Triumph Tiger Sport 660 Review: What works and what doesn’t

Here’s a little primer about Triumph’s motorcycle range, before we begin. The Tiger Sport 660 may sound like it’s part of Triumph’s Tiger adventure bike lineup (and it is) – but it’s also quite different. For one, it’s the first adventure bike that Triumph has launched in India that’s tuned more for tarmac than for off-roading. It’s also based on the Triumph Trident 660, a middleweight street bike that is the firm’s smallest-capacity offering. It has no relation to the Tiger 850 Sport that Triumph also sells here, which is based on the off-road biased Tiger 900. Confused yet? I certainly was, to begin with.

Anyway, the Tiger Sport 660 is a far more striking machine than the Trident, since it’s significantly larger and taller. The fairing is bigger, as is the fuel tank, and like all Tigers it looks very sharp head-on, with those LED headlights. The back bears a little more resemblance to the Trident, but since the subframe is longer, so is the seat. The pillion seat isn’t one that I would want to sit on for too long (it’s rather small), but that apart, this bike has all the touring paraphernalia that you’d expect – pannier attachment slots, belly and engine shields, windshield and so on.

The handlebars are on large risers, so the riding position is very upright and comfortable. The seat is 835mm tall, which may be a bit of an issue for shorter riders but which was no issue for me. The Sport 660 weighs in at 206 kg, which is actually quite light for a bike in this category.

The TFT display is pretty much the same as on the Trident, although the layout on it isn’t. It’s a pretty rudimentary black and white-heavy screen, with touches of colour; there’s optional Bluetooth connectivity (which should have been standard, in this day and age) that gives you navigation and music control. Also on offer are two riding modes and a switchable traction control system, plus self-cancelling indicators; overall quality levels are decent without being standout.

Kinks in the armour
A few oddities do stand out, the first being the faux air intakes between the headlights – why would you do that? The windscreen, which is otherwise useful, is quite hard to adjust quickly, and the clutch cable fouls with your hand as you try and find the ignition key; the clutch lever is non-adjustable too, which is a mystery at this price point.

The 3-cylinder engine is from the Trident 660, as I mentioned earlier, and it’s been slotted in as-is – it has the same power, torque and gearing. That means that the Trident’s hefty mid-range has also been carried over, which is a very good thing – the powerplant’s tractability is hugely enjoyable, and it offers more power and torque than other 650cc rivals. There’s plenty of smoothness through the rev range, and it’s a pretty effortless bike to ride; even in 6th, it’s happy to chug around at 40 kph, and in 4th, there’s enough grunt to power up slopes or quickly overtake that lumbering truck on the highway. The gearing is short and makes for entertaining riding, especially if you find yourself on some twisting hill roads (and if you also choose the optional quickshifter). On highways, you’re never short of motive force if you want to do some high speed touring, although at around 6,000 rpm and above, you can feel some vibrations coming through the handlebar and foot pegs; the engine also runs pretty hot.

This bike has a few chassis changes over the Trident – a new swingarm, a longer wheelbase and steering geometry that’s definitely more precise. The suspension is also different, with a pre-load adjuster at the rear and more travel, which led me to believe that the ride quality would be on the plush side. It acquits itself well on smooth tarmac, but when you encounter large potholes and breaks in the road, it does thud around a bit. Its ground clearance gets you through the rough stuff with no fuss, though, so you’ll have to live with the trade-off between on-road and broken-road manners. This is a road-biased adventure tourer, after all.

Fun ride
The bias makes it a fun bike to throw around, too. It has 17-inch wheels and excellent, fat Michelin Road 5 tyres, which rule out hardcore off-roading, but the flip side is that you can easily push the bike around corners, changing direction quickly, and it takes it all ion its stride. Just keep in mind that it isn’t the kind of bike that should be ridden at the limit all the time, because the suspension won’t be able to keep up with that style. The brakes are more than enough to handle stopping duties, although they lack an initial bite.

This brings me to the one thing that will probably play on potential buyers’ minds – its price. At Rs 9 lakh (ex-showroom), it’s an expensive machine for what it offers, even though it’s engaging and friendly.

In fact, for not much more, you can buy Triumph’s own Street Triple R, which isn’t an adventure tourer but is much more powerful, faster and better equipped. It’s more expensive than Kawasaki’s Versys, which feels smoother and rides far better, and around the same price as the Suzuki V-Strom 650, which is a brilliant off-roader.

Ultimately, the choice will be a personal one, and if it’s 3-cylinder character and ease of use that you’re looking for, the Tiger Sport 660 will not disappoint.