The Engine and performance
Sat whizzing away is the liquid cooled, 12 valve, DOHC, 800cc inline-
triple and that knocks out a reported 95PS and 79Nm of torque. The Tiger
XCx’s engine sings a very different song, a higher pitch than a growl or
grunt as it gives the feeling that there is a coiled spring in there just
busting to be set free. I slipped the odd gear on the inclines of the single
track at 30% to see how forgiving the engine would be for a new rider
making a hash of an uphill corner on the fell road. She pulled out of the
curve with some protest that I was obviously in the wrong gear but she
went up and around without fear of stall in 3rd gear and the revs in the
basement. Finding some single track with flat open views over Wrynose
allowed for a tickle play on the throttle and the Tiger responds even with
a pillion. There is plenty of pull through all the gears and rev levels. After
5k revs you get a little bonus play that will have you chuckling like a
teenage boy who’s teacher just accidently said ‘cock’ rather than cork in
front of the chemistry class. It’s childish with the feeling of wonderfully
self-indulgent amusement mixed in that you should never deny yourself.
The beating heart of Triumph has long been the engine that stands out
from the crowd, no bike makes the same sound as a triple at play and it’s a
song I’m happy to put on repeat mode. Now with the much improved 6
speed gear box running like silk it’s a combination that had me looking for
more roads just for the hell of it. Town riding was blissful; being able to
flick up and down the box with the traffic pace changing made the ride a
real pleasure.
The power was fed down to the final drive, being a chain drive O ring to a
17” rear wheel, responsive and smooth and I was looking for bends to put
that smooth power to good use.