Me and My Triumph Tiger Explorer XC

A brief review of the Triumph Tiger Explorer XC for Adventure Travel

Sitting in my driveway anticipating my departure!

I bought this Triumph Tiger Explorer XC not knowing anything about motorcycles. I had never ridden a motorcycle prior to embarking on my trip and I am even now not a motorcycle fanatic. The first motorcycle dealership I entered was a Triumph dealership. This too was simply by chance as a friend of mine owned one and needed a ride from the “shop” after dropping his bike off for some routine maintenance.

The Triumph Tiger Explorer XC is perfect for the kind of trip I am on. I debated between the Tiger 800cc and the Tiger Explorer XC which is 1215cc. The drawback to the Explorer is that it is heavier than the 800cc. Being brand new to riding it was explained that lighter might be better. As I ended up going with the Explorer and now having ridden it the length of the Americas I can say that the weight has not been a problem (for the most part – I must admit I’ve dropped the bike a handful of times which may or may not have happened with a Tiger, but weight is always a factor when dropping the bike.)

The Explorer has so, so many advantages that make it, in my opinion a great choice for this kind of trip. First of all the Explorer XC needed no modifications (add-ons). I didn’t have to figure out what all needed to be added which would have been the case with the Tiger 800. It came with fog lamps, extended shield, steel plate on the under chassis, hand guards, heated seat, and heated handgrips.

The Explorer also has a drive shaft as opposed to being chain driven. This reduces possible problems while on the road and can go much further before needing routine maintenance. So far, after 33,000 kilometers, 6 months, and 15 countries I have not encountered a single mechanical problem. In almost every country in the Americas there is a Triumph dealership (to get a list of all the dealerships be sure to go to the Triumph UK website, not the U.S. Triumph website).

Here I am standing in front of the Triumph Factory in England

My favorite things about my Triumph Tiger Explorer XC are:

• It is the best looking motorcycle for touring I’ve seen
• Cruise control – it is so, so nice to have when driving 5,000 km of straight road in Argentina!
• It is quiet.  It purrs like a kitten even at 150 kmp and 6,000 rpm
• The seat is comfortable – eleven or twelve hour days are doable
• Gear indicator – it may seem trivial but it makes life so much easier – often with wind and other noises it is not easy to hear your engine
• Heat and hand grip heaters – this was included when I bought my bike but it may be optional – you never know when you’re going to hit some cold weather and if you do these really are a nice to have

Of course nothing is perfect. Here is what could be better with the bike:

• There is a hook for securing your helmet.  When used, the helmet cannot be stolen off of the bike.  To use the hook requires unlocking and then lifting the seat off.  The problem with this is that I always have luggage loaded on top of the seat.  Thus, it is highly impractical to use the hook.  It would be great if Triumph figured out a new way of incorporating a helmet hook locking system that did not require removal of the seat.
• The clutch lever and brake lever break easily when the bike is dropped – this is actually by design.  Of course they do not break every time you drop the bike.  But they will break.  They are designed with a weak spot that is relatively high up on the lever.  In this way, when the lever does break the lever is still usable although uncomfortable (especially if you have arthritis in your hands).  I have had to replace the clutch or break lever 5 times.  Sometimes it would take me 2 to 3 weeks before I could get to a dealership to get the maintenance done.  I would highly recommend caring spares with you and to know how to replace them yourself.  It is on my to-do list to learn this on my break between the Americas and Europe.