The Triumph Tiger Sport 660 is the ultimate middleweight adventure bike, with a triple powered performance edge over its competitors, and the versatility of a daily rider and long-distance tourer.
Featuring aggressive styling and premium build quality, it has a dominant stance. As an added bonus, the 660 is learner approved, while still being grunty enough to put a grin on the face of the most experienced rider.
The LED headlights look great and also feature a position light, providing excellent illumination and visibility. LED’s also feature in the taillight and self-cancelling indicators. The sharp looking front fender and blacked-out styling throughout are a nice touch too.
This looks particularly good on the engine and tubular steel frame. The Tiger Sport is powered by the same engine found in the popular Trident 660, in the form of an inline 3-cylinder liquid cooled triple that produces a top of class 41kW and 62Nm.
Strong linear power delivery throughout the rev range offers broad performance, while the distinctive exhaust note produced from the 240-degree firing order motor sounds great. The design of the pipes makes the motorcycle feel narrow too.
The 6-speed gearbox is smooth and gearing is perfect for longer rides and daily commutes. The slip and assist clutch provides a super light lever pull too, while still retaining a good feel and reducing rider fatigue in heavy traffic.
The suspension package sees a Showa upside down separate function fork, with 150mm of travel on the front, and a Showa mono-shock RSU at the rear, also with 150mm and remote hydraulic preload adjustment.
An easy to use adjustment knob quickly allows you to adjust the preload remotely without needing tools, which is great when loading up with luggage or a pillion for that weekend getaway.
Braking performance is also very good, with twin 310mm discs, with dual piston Nissin sliding callipers on the front, while the rear sports a single 255mm disc with single piston Nissin sliding calliper. Both have ABS as standard.
Lightweight 17-inch black 5-spoke style wheels come fitted with highly rated Michelin Road 5 tyres. They’re really grippy in all conditions, and didn’t have any road noise. The instrument cluster is a nice looking unit, as well as being large and easy to read.
Featuring an LCD display, you’ll find RPM, speed and gearing information, as well as trip data, riding modes and fuel consumption. You can also option the My Triumph module which enables turn by turn navigation, GoPro control and phone and music interaction.
Rider tech includes a ride-by-wire throttle, two riding modes (Rain or Sport), and traction control, which can be switched completely off on the fly. On the road, the handlebars sit nice and high, providing a comfortable upright riding position.
Combined with well placed foot pegs, it makes the bike feel well proportioned. The mirrors are a good size too, and well positioned, giving good vision behind. The 17-litre fuel tank offers great range for longer rides too.
We averaged 4.3-litres/100km, with mainly country riding, which is better than a lot of parallel twins in the same category. That means you could potentially be riding well into the 300km range on a single tank, if you’re behaving yourself.
Despite its tall stance, it has a low seat height of 835mm as standard, with an option to further drop that by another 25mm. That said, the seat is comfortable and we had no complaints, even after a few hours in the saddle.
The pillion seat has plenty of padding too, and some well placed grab handles offer a comfortable position for your passenger. Heading west over the Blue Mountains, we were able to get a real feel for how light and agile the Tiger Sport 660 really is.
The engine is playful and pulls well out of corners. It’s not intimidating at all, and thanks to the linear power curve, it’s very smooth and controllable, making it easily manageable for newer riders.
The suspension feels firm and planted, providing plenty of confidence to push it hard. Grip seems endless. The wind projection from the screen is good too, and helps reduce rider fatigue. The screen itself is easily adjusted on the move, using one hand.
There’s a few things we’d change though, including adding cruise control as standard, along with a 12v power socket or USB. For a bike that’s expected to travel long distances, these are a must.
If you’re keen to customise, there’s a range of genuine accessories, and the bike itself comes with a 2-year warranty, with the option to extend. Service intervals are huge too, at every 16,000km or 12 months.
Priced from $14,990 ride away, the 2022 Triumph Tiger Sport 660 is available in three colour options, including Lucerne Blue/Sapphire Black, Korosi Red/Graphite, and Graphite/Sapphire Black (as tested).
Our test bike was supplied by Triumph Motorcycles Australia. To find out more about the 2022 Tiger Sport 660, contact your local Triumph Motorcycles dealer.
