Triumph has just this week announced the upcoming middleweight Tiger Sport 660, bringing the triple power from the Trident across to the blossoming middleweight adventure sports tourer market.
The 660cc motorcycle was released with ambitious claims from the biggest British manufacturer saying it’s slotting right in at the top of the market as the most powerful, and only triple in its class. That’s alongside the claims of category-leading cost of ownership, with the lowest total hours of service required in the first three years (8 hours versus 11 to 15.9 hours).
So we’ve all been wondering, how do the specs actually shape up against the rivals? We’ll look at 6 bikes overall, covering: price, engine spec and the important touring stats - like seat height, tank size and weight.
The 6 middleweight touring motorcycles are:
| Bike | Released | Price |
| Triumph Tiger Sport 660 | 2022 | £8,450 |
| Yamaha Tracer 7 | 2021 | £8,199 |
| Kawasaki Versus 650 | 2021 | £7,549 |
| Honda CB500X | 2022 | £6,249 (2021 price) |
| Benelli TRK 502 | 2021 | £5,999 |
| Suzuki V-Strom 650 | 2021 | £7,999 |
Instantly you can see the purchase price of the Tiger Sport 660 is the highest on the market, the nearest rival being the new Tracer 7 from Yamaha, and around £250 cheaper. It’s nearly a grand dearer than the Versys 650. No surprise that the ‘budget option’ is the Benelli TRK 502 here, but the CB500X is not far away and is thought to be under £6,400 in 2022 (with the price to be confirmed).
Engine specs - we’ll do power in kW as that’s what they are all given in.
| Bike | Engine | Power figures (kW power - Nm torque) |
| Triumph Tiger Sport 660 | 660cc triple | 59.6 kW & 64 Nm |
| Yamaha Tracer 7 | 689cc CP2 parallel-twin | 52 kW & 68 Nm |
| Kawasaki Versus 650 | 649cc parallel-twin | 49 kW & 61 Nm |
| Honda CB500X | 471cc parallel-twin | 35 kW & 43 Nm |
| Benelli TRK 502 | 499cc parallel-twin | 35 kW & 45 Nm |
| Suzuki V-Strom 650 | 645cc V-Twin | 52 kW & 62 Nm |
In a list dominated by twins, the Tiger Sport is, in fact, the most powerful motor and the only triple. Despite the Tracer 7 having a touch more peak torque, the Triumph is clear at the top. Despite the CB500X being the smallest and weakest on the list, I can speak from experience that it’s a nice revvy little unit to work with. With its V-twin, the V-Strom does well to battle with the Versys 650 unit.
Don't forget that these can all be ridden with an A2 licence given an adequate restrictor kit is fitted, or out of the box for the CB500X and TRK 502.
Adventure tourer spec list. Arguably the most important for touring riders!
| Bike | Seat height | Tank size |
| Triumph Tiger Sport 660 | 835mm | 17.2 litres |
| Yamaha Tracer 7 | 840mm | 17 litres |
| Kawasaki Versus 650 | 840mm | 21 litres |
| Honda CB500X | 830mm | 17.7 litres |
| Benelli TRK 502 | 800mm | 20 litres |
| Suzuki V-Strom 650 | 835mm | 20 litres |
Instantly you can see that the vast majority of these are the same size, with the Versys 650 and V-Strom 650 trading larger tank sizes for a bit of added weight. The Tiger Sport 660 has a middling size, weight and seat height combination, and should do well for most riders. The smaller duo on the list are on par in terms of size and weight, but interestingly the Tracer 7 is the lightest on this list.
For the full comparison between all 6, we’d have to ride them all to find the ins & outs of their sizes and dimensions, with mpg figures not considered because real-world riding seems to always throw these out of whack.
Coming back to the Tiger Sport 660, and it holds up well against the rivals on the market, it’s the most expensive, but those who prefer their purchases in PCP deals will hardly notice a difference on a monthly cost. It’ll be interesting to ride it and see how the top power figure translates into riding, but if it follows the traits of the popular Trident 660, it’ll be a very interesting combination.
