Getting dirty at the Triumph Tiger Trails Experience

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When it comes to getting dirty on a motorcycle, Vikrant and I are the usual choices. But when it comes to experiencing it, it’s me who get the chance because Vikrant is either busy attending car drives or busy accepting my pleas. For the Triumph Tiger Trails experience, it was the latter. 

19 degrees north, a vast piece of land nestled between wild Lonavala was the place of action for this adventure experience. Before we were handed over the keys of the Tiger 800s, there was brief session conducted by Vijay Parmar, an off-road expert. The session was all about knowing things that will help in the adventure. So points on correct riding gear, motorcycle inspection and emergency band were covered. We were also told about the hydration. Handling big bikes tend to utilize a lot of energy, so having a good hydration pack is a must. The final session was about body positioning and how it is different from road riding. Cracking this a must, because this will decide the amount of fun you will have on the trails. 

The Tiger Trails experience was divided in five activities. The first one was the slalom. Cones were set in comfortable distances and we were asked to stand up and go through each one of them. The trick here is to stand up, push the body to the opposite direction of the turn and with constant throttle, go through all the cones. This exercise needs to be finished by going over a small rock section.

The second activity was quite an easy one, splashing through the water. Here, the idea was to get comfortable with the Tiger and water patch. So the easiest way to cross this patch was by standing up and putting some weight on the bar to get more grip out of the front tyre, coupled with constant throttle. There was no need to switch off the traction on the rear wheel as the patch wasn’t demanding enough.

However, the third exercise was the most demanding one and it was impossible to get through it with the traction control on at the rear. The uphill was a steep one and the approach was slushy. Plus, by the time my turn arrived, the uphill section had to be shut as it was getting difficult for the rider to successfully climb it. Nevertheless, I did had some slush to play with and managed to cross it successfully.

The fourth session was about handling the bike in the uphill section, in case the bike stalls. Unfortunately, not everyone were allowed to try this due to the time limit, but the basics of using clutch did makes sense.

The last activity, water crossing, was where I managed to take more than allowed runs. Here, my only objective was to splash as much water as I can without losing traction and grip. The good news is, I did that successfully.

Thanks to this experience, I’m more confident of handling big bikes off-road. But would have loved it if Triumph managed to give us more time with the bike and the place. I would have definitely learned more tricks of off-roading.