Triumph Motorcycles India celebrated the milestone of 750 Tiger customers in India, with a Tiger Trails ride that took Tiger owners off the beaten track and offered real-time training sessions for adventure riding, outside the controlled set-up of a course. The Tiger Trail took riders through scenic back country roads in Himachal Pradesh, beginning at Chandigarh to Mashobra, passing through Narkanda, and then over the challenging Jalori Pass and through the Kullu valley into Manali. About 12 Tiger owners participated in the five-day Tiger Trail, which was led by motorcycle rally specialist Vijay Parmar.
Challenging terrain for Triumph Tiger owners at the Tiger Trail Adventure
For most of the participants, it was an eye-opening experience, riding their Triumph Tiger motorcycles in terrain that these adventure bikes seldom see. Many riders swapped their stock tyres for more adventure-ready dual-sport tyres for the event. And the participants experienced more than they hoped for - taking trails and back roads and avoiding most of the highways.
"Normally, I do short off-road trails during my regular rides, but this was real off-roading over kilometres and kilometres of trail riding. It was an absolutely fantastic experience. I think every Tiger owner should participate in such an event. It's a must-do event in future for all Tiger owners," said Ankit Wanchoo, owner of a Triumph Tiger 800 XCx.
"I had swapped my stock tyres with Heidenau K60s and a friend had Metzeler Karoo tyres. These purpose-built tyres do help, but it's not as if like the guys with the stock tyres were left behind. Yes, they were sliding a bit more on the slush and mud, but all of us made through the difficult terrain we subjected our Tigers to," added Wanchoo.
Training sessions were incorporated in the Tiger Trail Adventure
There was a celebrity participant at the Tiger Trails ride too. Actor and adventure enthusiast Amit Sadh took time out from his schedule to complete the Tiger Trails adventure.
"The best way to unwind and be with yourself, is to ride. The Tiger is an exceptional machine which bonds very well with the rider - this is very important when you're doing long distance riding and adventure riding. This training was very good because it exposes you to various aspects of adventure riding," said Sadh.
For the participants, it was the taste of first "off-road" on their Tigers, and many are raring to go for the next adventure. The Triumph Tiger 800 models are one of the largest selling bikes in the adventure touring segment in India, and are offered in four different variants - Triumph Tiger 800 XR, Triumph Tiger 800 XRx, Triumph Tiger 800 XCx and Triumph Tiger 800 XCA. In the financial year 2016-17, Triumph sold 216 Triumph Tiger 800 bikes, and 19 Triumph Tiger Explorer bikes.
