Triumphant Debut: Patent office outs Triumph Tiger

The name Tiger has a long and illustrious history within the Triumph motorcycle hierarchy. Sure, it may not be quite as synonymous with British life on two wheels as the iconic Bonneville, but the Tiger moniker is still a classic that's been used on and off since the early 1940s. It's employed today as an all-roads street bike powered by a 1050cc triple-cylinder powerplant.

Soon, the Tiger name will be dredged back up for use as a smaller-displacement machine that will go up against the likes of BMW's excellent F 800 GS adventure bike. This news comes by way of the California Air Research Board, which has to approve the bike if it is going to be sold in the far-west state. It seems Triumph will offer two versions of the bike, the Tiger 800 for the street and a more off-road-oriented edition called Tiger 800 XC.

Power for both machines will come from a stroked version of the 675cc triple used in Triumph's small-bore sport bikes that will displace – you guessed it – 800cc. Expect somewhere around 100 horsepower and a fat torque curve peaking at something near 70 pound-feet. Weight will likely fall in the 440-pound range, meaning the power-to-weight ratio will probably be just a wee bit better than the Beemer.

[Source: California Air Resources Board via Visordown, Hell For Leather]

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