Triumph Adventure Centre

The day started early with an 8am meet up at the Triumph Adventure Centre. Outside the entrance Triumph’s latest generation of Triumph Tiger, Bonneville Street Scrambler and Scrambler 1200 motorcycles were ready to greet us. Inside, Matt and his great team of instructors met us, sorted us out with refreshment and kindly asked us to sign our life away Nothing to worry about, just a standard piece of paper reminding you of the risks when riding off-road!

We then walked towards the changing rooms where each participant had a locker set up for themselves with off-road body armour which we could request in advance. Everything was ready. Knee braces, body armour, jackets, trousers, gloves and even rain gear. Not that we’d need it. The heat wave across England meant the trails were bone dry. It was going to be a scorching hot day!

Everyone arrived and geared up within the next half an hour. The refreshment area was a nice space to socialise and introduce each other. Meanwhile, a pretty cool video was projected in the background giving us a taste of what the day had in store for us. Steep hills, deep gravel, river crossings and dusty power slides. Everyone was buzzing to get out on the bikes!

The Triumph Experience Day helped me improve my riding confidence, bike handling and maneuvering skills. The terrain was really varied and quality of training top notch!

Sandra (ADV TRavelbug)

Picking our Triumph weapons for the day

We all had a preferred motorcycle. To my surprise, most people wanted to jump on the Scrambler. I know the Tiger 900 Rally Pro handles beautifully off-road and is very easy to handle. Why make life harder for yourself? In other words, the Scrambler didn’t tempt me! I had taken it on a test ride just a few weeks ago and wondered why anyone would ride it off-road, when the Tiger was clearly a much easier and more comfortable choice for off-road riding. Granted, doing power slides on a scrambler looks about 10 times cooler than doing it on the Tiger! But other than that I assumed everyone would be fighting over the Tiger 900 Rally Pro. I was wrong!

In any case, we needn’t have worried. The day is designed for everyone to try the Tiger and Scrambler! Though you don’t have to switch if you don’t want to!

I will add here that by the end of the day everyone who tried both the Tiger and the Scrambler agreed that the Tiger 900 Rally Pro was definitely easier to handle for off-road riding. See … told you all

Quick briefing before we hit the road

Some of us were quite familiar with the Scrambler and Tiger and others hadn’t ridden one before. So we had a quick briefing to make sure everyone knew how to adjust the settings and switch into off-road mode. And so no one would start searching for the key on their keyless ride. So after a brief intro of the bikes and what to expect from the day we hit the road!

Slow speed maneuvers

We had just enough time on the road to get a feel for the bike, especially for those that hadn’t ridden it before of course! Then we hit the gravel and once we were inside the Triumph Training arena ,we stopped to split into groups and go over the basics. Everyone wanting to hit the trails hard went into one group. There were some seriously good riders on the day and I knew better than to fool myself that tagging along with them would be a good idea. That thought was confirmed when I saw them power sliding literally into each corner they took shortly after!

I stayed in a group of four riders that all had some off-road experience but never had any training. Except Karen. She is a very confident on-street rider who hadn’t been off-road before. To my surprise you couldn’t tell. Her tight turns on gravel were solid! But Phoenix impressed me most! At only 5ft she handled the tall Scrambler like a boss! I have always had huge respect for off-road riders that can’t reach the ground properly with their feet and not letting it hold them back.

The exercises on the day were all aimed to drum the correct body position for off-road riding into you, enable you to shift your body weight to initiate turns and counter steer for tighter turns. We also spend some time focused on braking and getting a feel for what exactly the front brake and rear brake do by themselves. So no one would be scared of a drifting rear tyre and learn how to apply brakes properly. We also covered hill climbs. But throughout the day we would always return to turns which got tighter and tighter with each exercise!

Trail riding

Trail riding can be pretty exhausting! So the day was split between doing an exercise, followed by some trail riding, another exercise, a little break, some more trail riding and so on. It was the perfect mix to get a lot of riding in, but also enough brakes to hydrate and practice slow speed maneuvers.

