As I rode the 2013 Triumph Tiger Explorer XC for this review I couldn’t help but think that sometimes too much of a good thing is a bad thing. And sometimes too much of a good thing is a very good thing. And sometimes too much of a good thing is……well it’s both good and bad and I think the Tiger Explorer XC fits this category.

Before you throw rocks, sticks, rotten eggs or anything else let me explain.

I’m not saying the ’13 Tiger Explorer XC isn’t a good bike. Quite the contrary actually as I found it to be an extremely good bike. It’s just that, when you dissect it part by part, you find that there are many instances of “too much”.

Drivetrain

The Triumph Tiger Explorer XC is powered by the same 1215cc triple that made it’s debut last year in the standard Explorer. There can never be enough praise heaped upon the modern 3-cylinder engines that Triumph is building, and the 1215cc version is no exception.

Plenty of torque at the bottom end of the rev range means that, unless you are in a really big hurry, you’ll never have to rev the engine past 6500 rpms to have fun. All that bottom end torque makes spinning the tire on loose surfaces all too easy…luckily there is TCS which we’ll talk about later.

Revving past 6500 rpms doesn’t seem to net as big a benefit as you’d expect with an engine that redlines at 10k rpm and produces peak power (135hp) at 9300 rpms.  Surprisingly enough, the engine of the Explorer was one of my “meh” areas as, while it produces lots of usable power, it seemed to be lacking a bit in that certain something that makes an engine fun to play with.

It was fun to rip through the rpms and feel it pull but I never felt like I “had” to do it just because I could; very rarely did I stay in a gear longer than I had to just because I wanted to “romp”. I like the engine and feel it’s one of the top reasons to buy the Explorer XC – but at the same time I feel that the snarly, hooligan character Triumph’s triples are known for called in sick to work on the day this engine was designed.

Another thing that didn’t show-up on the Explorer XC is the old notchy transmissions that used to be found in liter class Triumphs. The new transmissions are head and shoulders above their predecessors.

The Explorer XC is fitted with a 6 speed gearbox that shifts smoothly yet also offers positive engagements into each gear, with gear ratios that are perfectly suited to the 1215cc engine during both around town and interstate riding (90mph = only 5200 rpms).

The Tiger Explorer XC is fitted with a driveshaft in lieu of a chain and the bike has the slick looking single sided swingarm that Triumph is known for. I know it’s a cost issue but I wish all Triumphs, outside of the classics and cruisers, came with that style swingarm; it just looks so sexy.

Chassis, Brakes and Suspension

I’ve ridden many bikes in my life but I’ve never, ever ridden a bike that felt as solidly put together as the Explorer XC does; it really does fit the “cut from a solid block of billet aluminum” cliche to a tee.

At the speeds I was going there was no discernible flex in the suspension or the frame and, before you wonder if I was really pushing the bike, I actually dragged the pegs a few times while riding. What really amazed me was that even at the lean angles needed to drag the pegs (it’s a long way down on an adventure bike) the bike was completely stable and tracked around the corner like it was on rails.

To say I was impressed with the way the Explorer XC handled would be a gross understatement. I was also impressed by the Metzler Tourance tires and their chunky tread; never once did they feel anything less than firmly planted on the tarmac.

The Tiger Explorer XC’s suspension was a bit less impressive. What worked so well leaned over in the corners suffered from a bit of harshness on the flat and level. The first thing I did to the Explorer XC after picking it up was to back the preload all the way out on the KYB 46mm upside down forks.

I did this because when I first rode it it felt like the front forks were filled with concrete. I didn’t adjust the rear KYB monoshock for preload or damping though as the rear of the bike was better behaved than the front.  Apparently Triumph figured that the bike would be loaded down with 1000 pounds of rider, passenger, and luggage and built the suspension to handle that kind of weight.

This is all well and good but when it’s just a 190 pound rider on the bike the front suspension is a bit harsh over sharp-edged bumps; even when the preload is backed all the way out.

Oddly enough, and I’m not sure why this is exactly, but the suspension was much more compliant off-road than on. Maybe it’s because there are less sharp-edged bumps on unpaved roads than on paved ones but, while the ride was still firm, the harshness disappeared when the pavement did.

I won’t say it was as plush as the Tiger 800 XC I had just finished riding (review on that bike to be published later) but then the Explorer XC has a lot more weight to it (the Explorer XC tips the scales at 586lbs wet).

The Explorer XC is fitted with two 305mm discs up front and a single 282mm disc in back. The fronts are squeezed by Nissin 4-piston calipers while a Nissin 2-piston sliding caliper grabs the rear disc. Both front and rear brakes offer good stopping power and are easy to modulate.

