Triumphrat

GregX999 · 11-16-2009, 09:47 PM

Well... maybe "disappointed" isn't quite the right word...

What I'm wondering is, has anyone bought a Scrambler thinking it would be the perfect do-whatever-they-want-to-do bike (whatever it is that they wanted to do...) and then after riding it for a while (a day, week, month, year, whatever) decided that they're going to need a different bike as well or instead (something better for dirt, or for touring, or more sporty, etc.)?

My dilemma stems from REALLY liking the looks and the "idea" of the Scrambler, but wondering if I should instead look to a pair of bikes - something like a DR650 for dirt and a Tiger or Bandit for road riding and a bit of touring (light touring, but touring none-the-less).

Obviously the 2-bike route involves lot more $$$$ and would certainly be a big hit to MY wallet (I'm not rich).

But the Scrambler seems like it'd be such a FUN bike. Even for just short errands around town. I've never had a bike like that. Every bike I've owned, I've always felt like I needed to "go on a ride" or else just take the car. I can imagine wanting to take a Scrambler up to the grocery store to get something for dinner. Or to the coffee shop in the next town over just cause I'm bored. I don't know if I can see those other bikes as "fun" in that way.

My last bike was a BMW 1200GS. I was disappointed. It was a PIG off-road. And it certainly didn't have the "fun" factor for me - I wouldn't ride it unless I was going to be going at least 50 miles or be gone for at least 2 hours. It did tour pretty well though (I went from Colorado to Vermont and back on it).

Ok... I'm just rambling. And probably boring you to tears.

But... does anyone know what I mean????

plodalong · 11-16-2009, 10:12 PM

I considered the Scrambler as a replacement for my dr650 having already sold a trophy 1200. Went instead with a thruxton to complement the dr , glad I did as the scambler would have been hard to keep looking good if doing much in the way of the local dirt roads, they're pretty rough and unpredictable and I would have dropped the scram sooner rather than later. The scram is pretty heavy even compared to the pig (dr). The DR also makes an excellent town bike, I put a top box on and she's great for curb hopping ect. Of course there's 2 Rego's and maintance but your only doing 1/2 the miles.

Dog Trainer · 11-16-2009, 10:14 PM

Disappointed, you've got to be kidding me.

Granted I've had mine for only 3 weeks but it's the most fun, run around town errand running bike I've ever owned in 38+ years of motorcycles. It also does a good job of dirt/gravel/fire road. It's to big and heavy for anything more off road than that but then again that could be my off road skills or my aversion of not wanting to drop my pride and joy.
Larry

Varna2Win · 11-16-2009, 10:22 PM

Well Greg, it's just that a FUN bike. I've had mine since 06 & while it doesn't do one thing really well it does a lot of things pretty darn good. This last summer I commuted 20 miles each way & it worked great. My commute was the Santa Cruz Mtns. between Santa Cruz & San Jose Ca. The bike is a lot fun on twisty roads. The scrambler is not a dirt bike or really a trail bike however I do take it on single lane fire roads. You can slide it around but, at around 500lbs. I'm a little reluctant to really throttle up offroad & I respect it for what it is. In town, I live on the coast it's all I ride. Great for all errands and just flat riding around period. I'd ride a thruxton or something different if I did more highway riding but, I don't so the bike suits me perfect. The bike really started to come alive with just simple mods. Once you 86 the airbox change the exhaust things start to come alive. I could keep on writing but, you really just need to go ride one.

Skidplate865 · 11-17-2009, 12:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plodalong

I considered the Scrambler as a replacement for my dr650 having already sold a trophy 1200. Went instead with a thruxton to complement the dr , glad I did as the scambler would have been hard to keep looking good if doing much in the way of the local dirt roads, they're pretty rough and unpredictable and I would have dropped the scram sooner rather than later. The scram is pretty heavy even compared to the pig (dr). The DR also makes an excellent town bike, I put a top box on and she's great for curb hopping ect. Of course there's 2 Rego's and maintance but your only doing 1/2 the miles.

dude, he asked guys who had bought a Scram - not guys who considered buying one...

I'm curious to hear from anyone who was disappointed. My guess is your just going to hear from happy owners (like me):

plodalong · 11-17-2009, 12:23 AM

Well actually your not sticking to the point either. It was anybody DISAPPOINTED.

M700R · 11-17-2009, 12:31 AM

A lack of POWER was the first real disappointment. I know... It's not a Japanese engine, but I somehow expected more out of a 900... Once I got over that, I was fine with the bike. A set of NH slip-on silencers and a trip to the dyno-tune guy for some carb/intake work made it sound terrific and I picked up enough HP to notice while riding. Easy fix. Getting more power than that though, is going to take real money for hard parts like cams, high-compression pistons, big bore kits and maybe even bigger carbs... Real easy to spend thousands of dollars on one of these engines if you get the hunger for POWER.

So if blistering acceleration is a requirement for you, look elsewhere or be prepared to spend a lot of cash...

Only other disappointment was that my wife and I are only comfortable on it, two up, for about an hour. After that, it's time to get off the bike. Not really a disappointment, I knew it wasn't a two-up touring bike when I got it.

Otherwise, it is one heck of a good looking, fun bike. Handling is good. Torque is decent. Sounds good (now). Rides easy and fun. I've toured, commuted, and prowled the dirt roads... Loads of fun. So far, only 10k miles, it's been very reliable as well. Fuel economy is pretty good too - much better than my riding buddy gets on his 1000cc V-Strom.

Regards, Guy

Maxacceleration · 11-17-2009, 01:24 AM

I am a NEW Scrambler owner, but I've had many other bikes.
No disappointments, other than a clanky centerstand. Don't know where they dug that up.
Once you get over having the fastest bike, or the most badassed bike, or the greatest dirtbike etc the Scrambler is just a fine, easy going bike.
The Scrambler has panache.
Smell the roses.

boggled · 11-17-2009, 02:03 AM

I would suggest checking out the Scrambler thread over at ADVrider. It's 450 pages long and covers just about anything you want to know. If you don't want a Scram after reading that, then it was probably not meant to be.

pete_melbourne · 11-17-2009, 02:27 AM

Initially, I was disappointed with the top end/high rpm power - open pipes and rejet sorted that.

I reckon you can't knock the bike too much as a good all-rounder. Not many standards can handle the really rough stuff.

Ride safe and enjoy.