Making the most of the dregs of Summer , we set out on the Tiger to find its happy hunting ground .
Touring . Twisty roads . Gravel . That ’ s kinda where I ’ ve had the Tiger 1200 Rally Pro pegged over the last few months . At these things it ’ s exceptional . Truly . If you ’ ve been following the Tiger ’ s progress in the magazine this Summer , you might have come to a similar conclusion . Waking early one Saturday morning to some late summer blue sky , I wanted to get out and ride . The missus was away on some ladies ’ thing I didn ’ t understand . Communing or something . So , rather than lay in and lose the day , I decided to do a loop . A bucket list kinda ride . Through the Lewis Pass , hook up through Hanmer , stay overnight at Lake Tennyson in my little tent , continue on through the Rainbow Road , food in St Arnaud and a blast through the twisties along the Buller River to get back home . Having only tackled gravel roads as the bike ’ s ‘ toughest ’ adventures yet , I was keen to see how it would fare on the Rainbow ’ s more rugged terrain . So , home alone for the weekend , I threw a sleeping bag , tent , stove , coffee and a packet of soup into the panniers - and set off .
SWEEPING ROADS AND VISTAS The Lewis Pass from Springs Junction to Hanmer Springs is superb riding . It would undoubtedly be a Great Ride if DOC were marketing it , and would probably charge for it . I wouldn ’ t blame them . And that ’ s exactly what Triumph has made the Tiger engine do too - charge . The three-cylinder , counter-balanced , 1160cc motor is stunning . It has an uneven firing order thanks to the T-plane crank , that makes it behave both like a triple and a twin . At lower revs it ’ s distinctly twin-like ( but smoother ), and builds to feel more like a triple at higher revs . This motor is deceptive in the way it delivers
KIWI RIDER 67