Triumph's Adventurer nearing production

The Triumph Adventurer 1200 is at the final prototype stage before testing and development phases are over and the bike goes to full production.

When MCN reader Ian Scott snapped the new 1200 inline three cylinder Triumph testing in France way back in 2009, it looked like the British firm has the massive-selling BMW R1200GS in its sights.

More recent information suggests the performance and power of the Triumph is going to be more of a rival for the 150bhp of the Ducati Multistrada 1200. Rumours suggest similar power for the Triumph with the most shocking news being that Triumph has decided to drop some power to make the bike even more useable.

BMW has for the past 30 years had the adventure bike market sewn up with little room for rivals. It now looks like the dominant BMW is going to have the hardest fight since the GS was born.

The Triumph Adventurer will have an inline three-cylinder motor with a capacity thought to be between 1150cc and 1180cc, according to insiders. It’s estimated it will produce more than 140bhp, with lots of torque. Triumph has even gone to the trouble of designing a shaft-drive for this bike.

The image shows how the bike will look apart from colours and final trim. We also understand there will be a choice of front mudguards – a low one as pictured and a higher BMW GS-style ‘beak’.