Triumph Scrambler

Naturally - as posted - I disagree - perhaps you should just try it for yourself.
I'd have one tomorrow if i didn't already have an XB12X in the shed.

End of the driveway? I punted it up mountains where GS1200s were falling over. Maybe they are just road bikes too.
phhhhht!

I'll even add this sweeper:

I spent all day jumping off the scambler and onto a sxc625 and back - on a hard out adventure ride.
I found the scrambler to be much easier to ride and many times more enjoyable off road than the SXC - everywhere except the 'Challenge Loops'. It wouldn't win a race - but that's not what I'm out there for.

Anyone who says it's 'incapable' of off road work probably has only ridden the spec sheet very far on dirt.

*I* can show you the photographs!

Oh and for those of you looking for images of the bike here are a few:

This is so sad, the bike just came out and it is already end'n up with the F650's and KLR's; in the land of no respect

I will - someday - but I don't think I'll actively look for one, so when I run across one in a shop, I'll see if they will let me demo one.

To tell the truth, my "fire with-in" for this bike raged for 24 hours after reading the initial post on this bike.

It looked just right - hell I LOVE the retro style - it's not a Jap bike- it's air cooled so less to worry about and less to maintain. But when I read review after review of how it's considered bland - it hurts your ass - it's not good in dirt: my rage to find one of these bikes has become a smolder of curiosity now.

One reviewer saying it was so-so and others giving it high marks is one thing, but all of them saying it's oatmeal leads me to reconsider it's place on my "list".

Only by those with bad taste.


the first one I rode

Whenever I read the lukewarm reviews of the Scrambler I finding myself wondering that if the current bike is so mediocre, how is that anyone toured the world and had fun on the orginal Triumphs 40+ years ago?

The bike surely isn't for everyone.
In thinking about it I'd also probably buy a Tiger ahead of one if i was choosing a triumph too.

My point is that I read some of the reviews you listed too - and proved them wrong. (and enjoyed doing it so comprehesively)

As I leant on ADV - you can ride a CB750 off road if you want - just not everyone needs to win the Dakar every time they thow a leg over.

My take on the Scrambler back in Febuary; http://new.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=120829

Spot the 2-stroke man!

The Rodney Dangerfield Edition?



Here's one of my favorite large format HiRes pict. I think it looks better with the bash plate. It's not that great for a desktop though. Dave's picture looks great for a desktop. It's very dynamic.

With my wife - i don't get no repect - She made me join the Bridge club - I jump off next tuesday.
i don't get no repect - When I was a kid I worked in a pet shop - people kept coming in and asking how big I got.
i don't get no repect.

I have about 20 off them - armed and ready at all times.

Installing the AI removal kit will keep the pipes cooler.

Nice report, Dave

Every time I see one, I quite fancy one, until the exhausts slap me in the face. The person who designed them needs some more industrial design lessons, I think - why did they make the pipes such a large diameter, if they'd made them thinner, then any issues about heat, clothing getting melted etc wouldn't have been, maybe?

I saw a Spanish registered one last night (just got off the ferry, I think) and it looked great as I walked up to the left-hand side, then I walked past the back, looked behind me and there were those pipes and silencers again

Will have to see what the aftrmarket offers up

The mad scotsman at www.thunderbike.co.nz emailed me last week and said they had a Scrambler breathing fire.

"We`ve coaxed an extra 50% out of the Scrambler (and more from its parallel Twin brothers) so far and there`s more to come so if your looking for an excuse for a jaunt down south folks you know where we are..."

I'm going to take him up on the offer when the weather breaks.

This one?

'spect so!

Harley has been selling overweight, underpowered bikes for years - I even had one

Whlist the Scrambler is not a world beater, it has great nostalgia value and IMHO looks fantastic. Yeah the pipes are a bother if they melt pants but the look of a bike is important to many and aftermarket will no doubt solve this issue.

Wouldn't you just get the Tiger if you were more serious about your offroad/adventure biking - whilst its 10kgs heavier it has a heap more power.

Although the HP boosted figures above look very impressive

I think Triumph are onto a winner, more than enough people who remember that style who wouldn't mind thinking back to those days everytime they looked at their Scrambler

I went by the Triumph dealer to check out the Scrambler the other day after a business meeting. I was in business clothes and driving the cage, so I did not take a test ride.

The good: The bike has tremendous visual presence, it is a real looker, one of the most strikingly handsome modern (?) bikes I have seen. Steve McQueen would be happy to ride this bike. It sits higher than the Bonnie and has a more comfortable seat. The bars are wide and put me in a slightly forward lean, which is a good thing at speed. The paint is gorgeous as are the pipes and the Bridgestone Trailwing semi - knobby tires fit the image of the bike perfectly. It looks perfectly capable of dirt road and fire road riding, certainly every bit as capable as my WeeStrom. Access to cleaning and lubing the chain is excellent due to the high pipes, even without a centerstand.

The bad: The dealer said the 270 degree crank pin makes the motor gutless. Of course, he sells Ducatis and thinks everyone should ride a liter bike, so I'll reserve that opinion for my own personal test ride. The pipes might be an issue: my leg rests on the heat guard and that might bother me. The dealer said he has ridden a Scrambler for a 60 mile ride, and it bothered him. The front brake fluid reservoir looks like it came off a Japanese race-replica: see through plastic with the ugliest hose at a 180 degree bend - not attractive and not fitting with the retro look at all. And no tach standard, which seems a bit chintzy. And no centerstand.

I'm going back for a test ride soon and will report my impressions.

If you read the entire quote:

So the big question of any road test is: would I have one?

After ten minutes of riding I had decided the answer was no.

Now I'm thinking if I could wangle some after market silencers which Triumph state 'do not conform to EPA noise standards' then that would make a huge difference. Maybe I could put up with the heavy clutch, or perhaps it could be magically transformed.
Ultimately I think the answer is yes, as overall it seems a good package, giving that traditional Triumph 'cool' factor without the cliché oil leaks.

Selective Quoting Provides less than favorable impressions of ones ability to assess.

I read the Real Classic review by BikerBabe.
I find it hard to put too much stock in what she says when she complains about "cursing the heavy clutch pull". Particularily when other testers praise the light and easy clutch and shifting.
I guess if you have trouble pulling in the clutch, then you best not venture any further off road than the end of your driveway.