Triumph Motorcycles has released a teaser video of the upcoming Tiger 850 Sport, its new addition to the Tiger line-up. The Triumph Tiger 850 Sport will be unveiled on November 17, 2020.
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Will be based on the Triumph Tiger 900
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Expected to be powered by the same engine as the Tiger 900’s
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Will be a road-focused Tiger
Tiger 850 Sport is based on the current Tiger 900
Do not be misled by the 850 moniker because the Triumph Tiger 850 Sport will be based on the same platform as the Tiger 900. The images in the teaser clearly show the front fairing and LED DRL of the Tiger 850 Sport, which looks identical to that on the Tiger 900. In fact, the Tiger 850 should look largely similar to the Tiger 900, save for different sticker jobs to distinguish between the two.
Even the engine is expected to be based on the Tiger 900’s inline triple, the highlight of which is the unique 1-3-2 firing order. Whether Triumph maintains the same power and torque figures (95hp and 87Nm) as the Tiger 900’s engine remains to be seen. It will also be interesting to see if Triumph tinkers with the gearing, in keeping with the ‘Sport’ badge. Speaking of gearing, the engine will be paired to a 6-speed gearbox that will likely feature a quickshifter.
Putting the Sport in the Tiger 850
The Tiger 900 GT is the road-biased motorcycle in Triumph’s current line-up, but it does have a fair amount of off-road ability as well. The Triumph Tiger 850 Sport, on the other hand, is expected to be a proper road machine. Considering this, expect the Tiger 850 Sport to feature smaller, lighter alloy wheels. Its suspension components are also expected to be fully adjustable at the front and rear. The Tiger 900 GT Pro gets electronic preload and damping adjustment at the rear shock, so will the Tiger 850 Sport feature this as well? We will confirm that at the bike’s unveiling on November 17.
Availability and competition
The Triumph Tiger 850 Sport is expected to go on sale in India in early 2021. In fact, the company has already listed the motorcycle on its website. As far as competitors are concerned, the Tiger 850 Sport will go up against the Ducati Multistrada 950 S that was recently launched in India at Rs 15.49 lakh (ex-showroom).
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