The trails were mostly gravel, with ruts, potholes and loose stones with some single trail sections. I was particularly impressed with one particular loop of the training ground covered in all sorts of ruts. Some pretty deep, and a couple really muddy despite the otherwise dry conditions. The loop is pretty small so you can do it over and over again and really nail riding through ruts!

Meanwhile the other group was riding up steeper hills, focused more on single trail riding, jumps and power sliding. The terrain also has some awesome water crossing, although sadly we didn’t get a chance to ride it on our one day training. There were a few muddy paddles which are usually much more challenging but we just so happened to visit after the heat wave so there wasn’t much water or slick mud.

Back to the Triumph Adventure Centre

Throughout the day Triumph provided us with refreshments, plenty of water, various energy bars and of course a much needed lunch! It was also a nice way to catch up with the other group and hide in the shade for a bit.

Around 3.30 pm the day had finished and both groups got together for the final ride back which would leave the Triumph training arena and take on some byways open to the general public. Everyone was pretty exhausted! But we had an awesome day and were up for one last ride. So we blasted down some more gravel roads and Matt delivered on the water crossing he’d promised me to finish the day on a high!

I cannot tell you how grateful I felt for the clean showers and fresh towels once we got back to the Triumph Adventure Centre. We were all dripping with sweat and desperate to clean the dust of our faces!

Overall impressions of the Triumph Adventure Experience

The training was really top-notch and focused on improving our techniques! My Triumph Adventure Experience Day was equivalent to a Level 1 training. Despite that I definitely feel I learnt how to improve my body position and turn tighter. I would have loved to stay another day to practice hill starts, ride more single track and take on water crossings but that simply means I will be back for more soon

The instructors were all brilliant, the terrain was very impressive and the facilities were top-notch! Can I recommend it? 100%. Will I be back? You bet!

Sandra (ADV Travelbug)

The post TRIUMPH ADVENTURE RIDING EXPERIENCE appeared first on ADV Travelbug.

Here we share what we believe to be the best products on the market for minimalist motorcycle camping!

Lone Rider ADV Tent for minimalist motorcycle camping

The Lone Rider ADV Tent is a great tent for around-the world-trips! It has been designed by ADV Riders for ADV Riders and is a sound, quality product with impeccable design. It’s not only great for solo travellers but perfect for a couple. Fiona and I feel very comfortable in it and love having a portable home! You can check out our YouTube video above to see us set it up. There are lighter tents on the market but if you are looking for something durable enough for a round-the-world trip then you’ll be looking at somewhere around the 1k USD mark.

The Lone Rider tent only costs around 300 GBP (412 USD). Realistically not everyone will be ready to fork out upwards of 1k USD on a tent, so although the Lone Rider ADV tent is about a kilo heavier than its competition, it’s an excellent choice for those who want great quality and durability at a much more attractive price point.

If money was not a decision making factor then we’d probably go for the Nallo 2 GT. It’s a whole kilo liter but offers much more space with an additional vestibule. This is very handy of course if you are going to camp in rainy weather a lot. You can also set it up in the rain without the inside getting wet. The reduced weight comes at a hefty price tag though and this beautiful tent will set you back nearly 1,300 USD. 

It’s a potential purchase for us in the future, but for now we are sticking with our Lone Rider ADV tent. So in the spirit of only recommending gear which we know inside out, we can honestly recommend it! 

So what have we got here?

The Lone Rider ADV tent is a 3 season tent made of the highest quality materials. It is incredibly light and compact and fits perfectly and easily into our pannier with a packed size of just 41x15cm (16.1″x5.9″). Alternatively you can place it on top of your panniers as it comes with a compression pack and molle system.

The tent has space to store luggage and gear on either side of the two entry/exit points. You can even personalise your tent, drawing your routes with a pen onto the maps. We really like the map design as it looks great!

