Triumph's Tiger 1200s tickled for 2024 | Updates promise comfort, convenience and cleverness

Triumph are giving their large-capacity Tiger 1200 adventure bike range a glow up for 2024, combining the popular existing package with revisions to the engine and ergonomics.

We’ve ridden them! Read our expert reviews

• 2024 Triumph Tiger Rally Pro and Explorer review
• 2024 Triumph Tiger GT Pro and Explorer review

For this year, you’ll find a road orientated GT Pro, as well as a more rugged Rally Pro derivative. Both options also come in a beefed-up Explorer trim, bumping the fuel capacity up from 20- to 30-litres.

Having now sold more than 14,000 large-capacity Tigers since their introduction in 2021, the new versions are said to have been revised as a result of customer feedback – with a greater focus on refinement, comfort and ease of use.

“While the current generation model has already made a big impact on this segment, more than doubling annual sales of the Tiger 1200 around the globe, our world-class engineering team is always looking for new ways to refine and enhance every model,” Chief Product Officer Steve Sargent said.

“By listening to customer feedback and integrating some of the new enhancements already revealed in the new Tiger 900, this range of updates come together to deliver a significant improvement to the riding experience.”

As before, you’ll find a 1160cc T-plane three cylinder engine producing just shy of 150bhp, housed in the same tubular steel frame. Retaining its shaft drive, the Tigers are now said to deliver greater slow speed control, with a longer clutch lever alongside changes to the internals.  

These alterations are found in the crankshaft, alternator rotor, and balancer shaft – increasing engine inertia, as well as tweaking the calibration.

Triumph say these changes were not needed to meet more stringent emissions regulations, and instead allow for a smoother and more precise low-down torque delivery – making it easier to ride slowly without having to feather the clutch. Forces from the engine have also been reduced.

“We’ve got a 9.1% increase in engine inertia, but that doesn’t make an appreciable difference at all to the acceleration of the bike,” Triumph’s Chief Engineer, Stuart Wood told MCN. “The balance is just further refinement. We’ve taken the opportunity whilst doing the inertia changes to improve the refinement.”

The clutch itself has also been tweaked in a bid to assist with the initial click into first gear. Service intervals are every 10,000 miles or 12 months, whichever comes sooner.

“It’s a very complex engine to balance,” Wood continued. “In the T-plane crank, you’re trying to balance either three single cylinder engines, or a combination of a 270-degree twin and a single.

“You can do that very well with counter rotating balance shafts, so we’ve got a counter rotating balance shaft running at engine speed in the opposite direction.”

Away from the motor’s refinement, the Hinckley firm have gone to lengths to ensure the riding experience feels plusher too – something Triumph say will boost comfort over distance.

For starters, the dampened handlebars previously only found on the Explorer variants are now also fitted to the GT Pro and Rally Pro models – reducing vibration, as well as improving visibility in the bar mounted mirrors.

The touring-orientated GT models now get repositioned footpegs too, which have been raised slightly and brought inwards on the bike to encourage greater lean angles. The Rally bikes retain their current position – likely to make things easier should you stray away from the tarmac.

The seat is also different, with a flatter profile in the hope of giving more space to the rider, allowing much needed room to move when you’re cracking out serious miles. It’s lower too, with the GT Pro now 850mm as standard, and the Rally Pro sitting at 875mm.

This can be reduced by 20mm with an optional lower seat installed, with the electronic suspension taking things a step further thanks to an ‘Active Preload Reduction’ feature that first arrived back in August 2023. Put simply, this drops the seat by a further 20mm when coming to a stop for a firmer footing – activated by pressing the Home button on the switchgear for a single second.

Other tech continuing into 2024 is the rear facing radar system developed in partnership with Continental, allowing for blind spot detection on the Explorer models only. Although there’s still no front-facing adaptive radar cruise, you do get a seven inch TFT dash that can be connected to your mobile phone, lean-sensitive traction control, up to six riding modes, keyless ignition, and a quickshifter as standard.

The Explorer models also get heated grips and a heated seat as standard, as well as a tyre pressure monitoring system. All four flavours also get hill hold, which is likely to be a welcome addition to shorter riders, given the sheer size of these machines.

Three colour schemes will be available for the GT variants, with another three dedicated to the Rally. Bikes are set to arrive in March 2024, with more information available at triumphmotorcycles.co.uk now.

Triumph Tiger 1200 range highlights:

• 147.9bhp @ 9000rpm
• 95.94lb.ft @ 7000rpm
• 1160cc T-plane crank triple
• Starting at £17,295 (GT Pro)