Two new Tiger 1200 editions were announced by Triumph recently - the Alpine Edition and the Desert Edition - but exactly what sets these apart from the current Tiger 1200s... if anything? We decided to look at the specifications to find out more and to try to make sense of these models given the current lineup.
So firstly we have the Alpine Edition, which is a version of the XR range (comprising the XR, XRX, Alpine, and XRT). The first thing you may notice is that it has an Arrow Titanium silencer and comes in a lovely paint scheme called Snowdonia White. It also gets Shift Assist for clutchless gear changes which the XRX version doesn't have. That's about it though. At only £400 ($400) more than the XRX it's slightly better value for money, but not a great deal and the XRT is still the better specced version (though that is another £1,600 / $2,000 / €1,700 more).
Then we have the Desert Edition, which is a version of the XC range (comprising the XCX, Desert, and XCA). Again, this has the Arrow Titanium silencer and Triumph's Shift Assist, plus a special paint scheme called Sandstorm. Again, that's about it and again it's only another £400 ($400 / €400) more than the XCX with the XCA still the better specced version.
The big question we are asking is why?
So, basically, these are special editions though Triumph isn't calling them special editions. The Tiger 1200 range is coming up to three years old now and that's around the time that Triumph do the first special editions, and often it is before the range gets a revamp or is killed off. Now I don't think they will kill off the Tiger 1200s so maybe there is a revamp in the pipeline with a lighter motor with more torque? The other thing Triumph may be doing is dropping all the extraneous letters from their model ranges and going for good solid names again - so goodbye Tiger 800 XCX and hello Tiger 900 Rally - maybe it's goodbye Tiger 1200 XCX and hello Tiger 1200 Desert? The Alpine edition has already replaced the XRX in Europe so maybe that's a sign of things to come.
