Triumph's 2025 Tiger Sport 800 combines the comfort and style of an adventure bike with the on-road manners of a sportbike. Powered by an all-new engine, this latest addition to the English brand's line-up might be a real hit on year one. We head to Spain for a first ride and we are impressed! Join us for a full first ride review of the Tiger Sport 800.
Check out the story at https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-reviews/triumph-tiger-sport-800-first-ride/
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Check out the story at https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-reviews/triumph-tiger-sport-800-first-ride/
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6CLI74xvMBFLDOC1tQaCOQ
Read more from Cycle World: https://www.cycleworld.com/
Buy Cycle World Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/cycleworld
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SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome to Cycle World, welcome to Portugal. We're right on the south coast
00:04with Triumph to test their new Tiger Sport 800. Now this is an entirely new
00:10model for 2025. It's not a big bore or a small bore reconfigured engine, it's a
00:15complete new engine for the first time. So this is 798cc, 113 horsepower at 10,750
00:23rpm and a really strong 70 foot-pounds of torque at 8,250 rpm. Obviously from
00:30Triumph it's a triple and it's housed in a chassis that's a little similar to
00:35the 660. I say a little similar and I mean the frame, but the airbox is
00:39completely new, the intake is completely new, but the rear section you can still
00:43bolt on the panniers and the top box from the 660 to the 800. But in terms of
00:48suspension front and back, obviously it's entirely new because it's a complete new
00:52model. Showa are taking care of the front suspension, so we've got 41mm
00:56Showas at the front with compression in one leg, rebound in the other, no preload
01:01which I found a little bit interesting. Showa also controls the rear, we've got a
01:05big adjustable preload on this left-hand side that's easily accessible and we've
01:09got rebound damping also. Interestingly even though it's got adventure styling
01:14we've got a 17 inch front wheel, not a 19 inch front wheel like you would find on
01:18most adventure bikes. It's adventure styled, it's not an adventure bike, so
01:22we've got a 17 inch front wheel and what that also means is we've not got any
01:26off-road or enduro mode. We have a wet mode, a road mode and a sport mode. Those
01:32modes change the power characteristics, they change the traction control which
01:37is lean sensitive and we have ABS that is lean sensitive, but that is constant
01:42throughout all three modes. It doesn't change its parameters or dynamics, it's
01:46just the traction that changed and the power delivery depending on which mode
01:49you're in. When you're at standstill you can turn off the traction control should
01:52you wish to, but ABS is always on and always constant. We've got cruise control
01:57as standard, quick shifter up and down as standard with the auto blipper, manually
02:02adjustable screen and for the purpose of this video we did have heated grips
02:06fitted because it was a little bit cold this morning, but that is an optional
02:10extra and if you want to go for the yellow paint scheme that's going to cost
02:13you a few hundred dollars extra. In the US it's coming in at £12,495. A few
02:19little bit more specs that'll just bring you up to speed. We've got a 4.9 gallon
02:23gas tank, we've got the seat height is 830mm which converts to 32.7
02:30inches. Service intervals are at every 10,000 miles which is nice and long and
02:34the wet weight is a £471.
02:43Now today we've had a really good opportunity to test this bike in mixed
02:49conditions. A lot of the time this afternoon with perfect conditions, 17
02:53degrees and we could really throw the bike around and have some fun, but this
02:56morning it was a little bit tricky, a little bit wet and a little bit cold and
02:59that's why I was thankful of those heated grips and that adjustable screen
03:03to get a little bit out of that wind. This morning the fueling was really soft,
03:07really nice, very linear, off the bottom, lots of torque, a little growl as well as
03:12you're going around town. It's very easy to ride, even for a short rider like me
03:16because I'm only 5 foot 7, even with that 830mm seat height I can get
03:20two feet firmly on the ground. This seat is standard, it's not adjustable as
03:24standard, so if you want a lower seat that's an optional lower seat and if you
03:27want a high seat there's an optional higher seat. It is £471 but it doesn't
03:31feel it at low speeds and that 17 inch front wheel makes sure it steers lovely.
