Triumph Tiger 900: The Tiger Gets More Bite

Motorcycle development doesn’t stand still. No matter how good a model, engineers are always looking for new ways to improve it; it is a relentless task made all the more urgent as those same engineers know that to stand still is to lose ground to rivals who are desperate to gain the upper hand. Therefore, no sooner is one model signed off for production than a clean sheet of paper is placed on the drawing board and work on its replacement is started.

One of the big problems facing motorcycle engineers is that technology is always on the move. In the late 1930s, Triumph introduced the parallel twin engine that, overnight, made everything else look outdated and everyone scrambled to catch up. In the late 1960s, Honda introduced the multi-cylinder engine that had the same effect. In 1988, BMW introduced ABS braking and traction control on the K-series of motorbikes. Since then, refinements to that technology have come thick and fast and to be seen without the latest development is to be behind the curve.

Of course, there have been some blind alleys; hub-centre steering and rim-mounted brake rotors to name but two. Also, history is littered with examples of ‘too much, too soon’; the buying public is famously fickle and needs its improvements in carefully graduated steps rather than one giant leap. This also helps the manufacturer as it can keep a model fresh with updates throughout its life rather than letting it stand still after one blinding flash of development or innovation.

Which brings us neatly to the new Triumph Tiger 900, which replaces the successful and largely brilliant Tiger 800. Triumph has opted for a careful evolution of their midrange adventure bike, improving it subtly across the board so that it is undeniably better but doesn’t make the outgoing model seem like a dinosaur.