along at 108km / h GPS speed . Fast enough to make a little progress but not draw any attention from the traffic cops . The Tiger makes distances easy . The seat is broad and firmly plush , the kinda place you can sit easily for multiple tanks of fuel . The pegs are low enough to prevent my knees from aching . Up front there ’ s an adjustable windscreen that , while not electrically controlled , can be lifted up and down with one hand as you ride to suit a variety of rider heights . So far I prefer it either fully up or fully down , the middle settings gave some turbulence while the extremities of adjustment seemed to calm the windblast down .
DESERT ROAD AND BEYOND By the time the Tiger and I were south of Turangi , the engine had almost 400km on it , so I fed it a little more throttle and revs through the beautifully twisting Three Sisters area . The guts of the bike is an 1160cc triple with an uneven firing order . Triumph calls this the T-plane crank . Rather than the spark ignition from each cylinder being equally spaced , the new 1,3,2 order fires two cylinders one after another and there ’ s a space before the third cylinder fires . The effect is a twin-like feel at low revs , but there ’ s still the feel of a screaming triple further up the revs . Triumph claims a torque figure of 130Nm at 7000rpm , and peak power is a very healthy 110kW or 148hp . With the duh-duh---duh firing order , the engine note is a tricky one to describe . At tick over it sounds like a fairly innocuous twin , but once it revs above 4000rpm or so there ’ s a distinct change . It ’ s a beast all of its own that ’ s a mix of twin and triple , but the outcome is a sound reminiscent of Honda ’ s V4 VFR motors of old . Opening the throttle wide and letting the engine rev is quite addictive , there ’ s a deep , tearing of Velcro kinda sound . Gorgeous .
THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED I decided to thread my way home off the beaten track of SH1 . Hooking a left down Vinegar Hill , I followed my nose along quiet rural backroads with vet utes and contractors
KIWI RIDER 77