Quality Quality Quality

• Poles and pegs are made of aircraft grade aluminium making them super light
• Fabrics of the tent are made of ultralight, UV-resistant, ripstop material
• Quality zippers that won’t break easily
• All of the seams are taped and coated to be 100% waterproof
  (we had our fair share of rainy nights and can confirm we never got wet)

Thoughtful touches

• The compression bag features a roadside breakdown safety triangle
• Hooks inside the doors mean zippers cannot easily be opened from the outside
• Loops to dry lightweight items
• 7 strategically located pockets
• Windows and zips in the corner of the tent help you to adjust airflow
• You can stash away the zipped open door for a superb panorama view
• The ground mat features a SOS rescue signal in reflective letters

Why we love the Lone Rider ADV tent for minimalist motorcycle camping

Great design, well-thought–out layout and durable enough for a round-the-world trip. I also like the colour, as it doesn’t draw much attention when we are wild camping!

Apart from the thoughtful design, we also love how easy it is to set up thanks to its single piece pole system. As soon as you pull the poles out of the bag most of them fall into place by itself. It only takes 30 seconds to pull the missing ones together and have the whole structure. Fiona and I can build the tent in 2-3 minutes and it’s just as easy to take down. The durability makes it the perfect tent to take around the world!

By the way, Lone Rider also designs bigger and roomier tents, which can even shelter an entire motorcycle. If you need more space check it out, but for minimalist motorcycle camping the ADV Tent is the best. We love it!

Exped Isomatt for minimalist motorcycle camping

Fiona and I were looking for the lightest Isomatt on the market. The Synmat HL MW claims to be the world’s lightest one at its warmth and comfort levels so it ticked all the boxes for us. It has microfibre insulation for 3 season warmth and its 7 cm thickness provides excellent comfort.

Quick overview

• 3 season isomatt with microfibre insulation
• 7cm thickness provides excellent comfort
• Camp in up to -3 degrees
• Only weighs 440g
• 5 year guarantee

It comes with a light pump sack which allows you to inflate the mat rapidly too. Fiona and I actually went for the double version of this mat, the Synmat HL Duo M. It fits perfectly into the Lone Rider ADV Tent but most couples will probably prefer the Synmat HL Duo LW. It is larger and more comfortable for two people but it was sold out when we were buying ours.

The Synmat HL Duo M is great for minimalist motorcycling camping at only 830g (105cm wide/183cm long). The Synmat HL Duo LW weighs 1.15kg (130cm wide/197cm long). Our Synmat doesn’t fill out the inside of the tent completely, whereas the larger version would fill the space out perfectly.

Why we don’t recommend the lighter Ultralight models

They are cheaper and lighter. And our ultimate goal is to find the best minimalist motorcycle camping gear, right? Yes but this mat has ZERO insulation! So it’s really only suitable if you are planning to camp on hot summer nights. Even a cool night on a summer day could be uncomfortable already. Round-the-world without any insulation is impossible I would say. The weight difference is really minimal and not worth taking the risk. There really is nothing worse than feeling the cold creep up from underneath you. It can quickly turn a fun camping trip into having a miserable night’s sleep!

For extreme temperatures there is also the Downmat XP 7 range which is suitable for temperatures up to -24 degrees for hardcore campers. However, if you aren’t planning to camp in minus temperatures there is really no need to go for this one. The down insulation adds quite a bit of weight! The HL range from Exped should suit most travellers for a round-the-world trip!

Cumulus Sleeping Bag for minimalist motorcycle camping

If you want a light sleeping bag, it needs to be made of down. If you want it to be ultralight, you’ll need to go for goose down. Poland is one of the largest goose down producers in the world. Cumulus, being a polish brand, offers high quality goose down sleeping bags significantly cheaper than some other leading brands like Western Mountaineering, who also use polish goose down but are much more expensive. But most importantly, Cumulus is an ethical brand that promote ethical goose breeding and animal welfare!