03:35This is a bike you could quite easily commute on or hustle it through the city
03:39but then later on this afternoon it started to dry out and we started to hit
03:42the hills here in southern Portugal which are almost traffic and police free
03:46thankfully. It gave us the opportunity to really start pushing the handling and
03:50enjoying the bike and it does, it really does handle really well. I've not made
03:55any suspension adjustments, I don't feel like it needs it, the Michelin tyres
03:59worked really well in the damp, they worked well in the cold and they worked
04:02well when it started to warm up a bit and hit a better pace. Ground clearance
04:06is more than ample for this type of bike. There was one or two times where I
04:09just tickled the pegs but that's all.
04:18The Triumph branded brakes are really strong, very progressive, nice feel to it.
04:22I think the ABS kicks in a little bit early for me but maybe I was riding it
04:26out of its design parameter. But these are the ones that you find on the
04:30Street Twin 1200 that I tested previously and they're very good, very
04:34strong, really progressive, excellent brakes. The feel through the chassis is
04:38also really good, the bike steers excellent, it's very stable yet flickable
04:42even for a relatively big or relatively heavy bike. Although it looks like a big
04:46bike, it steers and turns and feels much lighter than it actually is. But I think
04:51the ace card of this bike is that new triple. It just sounds so good and it
04:56delivers in so many ways. Around town you've got this little burble and it's
05:00easy to ride and it's soft off the bottom. And then when you start to wind
05:04it on it revs all the way to 11,000 rpm, you can have some fun, jump up and down
05:09the quick shifter. It sounds epic with the auto blip, sounds like a race bike,
05:13feels like a race bike, it's really really strong. With the TC turned off,
05:17wheelies in second and third gear, no problem. This is a fun sports tourer. And
05:22then finally on the way back we hit a little bit of motorway, tried the cruise
05:26control and then I had to remember and remind myself to think about comfort.
05:30And the very fact I had to do that means it's got excellent comfort. Because we
05:35started riding at 8 o'clock, we got back at 4 p.m., we had a bit of a break at
05:39lunch and a coffee stop. But I've been on the bike all day, comfort not an issue.
05:43We've not had the opportunity to throw out some big miles and see what it's
05:46like at high rpm, at high speed. We've not had the opportunity to see what it's like
05:50for a pillion. But the tank range should be pretty good from that 4.9 gallon gas
05:54tank.
06:00All in all, it's a really excellent all-round bike. Triumph wanted it to be
06:05an all-round sports tourer with character and fun and I think that's
06:09what they've done. It really is an all-round impressive package. When I'm
06:13trying to find faults, it's quite difficult. The only fault I've really got
06:18is the fact when I change the mode from rain to road to sport, there's no icon on
06:23the dash. So if I'm in rain mode for example and I go for a coffee and I come
06:28back to the bike, I have to double check to see which mode it is in because
06:31there's nothing that pops up on the dash. But that is like pretty small and pretty
06:36unique to the way that I want to ride. But the dash is pretty straightforward.
06:41It's easy to use and so is the switch gear. It's pretty intuitive, it's not
06:43over complicated. But yeah, it'd be nice if we had a little icon to tell us what
06:47mode we're in whilst we're riding. And aside from that, priced at just under
06:51twelve and a half thousand dollars, it's really competitive. I guess the big
06:55question is going to be what it goes against in terms of competition. But what
06:59Triumph have promised has delivered. They said they wanted a comfortable, all-round
07:03sports tourer that has got character in his fun. And it does all that. It's almost,
07:09if you're old like me, like a modern-day VFR 800. You remember the all-round
07:15Honda that was brilliant at everything but a little bit boring? Well this is
07:19really good at everything but definitely not boring. I hope you enjoyed our little
07:24video here in southern Portugal. If you've got any more technical questions
07:27and you want to really delve into what is different and what is changing, like
07:31can the 660 luggage fit to this tail unit? Yes it can. Then please fire some
07:36questions below and me or one of the team will get back to you. Don't forget
07:39to click that subscription button and I'll see you on the next one.