The front brakes were particularly impressive on the pavement for their strong initial bike and progressive modulation. They reminded me a bit of the brakes on the Speed Triple and are as close to being “two-finger” brakes as you’ll find on a nearly 600lb bike.

Those same attributes that I valued on the street became a bit of a challenge when I took the Explorer XC off the beaten path. Being an off-road novice I’m probably a bit more ham-fisted than a more experienced rider but my first few stops in the dirt resulted in some slipping and sliding.

Or would have resulted in some slipping and sliding if I’d done what “off-road” guys told me to do and turned-off the ABS system. But I didn’t and its a good thing because the ABS might have kept me from seeing what the Explorer XC looked like laying horizontally.

The reason I didn’t turn off the ABS wasn’t because I thought it would save me but because I couldn’t remember how to do it at that moment when the pavement ended. Which brings me to my next talking point:

Electronics and other gadgetry

I can remember a time, not so long ago actually, when a motorcycle review wouldn’t have had a section even talking about electronics and such. Motorcycles were an engine and transmission in a frame with suspension (sometimes that term was used loosely) and wheels bolted on.

The only thing keeping you from locking the brakes, other than the inadequacy of the equipment, was your skill level. Same could be said about making sure the rear tire kept in good and harmonious contact with the ground. There was no ABS, there certainly was no Traction Control and Cruise Control was something you twisted or pushed to lock your throttle in your chosen position.

But times change and motorcycles are now equipped with all that and much more. Triumph too has jumped on the electronic bandwagon as the Explorer XC comes with switchable ABS, 3-mode traction control, electronic cruise control and even throttle-by-wire.

It is with the electronics that I found the most to dislike about the big Tiger.

The Explorer XC has a 3-mode traction control system; Mode 1 is the strictest nanny and doesn’t allow the rear wheel to misbehave at all; Mode 2 is a slightly more liberal nanny for those riders who trust their own skills and self-control better; and Mode 3 is akin to having a drunk nanny who goes off to smoke a cigarette while the baby is in the bathtub.

I usually just left the traction control in the default Mode 1 setting for one very important reason; turning it off or changing modes was a pain in the ass. Let me walk you through the steps the best that I can remember them:

1: Stop bike and make sure you are in neutral
2: Shut down the motor but leave the key on
3: Cycle through the menu settings until you reach ABS and/or TCS
4: Hold in the menu button until the settings start to flash
5: Use the menu toggle to select the mode you desire
6: Press the menu button again to save that setting
7: Restart the bike and continue to ride.

Since the Explorer XC is an adventure bike, and you’ll probably come across some unpaved roads during your adventures, having to take those 7 steps every time you want to change TCS modes or switch your ABS on or off is just tiresome.

In contrast BMW puts one button for ABS and one for TCS that you press and hold to shut them off. I’m usually not one to tell one manufacturer to copy another manufacturer’s design but in this case I think Triumph should steal a page from BMW and adopt the one button layout.

I did learn that if you encounter soft sand while the TCS is in Mode 1 the engine will stall if the back wheel becomes mired. The good part is you can then skip steps 1 and 2 (except the neutral part) while you take a few moments to change the TCS to Mode 2 or 3.

I used Mode 2 and it allowed enough wheelspin to enable the rear wheel, with some coordinated rocking back and forth on my part, to climb out of the hole it had sunk into. At least both the TCS and ABS systems work incredibly well – it’s just the system to control them is a bit complicated.

Triumph did endow the Tiger Explorer XC with possibly the greatest cruise control set-up in the world. One button turns it on (and you can just leave it on all the time as shutting down the bike doesn’t reset your setting) and then one toggle controls setting/accelerating/decelerating.

Push to set and a readout pops up on the display with your current speed which you can then change by toggling the switch up (faster) or down (slower).

For example; let’s say you are going 65mph but you want to set the cruise control for 70mph. Just press down on the toggle (“set”) and then, when the speed readout pops up on the display showing 65mph (your current speed), press up on the same toggle until the speed readout shows 70mph (your desired speed).

It’s really quite simple and keeps you from having to hold the “+/-” button in while watching your speedometer in order to set it to your desired speed.

And now patient and loyal readers, we come to the part of our modest little review where I must need speak of the one thing, and only one thing, that turned me off from the Tiger Explorer XC; the throttle. On most bikes the throttle is a collection of cables, springs and plastic that has a certain feel to it and offers feedback on what your right wrist is doing at any given moment.

The throttle-by-wire system on the Explorer XC offers absolutely zero feedback at any given moment. This means you are either unintentionally accelerating or decelerating when you want to just hold a steady speed. This is the same issue, only worse, that I had with the Trophy SE we recently tested.