Cumulus X-Lite 300

• 465g
• Up to 2 degrees Celsius (comfort zone, not risk zone!)

We don’t like camping in any lower temperatures but if you do, check out the X-Lite 400 model. With over 25 sleeping bags to choose from, they have a pretty wide selection to suit all temperature ranges. In addition, you also have the option of custom making your own sleeping bag exactly how you like it.

We can highly recommend Cumulus and haven’t found any other brand out there that can keep you that warm at such a low weight, making Cumulus the go-to brand for sleeping bags!

Cocoon Sleeping Bag Liners

Don’t forget to add a sleeping bag liner to your shopping list! They help you keep your sleeping bag clean and add warmth! We also always use them when staying in cheap accommodation were the cleanliness of the sheets might be questionable.

Merino Wool Liner

• Very soft
• Naturally regulates temperature
• Adds up to 7 degrees Celsius to sleeping bag temperature rating
• 495g (heavy!)

I’m personally a HUGE fan of merino wool and love the soft feel of it. BUT if you want to go ultralight you’ll want to go for 100% silk!

Note: only available for single sleeping bags

Ripstop Silk Liner

• Ultra lightweight!
• Adds 4.8 degrees to the warmth of your sleeping bag
• Only 135g

Our recommendation is to go with the Cocoon Ripstop Silk Expedition. It’s just as light as the regular silk liner but is more durable and resistant to tearing!

Note: only available for single sleeping bags

Egyptian Cotton

• Soft & durable
• Lighter and more compact than regular cotton
• 210g Great compromise between cotton and silk

Note: You can buy a double if you are used to zipping your sleeping bags together

Fiona doesn’t like the feel of silk. So whilst I went with the ultra-light silk option, she opted for Egyptian Cotton. It’s a great compromise between cotton and silk! However, it’s heavier than silk and add less warmth.

Cocoon Ripstop Silk Expedition is the best option for minimalist motorcycle camping!

Sea to Summit Aeros Down Pillow

The best pillow for minimalist motorcycle camping is the Aeros Down Pillow.

To stay true to this blog-post about ultra-light travel I must highlight that the Aeros Down Pillow is 10g heavier than the Aeros Ultralight. However, given the additional insulation and comfort it’s the best camping pillow for us.

The weight difference is more significant for the larger version of this pillow (25g). Note that the Aeros Down also costs significantly more than the Aeros Ultralight (30 GBP vs 55 GBP for the regular size).

Fiona and I are travelling with the Aeros Down Deluxe, the largest size available (12 x 59 x 38cm) weighing 190g … sharing that is, not one each.

Sea to Summit Watercell X

Is it a shower? Is it a watercell? Or is it a water dispenser? The Watercell X is ALL of those! It’s a durable watercell made from flexible, abrasion resistant fabric. It has a clever multi-function cap for flow control and also includes a shower head attachment. So you can use it just as a water holder or convert it into a “kitchen sink” or shower.

You can easily hang, carry and attach it using the welded lash points and adjustable strap. In addition to that you can also purchase a separately sold drinking tube. It comes in 4, 6, 10 and 20 liters. Fiona and I went for the 6 liters (196g) as we both already have hydration packs. So this is just an additional watercell and shower facility for us.

I love that it’s multi-functional and made of such robust materials. We were originally just carrying the Pocket Shower, which is a lightweight dry sack which can hold up to 10 liters whilst providing 7-8 minutes showering time. It only weighs 120g and is likewise a fantastic product but we switched to the Watercell X because it’s so much more than just a shower.

Ready to pack for your minimalist motorcycle camping trip?

