In an interview with MCN, BMW boss Hendrik von Kuenheim has accused Triumph of copying the BMW F800GS in building its new Tiger 800 models.
It seems that BMW is more than just a little rankled over some borrowing of off-road philosophy, with von Kuenheim saying that he is “ashamed for Triumph customers and dealers”.
Still, it appears that the Triumph Tiger is having a success all its own, with the British mag going on to say that on the UK market, the Tiger has become the fastest-selling new Triumph model in a decade.
700 units of the Tiger 800 and Tiger 800 XC models were sold in the first four months of 2011, and Triumph is now re-allocating production priorities for the UK market to cope with demand.
Just patriotism for the British bike, a copycat BMW or because the Triumph Tiger really does offer something unique for those who didn’t want to buy the BMW F800GS? For more on the Triumph Tiger and its competition to BMW, see our piece on what the motorcycle blogging world was saying about the Tiger when it was first revealed.