We hear plenty of industry gossip on a weekly, sometimes daily basis and it?s up to us to decipher the guff from the gold. But a few weeks ago, I heard something utterly preposterous: Triumph entering the off-road market and, in particular, motocross and enduro. Oh how I laughed in the face of my source over in the US of A. 

When you consider Triumph?s current focus, which is churning out (relatively big capacity) modern classics and adventure bikes, the move into mud is a ridiculous thought. Sure, Hinckley has dipped its toes back into the racing world by supplying Moto2 engines, and entering an official British Supersport squad for the first time in years, but the brand is hardly pushing boundaries.  

But yesterday the announcement came. Or, rather, the announcement of the announcement came. Ricky Carmichael – the original motocross G.O.A.T – and Ivan Cervantes – 5-time Enduro World Champion – were being paraded around on Triumph?s social media platforms, like they were about to be unveiled as ambassadors. There?s an ?official announcement? coming on the 20th (of July) and, unless Triumph is pulling one of the greatest April Fools? jokes in July of all time, we should be treated to some pretty exciting news next week.   
Given the sublime off-road qualities of the Tiger 900, and Triumph?s scrambling heritage (and when I say scrambling, I mean scrambling, not modern retro guffery), suddenly it all makes sense. And it?s...