So this is it … our ultimate camping list for minimalistic motorcycle camping. What about cooking you might ask? Well up until now we were always travelling two up so for space reasons we decided not to cook. But we are planning to travel on two bikes in 2021 and are already eyeing up the Primus Omnifuel and Sea to Summit foldable X-Pot. Once we get to travel for a good amount of time and get some proper use out of it we will be sure to review them too

Was this guide helpful? Any questions, comments or recommendations? Fiona and I are always keeping our eyes peeled for ultra-light and super functional camping gear so if we forgot anything please let us know and comment below – we would love to hear from you!

The post The Ultimate Guide to MINIMALIST Motorcycle Camping appeared first on ADV Travelbug.

KLIM is the most VERSATILE MOTORCYCLE GEAR for Round-The-World Trips

We needed gear that would keep us warm in Alaska and when riding through Patagonia. But it was also important for it to get us through hot temperatures, upwards of 30 degrees Celsius. As soon as we started asking around, the ADV community would almost instantly point us to KLIM Motorcycle Gear. We hadn’t previously heard of them (they are the go-to brand in the USA but less known in Europe) but after many recommendations from various people we checked out their gear. Klim gear is expensive but we knew we wanted to get this part right and QUALITY was our TOP PRIORITY.

So what do we think after riding in Klim Motorcycle gear for over 1 year covering more than 30,000 miles? We rode in temperatures ranging from 5 degrees Celsius to about 46 degrees Celsius (Death Valley in August was definitely not a sensible choice). We are just as happy with our gear today than when we first got it. What’s more, after putting 30,000 + miles on our bike wearing the gear it looks just as new. We put it through torrential rain, mud, dusty dirt roads and washed it quite a few times too. You really can’t tell what it’s been through and there is no doubt this suit will last for a round-the-world trip and beyond.

Detailed review of the KLIM KRIOS PRO HELMET, KLIM ARTEMIS and ALTITUDE SUITS, KLIM QUENCH PAK and what we love about it below!

Meet the Klim Krios PRO

THE WEIGHT IS OVER – literally !

I owned quite a few different helmets over the years but the KLIM KRIOS PRO really does blow everything else out of the water!

Quick Overview

• Made of carbon fibre
• Transition Photochromic Lens
• Fid-Lock Strap closure system
• 1.3kg / 3lbs
• Lightest Adventure helmet on the market !

Everything about this helmet has been thought through in a lot of detail: refined aerodynamics, comfort, performance and airflow.

It’s also very versatile and can be adapted to any style of riding:

• ADV helmet: peak + transition lens.
• Dual Sport: add goggles
• Off-road: remove face shield and add goggles
• Street helmet: remove peak

I will point out that the KLIM KRIOS PRO is the only helmet which comes in size XS. At first we wanted to buy the regular KRIOS (non-pro version) which starts at 329.99 USD. But Fiona and I are both size XS so we couldn’t. It’s certainly common to wear size XS in Europe (we even get XXS over here) so we found this surprising. But of course we are super happy that this pushed us to discover the KRIOS PRO.

Why we love it

The comfort of wearing such a light helmet makes a huge difference at the end of a long riding day. There’s nothing worse than a heavy helmet for long-distance riding. In addition you can fasten the straps with your gloves on in a matter of seconds – so convenient! The vents offer fantastic airflow too.

At 699.99 USD the helmet might seem expensive. However, given the quality, highest safety standards and comfort it provides we felt it was completely justified and money well spent!

Meet the Klim Artemis Adventure Suit

This adventure suit has been designed with one purpose in mind: getting you around the world and offer comfort across a wide range of temperatures. And it does exactly that!

One size does not fit all !!

But before we get into all the details, may I just point out one of my favourite things about KLIM. At 1.80m I have always struggled to get motorcycling trousers that are long enough. Often the arms on the jackets are too short so. As a result I often bought gear designed for men, usually sitting baggy on me. It’s very rare for me to find something that fits properly. Not all brands offer “extra long” and even those are sometimes too short for me. But KLIM truly offers motorcycle gear for ALL SIZES. You can buy any suit in short, regular or long length! I think it’s great and really appreciate that! Now let’s talk about the gear.

