After introducing the Trident 660 naked roadster in fall of 2020, as an affordable middleweight bike with premium features, Triumph is revisiting the platform with the new Tiger Sports 660 adventure bike.
Or, is it really an adventure bike? Looking at Triumph’s photos (they didn’t even take the spy wraps off for these pix!), it looks like the Tiger Sports 660 has 17-inch wheels, with cast rims. Definitely not for truly rugged roads or trails, but they’d probably be OK for easier unpaved roads, just like the Kawasaki Versys series, and older Ducati Multistrada and Honda CB500X models.
That makes sense, in a way, as most adventure bike owners don’t actually go offroad, or at least they don’t go far—they mostly want the bike for its looks, comfort and capability on bumpy asphalt, just like a crossover-style SUV.
What could we expect from a Tiger 660 adventure bike? Looks like Triumph re-used most of the Trident’s Showa suspension components here (USD forks, linkage-type shock), as well as the same tires and wheels. The frame looks pretty much the same, with only minor chassis changes. The engine is likely unchanged, pumping out a claimed 80 hp at 10,250rpm, and 47 lb-ft of torque at 6,250 rpm. Triumph also says that engine makes torque throughout the rev range, and that broad powerband would be very handy for an ADV-style bike.
Also, we’d expect the new Tiger gets basic electronic riding aids, without an IMU. The Trident street model has throttle-by-wire with Road and Rain riding modes, a colour TFT screen, switchable traction control, and non-switchable ABS. Likely, a quickshifter will be optional, just like the Trident model.
Those electronic bits are all fairly affordable tech these days, and Triumph will likely want to keep the 660 line in that bracket: Better specs than the competition, but simple enough to keep the price at the same level, or lower.
We’d expect slightly more fuel capacity than the Trident’s 14 litres, and probably more weight than the Trident’s claimed 189 kilos, wet. This ADV has more bodywork, and that would add up. As for pricing, the Trident is $8,999 in Canada, plus taxes and fees, and it’s likely the Tiger 660 Sports model wouldn’t cost much more.
Triumph is very keen to show off this bike, even though it’s not really done development, it seems. We’d expect a full reveal at this fall’s show circuit, but probably no bikes on showroom floors until next spring.
