It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas for adventure bike fans, especially those looking for a mid-range ADV with all the fixings: off-road chops, on-road performance and touring-friendly amenities. 

Of course we’d already had a sneak peek at Triumph’s new Tiger, set to replace the Tiger 800 range, via spy photos taken in Germany back in August. The prototype revealed a raft of revisions including a new frame, tubeless wire-spoke wheels, and what appears to be new suspension components. 

These changes also appear in the latest teaser video showing a Tiger 900 honed for adventure, tearing up landscapes ranging from snowy fields, to steep, loose trails and a bit of highway to boot. The only text on the teaser page promises that the two new Tiger models, a Rally and GT, have been transformed in every possible way: “Off-road, on road, technology, specification, handling, performance and character.”

Yup, that’s a lot. What we are sure about is that in addition to new chassis and suspension, there will be a new larger TFT likely to display an array of IMU-based e-goodies on-point with the inertial-metrics offered on the KTM 790 ADV and BMW F850GS. 

Triumph’s famously smooth liquid-cooled 800cc, 12-valve triple, which already offered an impressive 95 horsepower for its size, will undoubtedly see a bump in power, though most of the new Tiger 900’s transformation appears to center around new suspension likely to offer more travel, as well as other nods to off-road use such as a new bolt-on subframe and passenger footpegs.

As we reported in August after reviewing spy shots of the bike, attention has been paid to the undercarriage of the now-900cc Tiger, including the addition of a beefy, new skidplate. Routing the header pipe to the left side of the bike will likely improve ground clearance, while new, radial-mounted, four-piston calipers for the dual front discs are sure to improve braking feel.

The new 900cc Tiger’s looks are definitely more streamlined and distinctive, with a sharpened beak and narrowed twin headlamp arrangement that flows down into front fairing shrouds that are lower than the current model’s. The windscreen appears unchanged, but we can see a new handlebar and auxiliary lights. The bike’s tail section, edged by an all-new exhaust, is much slimmer than previous, adding to the impression this Tiger might be lighter than the XC’s near 500 pounds.  

We’ll know soon enough, as we’ll be attending the official launch of Triumph’s new Tiger 900 Rally and GT on December 3rd and will fill you in on its details straight away. Christmas or no, you’ll want to keep space on your wish list for this promising, new machine.

Author: Jamie Elvidge

Jamie has been a motorcycle journalist for more than 30 years, testing the entire range of bikes for the major print magazines and specializing in adventure-travel related stories. To date she’s written and supplied photography for articles describing what it’s like to ride in all 50 states and 43 foreign countries, receiving two Lowell Thomas Society of American Travel Writer’s Awards along the way. Her most-challenging adventure yet has been riding in the 2018 GS Trophy in Mongolia as Team AusAmerica’s embedded journalist.