Klim Artemis Jacket

Quick overview

• Gore-Tex Performance Shell will keep you dry at all times
• 10 well located vents for maximum airflow
• Plenty of pockets including hidden stash pocket
• D30 armour

The Klim Artemis Jacket feels like a quality suit as soon as you put it on. It has a Gore-Tex Performance Shell guaranteed to keep you dry. So unlike other adventure suits it doesn’t require you to pull over and throw on a waterproof layer. We have ridden through torrential rain many times and never got wet!

What sets it apart for me from other adventure suits on the market are the 10 well located vents throughout the suit. It has 2 chest vent pockets, 2 cross-core vents, 2 forearm vents, 2 bicep vents and two vertical back exhaust vents. One of my favourite features is also that you can clip the collar back maximising air flow. It’s such a clever design and it adds so much more ventilation. And most importantly it has plenty of pockets to stash things away of various sizes, including a hidden stash pocket.

It features D30 armour throughout – one of the best armour systems in the world. In addition it also has Klimatech cooling fabric technology in the mesh armour pockets for enhanced ventilation.

KLIM Artemis Trousers

The Klim Artemis Trousers have 6 pockets in total (2 thigh front and two on the back and two zippered cargo pockets). My favourite feature? The goat leather on the inside of the knees which adds tremendous grip on the gas tank when riding standing up.

In my opinion the Artemis Suit is the perfect choice no matter what the terrain or weather conditions. If you are looking for a versatile adventure suit that offers you the highest standard of comfort, safety and convenience then look no further! The jacket costs 699.99 USD and the trousers 569.99 USD

Meet the Klim Altitude Suit

Fiona went for the Altitude Suit. It offers the same outstanding quality and all the features mentioned above but is a little lighter. She doesn’t get cold as easily and has the added benefit that I’m sitting in front of her absorbing the majority of the wind. So far she has been just as satisfied with it as I have with mine. Here is what Fiona has to say:

“I love the look of the leather overlay on elbows and forearms. It’s a really well thought through design. The trousers have zippers allowing for a wider opening at the bottom and the straps on the jacket and around the hip allow you to further adjust the fit and style to your liking. I’m loving the clever ventilation system and the amount of pockets it has inside out. It offers maximum airflow in hot weather and keeps me dry and warm in cooler climates”.

Fiona Cheng

The Altitude jacket costs 629.99 USD and the Altitude Trousers cost 549.99 USD.

Klim BASE LAYERS Motorcycle gear

Klim offers excellent base and midlayers. Check out the 1.0 baselayers for warm weather or the 3.0 baselayers for colder climates (like the ones we are wearing above). Little sidestory about the picture…

We met Tracy on the of the Belize / Guatemala border. Another GS riders with Klim gear – spot the world traveller! We got on like a house on fire and ended up climbing a volcano together. It might not look it but it was freezing cold up there. As soon as we arrived at base camp we hopped into our tents and started layering up. When we came out we couldn’t believe that we happened to have the same base layers with us. What are the chances? Of course everyone on the tour thought our mum forced us to wear matching outfits (no one could believe we had literally just met).

Coming back to the clothes, I believe this particular model is discontinued. But you can check the new models out here. We each travelled with 1.0 base layers for everyday riding and 3.0 base layers for cooler climates. The 3.0 layers were meant to keep us warm in Patagonia and Alaska. Never mind that we never got to either of these destinations. As you can see we found alternative use for it along the way ;- )

Klim Quench Pak Motorcycle gear

The Klim Quench Pak is light and keeps you hydrated while riding. You can carry two liters of water with you. It also has a little space for a small camera and some essentials. Of course it’s super handy even for hikes when you are off the bike. It never leaked and wearing it while riding made it so much easier to ensure we keep hydrated at all times! The Klim Quench Pack costs 79.99 USD.

Why KLIM Motorcycle Gear?

