The boundaries between bike classes are becoming more and more blurred. Over the past two decades or so we've seen niche development and marketing create sports bikes that are simply sports bikes, tourers that only tour and off-road bikes that do just that.
Lately though, it seems bike design has turned back towards wide spectrum capabilities. And the bike buying public have responded overwhelmingly. In 2006, sports bike sales aside (always a UK favourite), multi-taskers have drawn impressive sales. The BMW R1200GS has made hitherto unheard of sales
figures in the adventure sports category, while Honda's new CBF1000F has taken the litre sports touring class by storm. Both have wide appeal and wide application.
And it's into this context we inject Triumph's new Tiger. The old Tiger was thought of as an adventure sports tool, so a natural competitor to the GS. But the Tiger 1050 has 17-inch wheels, so is now arguably much closer to the CBF. Has it really evolved into a sports tourer?
When you look at crossover bikes BMW's GS really is the archetypal example. Having just passed its 25th birthday the GS is a shining example of 'thinking outside the box'. The designers at BMW were clever enough to realise that riders liked the aggressive look of off-road bikes, liked the 'big bike' feel and also that a large, comfortable do-it-all machine also makes a great tourer. Over 210,000 GSs have now been made and it's bloody hard to go anywhere without running into one! You name it: Europe, America, Africa, anywhere there's a road, you will pass one of these German masterpieces going about its task in an unflustered, workman-like way.
But even though it has been a huge success BMW hasn't rested on its laurels. The GS has steadily been evolving and changing. From its early days as a more off-road orientated bike BMW has gently swayed the GS's direction far more to the open highway than the green lane. Although they don't like to admit it the latest generation R1200GS is only really an off-roader in looks. With its 2005 update, where it shed weight and gained the new 1200 engine, BMW moved the GS another step closer to the sports tourer category.
If you really want to explore the wild world then the GS Adventure is always there, but for most riders the stock bike at least looks like it could take on the world, which is all that's important.
Triumph, on the other hand, has taken a far more radical step with its new Tiger. In launching this new bike Triumph has effectively held its hands up and admitted that no one really takes big trailies off-road. Which, to be brutally honest, is stating the bleedin' obvious. Why the hell would you want to take a 200-kilo bike off-road anyway? It's a bit like taking a Gold Wing on track. Yes, it can do it, but why would you want to? The addition of 17-inch wheels simply underlines the fact that the Tiger is a road bike.
But this is a brave move by the lads in Hinckley. While it is obvious that riders don't take big trailies off-road, they like to look like they can. It's the 'Charley and Ewan' effect, which itself has helped sell over 800 GS Adventures in the UK last year alone. Owners like to look like they're setting off to conquer the wild plains of the Serengeti, even if the only thing they're likely to defeat is the ticket barrier at the NCP car park. Which is why Triumph has kept the old Tiger in its range for 2007 (although cynics might say that's because they haven't sold them all...).
Then we have the Honda, which has confounded all the critics this year. On the face of it the CBF1000F is probably one of the dullest bikes of 2006. And 2007. A de-tuned Fireblade motor in a quite frankly fairly ugly bike with some muted paint options, to say the very least. But like some terrible soap opera plot this Plain Jane has surpassed all expectations, by a long way. Not only did the CBF prove to be a huge hit with the presss when launched, but more than 1000 have been sold in the UK this year. So what's its secret?
It isn't exactly rocket science. The CBF's key is that it's probably one of the easiest bikes in the world to get on with on a daily basis. Hondas always have the reputation of being user friendly, a term I personally hate, but that is exactly what the CBF is. Riding this bike requires virtually no thought whatsoever, it almost does everything for you. Unlike some bikes you don't really need to think about the engine, what gear you are in, what revs the motor is at. No, with the Honda and that Fireblade motor you simply concentrate on the throttle. It doesn't really matter where in the rev range you are, the CBF pulls with exactly the same urgency and doesn't really care if you should probably be a ratio lower or higher. It pulls from low down yet also revs to just over 10,000rpm; it's probably one of the smoothest engines out there and fits the character of the bike perfectly. Gentle, relaxed and hassle free, if a little bland.
Which isn't something that the Tiger's triple motor can be accused of. The more I get to ride the current crop of Hinckley triples the more I appreciate the engine. There is just something so satisfying and
pleasurable about it, from the beautiful three-cylinder growl to the gentle popping on the overrun and the lovely spread of power. While the Honda is wonderfully smooth it does lack a bit of inspiration and character, which the Triumph has by the bucket load. While the Tiger has the same broad spread of power as the Honda, that triple motor just has more urgency about it, which is nice. It's not revvy but seems to pick up the pace faster while still being perfectly happy to sit at constant revs on motorways.
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