This is the face of Triumph’s new Tiger

Intended to promote the range of adventure touring accessories that’ll be available for the upcoming Triumph Tiger 800, these pictures are instead the clearest look we’ve yet had of the bike itself. Don’t worry, Tigers are as afraid of us as we are of them.

Caught off guard while sneaking through a photo studio, this surprised face belongs to the regular Tiger 800, the Triumph Tiger 800 XC will wear a longer front mud guard. You can see that bike’s knobby rear tire peaking out from behind the shot of the optional aluminum and plastic panniers.

As we’ve laboriously discussed in all the previous Tiger “leaks,” the new adventure bike is going to come in two versions. The plain Triumph Tiger 800 is road-oriented with a 19-inch front wheel, while the Triumph Tiger 800 XC is a more dedicated off-road model with that extended front mudguard, a 21-inch front wheel and knobby tires.

As evidenced by these photos, the non-XC Tiger will wear Pirelli Scorpion Trail tires. We’ve got experience with those, and while they’re surprisingly decent on-road, they definitely don’t do much off it.

Also seen in detail here is the Tiger's new steel tube frame and especially beefy looking exposed rear subframe. Check out the R1200GS-like two-part seat too. That seat and subframe should make it really easy to carry all sorts of luggage. The exposed shock linkage might prove a little less dirt-friendly, easily collecting every bit of muck.

This long tease is scheduled to end on October 5th, when the bikes will be unveiled at Intermot Cologne.

via MCN