To wrap it all up, Klim really does live up to its reputation of being the global world leader in designing, developing and manufacturing the most advanced riding gear! When wearing Klim you can really feel the thought process and passion that has gone into enhancing rider experience. We feel that we made an excellent choice choosing Klim for our round-the-world adventure. And we have no doubt the suit will hold up nicely for many years to come.

Are you familiar with Klim yet? Share your experience and let us know what your favourite piece of gear is – we’d love to hear from you!

How to Prepare for a RTW Motorcycle Trip

The post KLIM Motorcycle Gear Review for ADV Riders appeared first on ADV Travelbug.

We had just abandoned our motorbike and all our belongings in Colombia. Covid-19 had us in a lockdown and didn’t look like it was going anywhere soon. Our round-the-world trip stopped abruptly and we found ourselves back in Europe. Fiona visited her parents in the UK, and I found myself back in Germany with mine.

When we got the amazing opportunity to ride the brand-new Tiger 900 Rally Pro for the summer we were ecstatic! In addition, we also got to compete with it at the Adventure Ride Competition (ARC). Who would have thought, with everything that was going on and covid rules changing by the week?

But this blog post isn’t about our awesome trip across Europe. Find out more about that here: TOP 10 TRAVEL DESTINATIONS IN AND AROUND GERMANY & AUSTRIA.

This blog post is about why I fell in love with it, what maybe isn’t so great and why I think you’d be hard pressed to find a better Adventure Bike in the middleweight class on the market today!

It’s not a full on technical review (there are plenty of reviews out there covering that better already). Here I share my personal experience after riding it over 3,500 miles + across Europe, as someone that literally lives on Adventure Bikes.

The Tiger 900 Rally Pro is a Seriously Good-Looking Adventure Bike

Okay, can we please just state the obvious before we go any further. Isn’t the Tiger 900 Rally Pro just such a good-looking Adventure Bike? I have to say that I’m not someone who gets very passionate about the looks of Adventure Bikes. They are usually not the sexiest bikes out there but I ride them because they are best suited for a round-the-world trip. For once I have to say though, I really LOVE the looks of it. It’s not as beasty looking as some of its competitors and has a rather slim design – it comes across aggressive without being intimidating!

It Handles Beautifully Off-Road

I had the opportunity to compete in the Adventure Ride Competition (ARC) in 2020. The ARC is the largest riding competition open to ALL BRANDS in the world. The terrain is very varied and challenging. You have everything from deep gravel, single trails, sandy motocross trails, steep hills and mud. How is that for a test ride?

At only 201kg it is significantly lighter than our BMW F800 GS and was so much EASIER to handle off-road. The Tiger 900 Rally Pro also has a lower centre of gravity than its predecessor and the top-notch suspension made for a very comfortable ride. It felt worlds apart from our current set up (BMW F800 GS + Scott Steering Damper). The 900cc three-cylinder engine offers plenty of power, while the bike itself is light and agile – what a beautiful combination!

It comes with a series of High-Spec Features

Errrr … okay. Where do we start? The Tiger 900 Rally Pro has a 7-inch full-colour TFT screen. You can easily change the layout and it’s super crisp and clear to read anything of it. You can sign up to the My Triumph connectivity system for GPS navigation, as well as enabling phone and music operation. I have to admit that I’m not used to such fancy screens. In fact I’m so used to reading Google Map directions of my phone that I did stick to it (shame on me). Now what’s seriously cool is that you can control your GoPro without having to stop to switch it on and off. That’s seriously nice!

Tiger 900 Rally Pro Riding Modes

The Tiger 900 Rally Pro has 6 ride modes in total: Road, Rain, Sport, Off-Road and Off-Road Pro. Off- Road Pro is for serious off-road riding, allowing you to disable ABS & TC. And just in case that’s not enough you can also customise the settings and save them to suit your personal riding style. Little side note: you’ll need to switch the off-road mode back on each time you restart the bike!

The Tiger 900 Rally Pro is full of high-spec features!