Worse on the Explorer XC because the ride harshness over sharp-edged bumps made my right hand move on the throttle causing acceleration and deceleration.

This is really where the “too much of a good thing is…..” came into play as the issue is exacerbated by the, in this case, too good fuel injection system; no lag means no buffer between the too light throttle and the engine. To be honest and fair I did get better at controlling the unwanted yet unavoidable acceleration and deceleration the more I rode the bike but…….why should I have to?

My actual “fix” for the issue was to always be in a higher gear than I “should” have been just to dampen the surges. All Triumph needs to do is (besides hiring me to test their bikes before releasing them into the wild, apparently) is one, or both, of these things and the problem will most likely be fixed:

1) Put a heavier spring on the throttle. The current spring is so light it feels like a toy throttle you’d buy for your computer.

2) Build in a bit of “lag” into the fuel management system. Or a “buffer”. Or just dampen down the throttle response curve just a bit. I really got tired of my neck snapping when shifting from 1st to 2nd (that moment when you first roll into the throttle after letting the clutch engage was a doozy).

This one throttle issue really took a lot of the joy out of riding what is, on most other counts, a phenomenal motorcycle. Triumph’s “hard parts” engineers and designers really put a lot of thought into what an “adventure” rider would want and need. Stuff like the convertible rider pegs where by lifting out the rubber insert you’ve turned a street biased peg into a toothed off-road peg. Or like the bazillion bungee mounting points at the rear of the bike.

Or the standard fog lights. Or the beefy skid plate. Or, or, or……well you get the idea. And the styling. Oh how I loved the styling. Big, intimidating and aggressive about sums up the look nicely – like a pro wrestler but with green paint with wheels…..really sexy wheels too. I mean those Saxess rims have got to be some of the sexiest rims ever.

The 2013 Triumph Tiger Explorer XC averages out to be on the high side of being a good bike; almost tips into great bike territory. But it’s hampered by a few things that, while not huge issues, certainly knocked it down a few notches – at least for me.

Other than the multitude of steps needed to switch off the ABS or TCS it all comes down to damping; more damping on the front suspension and more damping on the throttle-by-wire system.

So there you have it; the 2013 Triumph Tiger Explorer XC – a very good bike that misses being great by the press of a button (or 5 presses), a twitch in the throttle and a bump in the road.

 

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine and Transmission

Type Liquid-cooled, 12 valve, DOHC, in-line three-cylinder
Capacity 1215cc
Bore/Stroke 85 x 71.4mm
Fuel System Ride by wire, fuel injection
Exhaust Stainless steel 3 into 1 , side mounted stainless steel silencer
Final Drive Shaft
Clutch Wet, multi-plate
Gearbox 6-speed
Oil Capacity 4.0 litres (1.1 US gals)

Chassis, Running Gear and Displays

Frame Tubular steel trellis frame
Swingarm Single-sided, cast aluminium alloy with shaft drive
Wheel Front 32-spoke 19 x 2.5in, aluminium rim
Rear 32-spoke 17 x 4.0in, aluminium rim
Tire Front 110/80 R 19
Rear 150/70 R 17
Suspension Front KYB 46mm upside down forks, 190mm travel
Suspension Rear KYB monoshock with remote oil reservoir, hydraulically adjustable preload, rebound damping adjustment, 194mm rear wheel travel
Brakes Front  Twin 305mm floating discs, Nissin 4-piston calipers, Switchable ABS
Brakes Rear Single 282mm disc, Nissin 2-piston sliding caliper, Switchable ABS

Instrument Display/Functions

LCD instrument pack with digital speedometer, analogue tachometer, gear position indicator, fuel gauge, range to empty, service indicator, clock, air temperature, frost warning, hazard warning lights, trip computer, Tyre pressure monitoring system

Dimensions and Capacities

Length 2248mm (88.4in)
Width (handlebars) 962mm (37.9in)
Height without mirrors 1410mm (55.5in)
Seat Height 837mm (32.9) – 857mm (33.7in)
Wheelbase 1530mm (60.2in)
Rake/Trail 23.9º / 105.5mm
Fuel Tank Capacity  20 litres (5.3 US gals)
Wet Weight (ready to ride) 266.5kg (586lbs)
Performance (measured at crankshaft to 95/1/EC)
Maximum Power 137PS / 135bhp / 101kW @ 9300rpm
Maximum Torque 121Nm / 89ft.lbs @ 6400rpm

Price

MSRP $17,199. Price is MSRP, and excludes tax, title, license, options, handling, pre-delivery, and destination charges. Specifications and MSRP are subject to change without notice. Actual price determined by dealer.