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 The first thing to praise about Triumphs new 1200 Explorer is that the build up to the launch has been a grown up affair and relatively free of bed wetting MCN staff hiding in hedges at PR organised Spy Shot events. In short, the low key pre-amble (when measured against the over-hyped 800) has been a relief, and I'm actually looking forward to viewing the bike as opposed to praying for the end of the build up bullshit.
Anyway, what do we know about the Explorer? First off, it's a 1200cc triple cylinder adventure styled bike that's going to go head to head against the BMW GS, Ducati Multistada, Moto Guzzi Stelvio and the Yamaha Super Ten. It'll be officially released (whatever that means) on Nov 8th at the EICMA show in Milan and will be available to buy in 2012. As a point of interest, and one which could also be wishful thinking, I was told by a guy in the Blade Group that they already have over 200 pre-orders for the Explorer.
The new 1200 comes with a shaft drive, delivers power via a ride by wire throttle system plus it features cruise control, switchable ABR braking system, traction control and all are standard features as opposed to optional extras. You also get a steel chassis, standard forks and a mono-shock, 19in front wheel and 17in rear, dual headlights and hydraulic clutch. The bike also features a 950W generator which means you'll be able to mount a Xmas tree complete with a flashing Rudolf without overloading the system - a farklers dream.
Apparently, the optional extras are going to include; a centre stand, hard or soft luggage, high and low seat options and heated grips. It would be good if spoked wheels were added to that list.
It'll be interesting to see how the Triumph competes in a few areas where the GS rules. For example, I've yet to ride a Triumph where the screen does anything other than create a vortex of hurricane proportions where as the protection on a GSA is good enough to have a picknick on the tank, at 70mph. Will the standard suspension cope with two up, fully loaded long distance travel? And, will the centre of gravity be low enough so that you can pick the bike up (when dropped) and provide some reassuring stability if taken off road?
Anyway, it's likely to be a big seller and I'm all for anything that advances the cause of adventure bikes. Bring it on.
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