The Tiger 900 Rally Pro also offers Optimised Cornering ABS and Traction Control. Nice! It comes with premium Showa suspension and Brembo brakes – both top-notch quality. All fancy stuff but my absolute favourite feature, and totally unexpected, was the quickshifter. Never had one, didn’t think I’d enjoy it so much but oh my, yes please! Super nice when riding in the mountains.

Also noteworthy is that it has spoked tubeless front and rear wheels. I’ve wanted tubeless wheels ever since getting my first tube puncture. We’ve had to fix ours a couple of times in pretty remote areas and it wasn’t fun!

Did someone say heated seats ???

Now in case all that wasn’t fancy enough, here was Fiona’s favourite feature: Heated seats! That’s right, not just for the rider but also for the pillion. We were both able to adjust it to our liking! I didn’t think I’d need it in the summer, or in general, but we did run into some cold weather, even heavy rain and we both loved it. I suspect we’ll be missing it greatly once we reach Patagonia – no doubt!

It has a 20 liter tank

Okay so as an ADV Rider, who is always off exploring remote parts of the world this is obviously something that I really appreciate! On our old bike we were only able to get 20 liters as we fitted an extra 5 liter tank on it. Fuel consumption is roughly 5.2 liters/100 miles. Love it!

You can adjust seat height & windscreen easily and quickly

A tall windscreen is great for touring, but can be dangerous off road. The Tiger 900 Rally Pro has the perfect touring size for me. But my favourite feature is that I can adjust the windscreen on the go. I can push it down when riding off-road and it’s just as simple to raise it back for touring. Adventure Bikes usually come fitted with a tiny little windscreen which I don’t like. So I really appreciated not only the size but flexibility to move it up and down so easily.

In addition you can adjust the seat height very easily too. I’m 1.80m so have it on the highest settings. But it only takes a moment to lower the seat, which I did when riding the whole day off-road. During the ARC for example I kept the seat on the lower setting, but increased the height for the rest of our trip. It’s such a great feature when riding very technical terrain fully loaded also. Being able to get my feet firmly on the ground even on uneven ground is a big advantage!

Anything not so amazing?

If you are going to do some serious off-road riding I would recommend to upgrade the bash plate. The Tiger 900 Rally Pro boasts so much build quality that I would have liked it to have a better skid plate that hardcore off-road riders wouldn’t need to worry about.

I also think the tyre pressure sensors are oversensitive. It’s clearly a great feature but the warning sign for low tyre pressure sometimes came on when it didn’t have to.

Anything missing? Well we’d have to be super critical as it’s truly a very high spec motorcycle that has every feature you might need. One thing it doesn’t have is electronic suspension adjustment. Does it need it? Not really as I didn’t have to change it once riding in the ARC or later two-up with luggage on our road trip, so we didn’t miss it.

Verdict?

I was trying to be as objective and critical as possible but you can probably tell that I’m head over heels in love with the Tiger 900 Rally Pro!

What makes it perfect for long-distance travelling for me is that it’s light, agile, has a fantastic suspension and comes with a 20 liter tank. The quickshifter just makes that smile bigger on my face when twisting the throttle.

The bike is not only pure fun but incredibly comfortable! I forgot to mention that as someone who always upgrades to custom seats this is the first motorcycle where I don’t feel I’d need to.

Is the Tiger 900 Rally Pro suitable for a round-the-world trip?

100%. Fiona and I think it’s a BIG UPGRADE to our current set-up and we wouldn’t hesitate for one moment to take it around-the-world. Lennart & Maia from Finding-Neverland just rode it from Switzerland all across Africa. They really tested the Tiger 900 Rally Pro in all possible off-road terrain and gave it a big thumbs up!

Have you had a chance to test ride the Tiger 900 Rally Pro? What are your thoughts? Or do you perhaps have any questions about it? Let me know in the comments below and I look forward to hearing from you all !

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