Triumph Tiger Explorer XC 2013 Preview


The Triumph will offer its newest adventure bike - the 1215cc Tiger Explorer - in an XC version, which caters to the off-road oriented rider.

The XC version gets added protection, auxiliary lights and off-road friendly spoked wheels. The upgrades will likely add $1000 to the standard Tiger Explorer's base price of $15,699 (like the XC version of the Tiger 800).

The Tiger Explorer XC, which pumps out 135 horsepower and 89 ft. lbs. of torque from its inline three, will arrive with aluminum rimmed, steel spoked wheels - 19-inch up front, 17-inch out back - though the wheels will use tubeless tires.

This is the big difference between the Tiger Explorer XC and some of its competitors, including the BMW R 1200 GS and the KTM Adventure, which both arrive with tube tires in spoked wheels. Having tubeless tires will make flats much easier to service considering the quality plugs currently available. This also means that the wheels won't have to be removed to change tubes.

As for protection, the XC version will arrive with an aluminum skid plate to protect the bottom of the engine, and tubular-steel engine crash bars. Other adventure "farkles" include dual fog lights with 55 watt bulbs for extra visibility at night, and hand guards. But with the addition of these accessories will arrive some extra weight to the 571-lbs. (including 5.3 gallons of fuel) standard Tiger Explorer.

The rest of the bike is standard, the Tiger Explorer XC arriving with switchable ABS, shaft drive, cruise control and traction control. As for color, there's only one choice - a woodsy Khaki Green.