Bike India – August 2019

navigatingtheriderinterfaceandalltheavailablemenusmuchsimpleron
thetiger,whiletheBMw’s combinationofbuttonsandidrive-stylerotary
controllerdidtakesomegettingusedto.
Bothmachinesinthiscomparisonfitintotheacceptedmouldofwhata
bigadventuremotorcycleshouldlooklike,a formthathasbeenshaped
primarilybyBMwgsbikes.we havetheenduro-inspiredbeaksandlarge,
19-inchspokedwheelsupfront,tallscreensandwidebodyworktoshieldthe
ridersfromtheelements,sturdybash-platesandprotectivebars,and
comfortableseatswithbroad,easy-to-reachhandlebars.Botharebuilt
aroundtubularsteeltrellisframesfromwhicharesuspendedpotentengines
thatpowertherearwheelsviaa shaftfinaldriveandbothlookextremely
toughandimposing.
ispenta considerableamountoftimewithboththesemachines,
switchingbackandforthbetweenthemseveraltimestomakea fair
comparison.
MymorningstartedwiththebigBMw, asiwastaskedwithpickingit up
fromthedealershipthepreviousdayandprecariouslyridingit homethrough
pune’schaotictraffic.precariouslybecausei’mbarely5’ 5”tallandtherewas
nowayicouldreachthegroundfromthat890-mm-highsaddleand,witha
quartertonneofmotorcyclebetweenmylegs,thiswasdisconcertingtosay
theleast.so, whenigottotheofficeearlythenextmorningonthewaytothe
shoot,icouldn’twaittoparkthisbehemothandhopaboardthetriumph,
whileharketeagerlytookoverthetallgerman.
straightoffthegs, thetiger 1200 immediatelyfeltcomfortablysmaller;it
is stilla massivemotorcyclebut,withitslower835-mmseatheight,felta lot
moremanageableandme-sized,especiallysinceididn’thavetoworryabout
whichwaytoslidemybutteverytimewecametoa stop.
onceoutonthehighway,it wastimetowindopenthethrottleandenjoy
thetiger’sbigtripleasit screamedeffortlesslytowardsitsred-lineineach
gear.althoughthereis a decentamountoftorqueonofferfromaslowas
3,000rpm,theenginedoesn’treallywakeuptillabout5,000rpm,afterwhich
it pullshardandacceleratesat anunbelievablepaceforsucha large
motorcycle.althoughadventuretourersaresupposedtochompmilesina

relaxed,maturemanner,the1,215-cctriplehasa sportysideandencourages

youtoholdontogearsforlonger,justtoenjoythattop-endrushandthe

howlfromtheoptionaltitaniumandcarbonexhaust.thebikefeelsextremely

plantedovergoodroadsandbad,andthesemi-activewpsuspensionat

bothendsdoesa greatjobofmaintainingcontactwiththesurface.thetiger

1200 getsanupside-downforkwith 190 mmoftravel,whileat the

rearis awpmonoshockthatallows 193 mmofwheeltravel.damping

characteristicscanbeadjustedonthefly,andyoucansaveindividual

parametersforoff-roadandon-roaduse.addinga touchofconvenience,rear

preloadis setautomatically,allowingthesystemtomanagechassispitchno

mattertheload.youcouldbeoutfor a short solo ride, or on an expedition

loadedupwithpillionanda week’sworthofluggage,andthesystemwill

alwaysmaintainthecorrectrideheight.

thetiger 1200 helditspoisewhenpushedthrougha setofcornersand,

althoughsteeringdoestakea bitofeffortduetothatlargefrontwheel,iwas

suitablyimpressedwithhowwellthislargemotorcyclehandledwhenridden

aggressively.withthesuspensionsuitablystiffenedup,iwasabletofeel

everybitoftheroad’ssurfaceundermeandtheMetzelertourance tyres

neveroncefeltliketheymightletgo,makingforanextremelyconfidence-

inspiringridethroughthecanyons.

it wassoontimetojumpontothebiggsand,onceigotovermyfearof

thattoweringseat,iwasinstantlyawareofthebucketsoftorqueavailable

rightfromidle.thismotor,thelatestversionofBMwMotorrad’sbig

horizontally-opposedtwin,is endowedwithvariablecamprofiles,

shiftcaminBMwspeak,todeliverhealthyhelpingsoftorqueallthrough

therev-range.thetriumphmaymakemorepowerupat highrevs,butthe

BMw’s seamlesstorquedeliveryanywhereintherev-rangemakesgetting

uptospeedseemlikeaneffortlessaffair.thisincrediblyflexiblemotor

makesenoughtorquetosendthefrontwheelskywardsat just2,000rpm,if

youarefoolishenoughtoswitchthetractioncontroloff(iwas),andit

keepspullinglikea freighttrainwellintotheupperreachesoftherev-

range.whileienjoyedrevvingthetigerallthewaytored-line,thegs

encouragedmetoshiftupearlierto stay in the mid-range;i loved that

left:

Bothbikes

comewith

ruggedspoked

wheelsthat

takedifferent

approaches

toworkwith

tubelesstyres

above:

Complicated

switchgear on

both bikes, but

the Triumph’s

user interface is

easier to master

http://www.bikeindia.in August 2019 Bike India 67

BMW R 1250 GS AdventuRe v TriuMphtiGeR 1200 XCx