Taking a standard Triumph Tiger 800 XCx, brothers
David and Felipe Lopez have created the Tiger Tramontana off-road rally race
bike, which they intend to race in the Pan-African Rally. The 2,000 km long
race sees competitors pitting themselves against the 40-degree heat and
powder-fine sand of the desert in Morocco, Africa.
Developed with collaboration with the works team in
Hinckley, the Tramontana took six months to build, with Triumph engineers
putting in time outside of work hours. Both David and Felipe are currently in
training to see which of them will take the “race into hell”, the unofficial
moniker of the Pan-African Rally which is held over five days from the town of
Erfoud.
Named after the north wind in the Pyrenees mountains
in Spain, the Tramontana takes the 95 hp at 9,250 rpm and 79 Nm at 7,850 rpm, liquid-cooled,
three-cylinder power plant from the XCx and places it in the Tiger’s frame, but
with a shortened sub-frame. Other changes in the interests of increased
performance include lighter headlights, a one-ff windscreen, modified body
panels, sump guard, seat and rear mudguard.
The biggest change is to the front of the standard
Tiger XCx, with the Tramontana sporting a much taller Paris-Dakar Rally style
front fairing. This is so that the Tramontana can accommodate the rally’s
Roadbook, ICO and GPS beacon, all of which are essential to ensure the rider
does not get lost in the immensity of the North African desert.
