One month with a… Triumph Tiger 900 GT Pro (Verdict)

Life with the Tiger Sport 660 and 800 was an eye-opener in terms of how far the Tiger range stretches in price, performance and purpose. But to my (uneducated) motorcycling mind the name is more associated with ‘proper’ adventure bikes like this 900. It’s certainly a significant step up in size, stature and purpose than the Tiger Sports, if not in outright performance compared to the 800. Proof that’s about more than just numbers comes here, the 900 using a very different T-plane triple geared for torque, the whole bike taller, longer in travel and very different in character. Peak Tiger? Time to find out!
Skip to: Month 1 – A Tiger for grown-ups Verdict – King of the jungle?

40-something (just) new convert to motorcycling making up for lost time and trying to figure out what kind of rider I am. With riding still at the novelty stage every trip out is a blast, whether it be the regular commute over the hills to the office or days out on the brilliant roads around my Yorkshire home.

Dan says: “Straight away the 900 felt a much more serious and substantial piece of kit”

School holidays meant the swap from Tiger Sport 800 took place in at my brother’s place on the south coast. Very different riding from what I’m used to back home, that’s for sure. And straight away the 900 felt a much more serious and substantial piece of kit. More premium than the 800, too, which for all its rampant engine and performance is actually based on relatively budget Trident 660 foundations. The 900 uses a fancier combo of steel trellis frame and bolt-on aluminium subframe, with chunky Marzocchi suspension front and back, premium Brembo Stylema brake calipers and a bigger all-TFT screen. Less than a grand separates the base GT from the Tiger Sport 800 but it immediately looks more premium, the Pro version seen here getting fully adjustable suspension, quickshifter, heating for grips and seat and an extra configurable rider mode among the upgrades. Strangely it’s actually a little less powerful than the 800, though. At least on paper. Against the 115 horsepower of the top Tiger Sport the 108 horsepower of the 900’s T-plane triple looks less than impressive, though the 2024 model year bike seen here at least has more than the 95 horsepower of the previous version. Numbers are only one way of measuring a bike’s performance, though, and immediately on firing the 900 up I realised that for all the shared name and engine configurations this and the Tiger Sports were in fact chalk and cheese. That different firing order gives a very different character, with a lumpier tickover and chunkier sounding exhaust note over the smoother, revvier 660 and 800. Even within the first few hundred yards I could sense this was a much more muscular bike than the daintier Tiger Sports. First trip out on the 900 was a couple of hours on mixed B-road and motorway to a shoot at Silverstone. If not as rampant as the 800 the 900 still clips along, the throaty engine note encouraging greedy handfuls of throttle at every opportunity just because. It’s not shy of revs, either, peak power coming just shy of 10,000rpm. With that taller riding position and bigger front wheel the 900 demands a more deliberate riding style than the 800, but it’s no slouch in the twisties. And when the roads switched to motorway cruising it settled to a relaxed cruise in keeping with this GT version’s more road-biased set-up. A strong first impression, that’s for sure. Back to top

Dan says: “The raised seating position and upright posture mean you have great visibility over walls and hedges”

Quiet bit out loud but while I was excited to get an invitation to drive the new electric Rolls-Royce Spectre Black Badge I was perhaps even more excited to learn the launch venue was in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales in the thick of some of my favourite weekend riding roads. The opportunity to enjoy them on work time with the Tiger 900 felt almost as indulgent as the purple leather in the Rolls! Almost. While adventure bikes still don’t get my heart racing for the way they look I had to accept this was very much Tiger country, the mix of boring A-roads to reach the fun stuff and following combination of wall-lined lanes and twisting Dales B-roads seeing the Triumph very much in its comfort zone. Where on the Tiger Sports you might be tempted to stick to the faster and flowing roads on the 900 it’s just as fun taking the slower, narrower ones. I guess it’s the same thing people love about SUVs but the raised seating position and upright posture mean you have great visibility over walls and hedges, the improved sightlines meaning you spot horse riders, cyclists and other fellow road users in good time and get your flow on in the meantime. Stripped of its panniers the Tiger felt much lighter on its feet as well, all things relative. It’s still a bike demanding of a bit of muscle to manoeuvre. But having dialled into the size of it my confidence was high. Given I was getting a bit of ‘Tiger tingle’ in my fingers after some motorway miles previously I’ve meanwhile been glad of the vibration damping rubber mounts Triumph added to the bars for the 2024 model year updates. There’s still a bit of buzz but, from what I read, nothing like as much as before. The T-plane triple still has rough edge to it, but I’d describe it as characterful rather than crude or annoying. And the combination of low-end grunt with a bit of top-end shove is lovely. While I didn’t manage any big multi-day trips with the 900 as I’d hoped the combination of motorway mile-munching, commuting and day trips like the one to the Dales certainly helped it get under my skin, to the point I think it felt more ‘me’ than the more youthful Tiger Sports. Maybe that’s down to my age! But is the 900 the sweet spot of the range, or is the 1200 truly the ultimate? The man from Triumph is on his way to make the swap so I can find out. Stay tuned! Back to top