.
Somewhere through the process of understanding how to best work with the Tiger Sport in the twisties, I used the remote preload adjuster to add eight out of a possible 32 clicks to the rear Showa spring, which was a quick and easy way to add notable composure to my ride in the mountains.
To be fair to the Tiger Sport, there aren’t many roads that have made me want to push on like this—it was the blacktop of dreams. I don’t believe its target audience will ever push the Tiger Sport to the level where they can’t live with the suspension. And I think more seasoned riders will quickly learn that the bike is still nimble and handles twisty roads well if you conform to its slightly softer nature.
The Tiger Sport will teach new riders to be smooth, and isn’t sharp enough to make them pay for adjusting their line mid-corner. But the chassis is engaging enough for seasoned riders who aren’t looking to drag knees around canyons, but aren’t far off it. And when it comes to the electronic rider aids, the lines continue to blur between more-than-enough for a first big bike and just fine for the majority of us.
Just The Right Level
If you instinctively use the electronics you have, you basically need them. For example, if you have a 9-way traction control (TC) system, but always leave it on the seventh level, you don’t need nine options. On the flip side, if you have a rain and a road mode and you toggle between these settings for a better ride, you absolutely should have them. The Tiger Sport 660 has just the right amount of electronic aids for new riders to play with, but doesn’t have anything that a seasoned rider doesn’t need.
Three rider modes and three levels of TC, which are all independently pairable, are standard on the bike. I cycled through all the modes and, although I usually chose Road mode, there’s a place in this world for Sport and Rain. Unlike most modern bikes, which seem to want to scare the pants off you in Sport mode, the Tiger Sport’s was pretty well tuned and still gave my right hand a good connection with the engine, but not as much as Road mode, which was an absolute gem. I wouldn’t have said you needed lean-sensitive traction control on this bike, but then it kicked in twice. If it kept my arse in the seat, I’ve no doubt it’ll do the same for newer riders who are still getting to grips with just shy of 100 hp.
I don’t think most folks need to mess around with engine braking systems, especially those on their first big bike, so I won’t mark the Tiger Sport down for not having it or similar rider aids. But it’s a comfy tall-rounder, so I would’ve been a bit annoyed if it didn’t have cruise control. Even though the one-touch cruise control is about as basic as it gets, again, you don’t need more. It works as it should and I’d be more than happy about that if I were crunching hundreds of miles on the highway.
Something the bike absolutely doesn’t need, but I’d never say to Triumph because it’s bloody amazing, is the Triumph Quick Assist bi-directional quickshifter. This quickshifter is up there with the best of them. It’s as smooth as you could ever ask for, enabling you to shift down while accelerating, and shift up while decelerating. I probably shifted 30% more than necessary just because the feedback was so enjoyable, and that led me to play with even more of the bike's characterful power band, making this standard feature one of the best on the bike, in my eyes.
Again, the electronic suite is enough for the folks it’s aimed at and will give the majority of seasoned riders what they need. I wouldn’t hold it against anyone for saying they want more, but I’d have to hear a good argument from someone who says they need more.
Although my experience thus far has been keeping a smile on my face, the Tiger Sport isn’t perfect.
The Not-So-Good
There’s not a lot on this bike that left me wanting, but the brakes did. My first big pull on the lever made the 2-pot Nissin floating calipers turn the bike into a bit of a bucking bronco, but that is not a testament to how powerful they are, rather how soft the front suspension is, because these brakes are certainly on the weak side.
I feel more perturbed about the braking performance because this bike will be many riders’ first experience with around 100 hp, and the situations that level of power can get you into require good brakes. Likewise, it’s designed to be a good two-up touring bike and has plenty of luggage options. So if I felt like the brakes were quite underpowered, I can’t imagine how I’d feel with a pillion and fully loaded panniers.
With all that said, I’d still love to tour on the Tiger Sport. It’s comfortable and has almost everything I need, but the fact that I said “almost” is because I’d want an aftermarket screen. The 7-way manually adjustable screen is painless to adjust with one hand. I used it in its highest position throughout the morning to keep the cold air off me, and although it did that job well, it created unbearable buffeting for my 6-foot-tall frame. When I put it back to its lowest setting, the cold air was back on my neck, but the buffeting was gone, and that was a better experience.
You might not experience the same level of buffeting, depending on your stature, and in its lowest position, the windscreen still kept the cold air off my chest. I’d say a good aftermarket high screen and aggressive brake pads could fix the two biggest issues I have with the bike, which aren’t a lot of upgrades to make it a fantastic all-rounder.
Who’s This Bike For?
Having been a new biker, wanting all the power and gadgets I could get my hands on, and being the rider I am now, many years down the line, I see both Robbies wanting this bike, but in two very different ways.
Newer riders often want more than enough when it comes to their first bike, and the Tiger Sport certainly does that. There is more than enough power, performance, rider aids, and electronics to keep you happy for years. The bike even looks the business too, with its new burlier, angular bodywork that also worked to keep the worst of the cold weather off my legs and torso.
Newer riders stepping up from their Speed Twin 400 or what-have-you are who Triumph is targeting, but I think we’ll see more than a few riders sporting grey hairs eyeballing the Tiger Sport. It’ll attract riders who’ve already experienced 200 hp+ motorcycles, are tired of feeling like the bike is riding them and not the other way around, and riders who still want to do it all but not at the expense of their wrists and knees. Whether you’re a newer or older rider, this model is the smart choice of the group, and maybe the smart choice in the class above, too.
In terms of power and tech, the Tiger Sport 660 is way ahead of its competition and just 20 to 30 hp below the next class, which includes bikes like the Yamaha Tracer 9. Its direct competitors are priced very similarly or even at a higher price point, although this can’t be said for the bikes in the class ahead, which start at around $2,000 more.
The Tiger Sport 660 is literally in a class of its own, a half step above direct competitors and a half step below the next class, but maintains an entry-level tall rounder price. This machine is for anyone who wants a tall-rounder on a budget that doesn’t feel like a budget option. There are better bikes at higher prices, but I’d argue that there's nothing in this genre for this model’s $10,445 price point.
