Triumph beefs up its globetrotting Tiger family with an addition to the mid-range displacement bracket in the new Tiger 850 Sport. The “Sport” borrows from its big brother -- the Tiger 900 -- and brings its own blend of on- and off-road capabilities to the table to set it apart from its siblings. Though capable all-around, the Sport comes built with a street-centric bias that will be more useful on urban/civilized roads, thus making it a viable tourbike/commuter/grocery-getter.

Triumph Tiger 850 Sport Design

As for aesthetics on the Tiger 850 Sport, the designers stayed true to the established look with a blunt duck's bill leading the way over a cut-down, molded front fender that doubles as fork spoilers for the swept area of the inner fork tubes.

Dual headlights come with a unibrow-like DRL bar, all in LED tech, for effective two-way visibility day, night, and in the twilight between. The Spartan front fairing supports a clear windscreen that is both vented for low-turbulence at the top of the pocket, and single-handedly adjustable over a 1.9-inch range so you can dial in for preference.

As is the norm anymore, Trumpet taps the Thin-Film Transistor sector for its five-inch, color display that handles all of the electronics and instrumentation in a central location. This arguably makes for a safer ride. The time it takes to look at all the pertinent metrics is reduced to a minimum, so you can get your eyes back on the road ahead quick, fast, and in a hurry.

A 5.28-gallon fuel tank contributes the usual camel-like hump ahead of a relatively shallow swale for the pilot. Additionally, you can tune the seat height from 31.88 inches high to 32.67 inches off the deck to further dial in for your body type and personal preferences. The flyline is further softened by the short-rise to the pillion pad that comes with flip-out footpegs and a beefy J.C. handle handle}} setup that meets in back to form a short luggage rack for some open-air cargo capacity. More LED wizardry is found in the rearward lights, with the remaining gear in the rear mounted on the short mudguard.

From a purely aesthetical perspective, I'm digging the somewhat less-dramatic flyline, and the fact that it manages to stay in ADV-bike territory rather than leaning into the sport-tour sector.

Triumph Tiger 850 Sport Chassis

Steel is the material of choice on the Tiger 850 Sport for the main frame and bolt-up subframe section for the strength and selectively-variable flexion it adds to the mix, but the yoke-style swingarm is made of cast-aluminumto reduce unsprung weight at the rear axle.

The cast-aluminum goodness continues into the spoked rims to help limit the gyroscopic effects generated when under way for a more eager demeanor when diving into curves that also makes for relatively crisp reversals as well.

In a departure from the norm for a street-centric bike, the wheels are asymmetrical with a 19-incher ahead of a 17-inch rim and come lined with a 100/90 and 150/70 on the front and rear respectively. Marzocchi supplies the stems with a 45 mm inverted front fork and a gas-charged monoshock out back. The monoshock bears the only adjustment in the system with manually adjustable preload. Suspension stroke is rather long for a street bike with 7.08 inches of travel in the forks and 6.69 inches of travel out back, which suggests some tolerance for bumpy roads.

The anchors come off the top shelf with four-bore Brembo Stylema calipers that bite dual 320 mm discs to slow the front wheel. A single-pot caliper and 255 mm disc handles the braking business out back, and ABS protection comes standard to provide extra traction protection all around.

Triumph Tiger 850 Sport Drivetrain

The Sport's “850” actually runs a 78 mm bore and 61.9 mm stroke for a total displacement of 888 cc. This engine comes built around the same T-Plane crankshaft that underpins the Tiger 900 mill, so it rocks a 1-3-2 firing order to deliver tractable power at the bottom end with a torque-rich return in the mid- and high-rpm range.

A spicy compression ratio of 11.27-to-1 contributes to the power output as well to give it an 84-horsepower top end at 8,500 rpm with 60 pound-feet of torque that fully develop around 6,500 rpm. If you live in an area with stratified licensing, the Sport can accommodate an A2 license holder with a dealer-installed kit that can later be removed to unleash the engine's full potential.

It's a 12-valve triple with four poppets per bore for ample aspiration and exhaust-gas scavenging, and it relies on dual over-head cams to actuate them which keeps the valvetrain relatively compact. A six-speed transmission crunches the ratios with a slip-and-assist clutch that delivers a light lever pull and extra protection for the integrity of the rear contact patch.

An O-ring chain carries power to the rear wheel with an overall drive ratio that turn in a top speed of 130 mph. Ride-by-Wire throttle control and Switchable traction control come stock, and the Sport also comes with a pair of Riding Modes -- Road and Rain -- for quick personality changes on the fly.

Triumph Tiger 850 Sport Price

The 2022 Tiger 850 Sport hits the U.S. market with an $11,995 sticker, but the factory gives you plenty of opportunity to inflate that with a host of ready-to-go modifications/custom gear. You can choose between Diablo Red over Graphite (black) and Caspian Blue over Graphite.

Triumph Tiger 850 Sport Competitors

Writing this article, I couldn't help but think of Ducati's own new adventure bike built on the Multistrada platform dubbed the “V2,” so I reckon it may make a suitable competitor. Let's see.

Ducati Multistrada V2

Right out of the gate, the Italian stallion brings Ducati's famously elegant look to the ADV bike mid-range, and I hesitate to even go down the “curb appeal” rabbit hole because A) looks are subjective and, 2) anyone going against Ducati in a beauty contest is likely fighting for second place, at best.

A dramatic flyline makes the Duc appear even more adventurebike-like with the typical deep swale for the pilot's butt. The saddle rides 32.7 inches high, but through accessory items, you can drop it to a flat 31 inches -- almost an entire inch lower than the Tiger 850 Sport.

Ducati falls just a skosh short in suspension stroke with 6.7 inches of travel, but that's surely enough for the roughest urban jungle, and the Italians pick up a win in the forks with the trio of tweaks against the fixed-value Sport's stems. The Multistrada compounds the pain with a 113-horsepower twin that leaves the Sport's triple sucking hind tit with its 84 ponies.

The Duc's ride controls benefit from a six-axis IMU to deliver lean-sensitive ABS and traction control delightfulness with double the number of Riding Modes than what the Brit brings to the table. You'll pay for all that lagniappe, to the tune of $15,295 that's available only in red over black, and that will probably be a dealbreaker for buyers without any particular brand loyalty toward Ducati.

Read our full review of the Ducati Multistrada V2.

He Said

“Nice bike, but I can't help but wonder if Triumph is taking wind from its own sails by crowding the 900 version. That said, I'm digging the overall look that actually is sporty looking and not as stodgy as its big-bore big brother, but stays out of sport-tour territory.”

She Said

My wife and fellow motorcycle writer, Allyn Hinton, says, “I wasn't sure what to think about the Tiger 850 Sport. It seemed to meet a lukewarm response on its release, since for a little more cheddar, you can get a Tiger 900. The engine is the same as in all the Tiger 850/900s, though the “850” designator would suggest it is something less. Triumph is quick to point out that this bike has an '850-tune' which suggests it is a toned-down version' which suggests it is a toned-down version}}, and further evidenced by the lower power figures than on the Tiger 900. Me, I might spend the extra couple grand for the Tiger 900 GT. If you're not impressed at all, the Yamaha Tracer 9 has a nice electronics package for the same price as the Tiger 900. For a tighter budget, look the Kawasaki Versys or the Suzuki V-Strom, both in the 650 displacement range. I don't think the Tiger 850 Sport is a 'bad' bike. It gives a lively ride and fun-loving performance, I just feel like the lukewarm reception is justified when you look at a wider selection of the current market.”

Triumph Tiger 850 Sport Specifications

Further Reading

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