EVER since the Tiger 900 came into being in its new, sleeker, T-plane form, all eyes have been firmly fixed on the dusty horizon, patiently waiting for its bigger sibling to emerge from the desert. That day is edging ever closer, as new images officially released show the new Triumph Tiger 1200 undergoing testing at an off-road riding facility.
The press release reads:
‘The all-new Tiger 1200 has now reached its exciting final stages of testing.
The word ‘transformation’ simply doesn’t do it justice. Designed to deliver the new ultimate large-capacity adventure ride, the incredible Tiger 1200 will bring every advantage in one all-new motorcycle family. Now significantly lighter than its closest competition, with an astonishing transformation in weight, the new 1200 will combine the triple powered engine advantage with a new dimension in class-leading agility, control and handling.’
Will the new 2022 Triumph Tiger 1200 have a T-plane engine?
There are some questions that remain around the new model though, with the biggest hanging over the new Euro5 powerplant of the bike. The big change with the 900 was the change to its T-plane engine configuration. The design features crankpins placed at 0°, 90°, and 180°. This configuration combined with Triumph’s, 1,3,2, firing order gives the bike an uneven delivery, with two short gaps between the first two firing pules and then a long gap before the third arrives.
2022 Triumph Tiger 1200 testing video
The result is a chunky low-down delivery, similar to a V-twin below 3,000rpm, and a more traditional three-cylinder delivery higher up the rev-range. This Jekyll and Hyde demeanour gave the bike a best of both worlds ability, helping to create what we think is one of the best adventure motorcycles you can currently buy.
It's hard to imagine that Triumph will be keeping the T-plane philosophy purely for the smaller of the Tiger adventure models. The money and development cost that must have gone into the design would surely make it a much too valuable asset not to share across the range.
Like the Tiger 900 that arrived in 2019, the images of the Tiger 1200 show a slimmer looking machine, with minimalist bodywork and an all-new frame and swingarm/shaft-drive set-up.
For further confirmation on this new model, we will just have to wait and see, although we might not have to wait long. If Triumph sticks to its timelines on this – as they have with previous models like the Trident – we should get all the official pictures and specs of the bike in the next month or so.
For more information, head to: www.triumphmotorcycles.co.uk
