Triumphrat

Odysseus · 01-18-2006

The leading bike mag around here, Moto Jornal, published a six-page review of the Scrambler in last week's issue. It was written by a British journo called Alan Cathcart, whose stuff seems to be syndicated, so the same article might turn up in mags in your countries soon.

Normally he's quite a Triumph fan, but sadly he's pretty scathing about the Scrambler. His main criticisms concern power and weight. According to him, it IS a 54 bhp engine (a few people have questioned the figure in various posts), taken from the Speedy. And of course the bike's weight is pretty identical to the standard Bonneville. He reckons the result is a bike that can't do off road, nor is it any use on the road, except for city streets. In fact, he suggests it would be a perfect dispatch bike, because of the mid-range torque and the high riding position.

He had the bike for two months, so the conclusions aren't the usual journalistic rubbish. He's taken his time about it.

One of the most interesting things about the article is that it includes an interview with the designer, John Mockett (known as Sprocket, apparently). I'd never heard of him, but it turns out he was the designer of the Rocket III, Speed Triple (don't know which one), T595 Daytona, Bonnie, and America).

The Scrambler was his last project before he was "released" by Triumph. One explanation he gives for the low-output engine is that with the normal 61 bhp 790 cc engine, the silencers are so large that even he admits that the bike looked ugly. With the smaller engine he could use smaller better-looking pipes.

These are just a couple of things covered by the article, which is one of the most in-depth I've ever seen for a bike launch. If anyone particularly wants me to tell you more, let me know. But if not, I'll leave it there, because overall I found it pretty depressing. It's not all negative, but where Cathcart is unhappy about the bike he doesn't mince his words.

boozefighter · 01-18-2006

Sorry to have to tell you that the 790 engine and the 865 are the same size, so the BS about a smaller engine and pipe size are off target. The Scrambler is designed for the younger t-shirt, blue jean crowd looking for a nice retro ride. It's hp output can be increased by mods-as can all the Bonnie's. Apparently Alan Cathcart was looking for something he could take to a rerun of the 1965 Grand Nationals. It's going to be a big seller and a lot of fun, regardless of what the pompous, hot aired, self serving, motorcycle journalist crowd has to say. Joe :???:

Thunder_Forever · 01-18-2006

Everyone is a critic......some worse than others. All I have to tell the author of this irrelevant article is "Don't buy one, It's not for you"........simple as that.

dazco · 01-18-2006

My first thought when i saw they were making this bike was why a scrambler with a 900 engine? Or 790 either. I mean, if this thing is supposed to be off road ready to any extent they should built a whole new engine and be much smaller. Back in the day most scramblers were small 350cc or such. IMO this "scrambler" is a scrambler in name only. It may have more dirt ready tires, but thats where anything remotely dirt-ready ends. So i would tend to agree with him i guess, not having read the review but assuming this is the jist of it.

Thats why i have no interest in a bike like this. Anything that is made to look as tho it has a perticular function it's geared towards yet really isn't strikes me as foolish. It's like having a car with airplane wings that doesn't really fly. :-D If you simply like the styling i suppose thats reason enough, tho i would suggest dumping the tires and getting full on street tires which is all the bike is really good for. It's just a bonnie made to look like something it isn't. If i had to take a guess i'd say this bike won't be around too long. I just don't think it will sell near enough to keep it in the lineup.

Thunder_Forever · 01-18-2006

Daz......I camp all the time via motorcycle. I find myself on many, many dirt roads and an all terrain bike like this would serve it's purpose in that case. With my street tires, I slide everywhere on the dirt, putting my feet down on corners taken too fast. Although I don't have the money to throw around to purchase this sort of bike, some people may and would find it very practical. I believe that is the target market.....not to mention, the comment boozer made about the crowd that is younger like me looking for a nice retro bike.

You must understand that for a younger generation, this sort of bike is impossible to buy brand new until now. The 60's had their scramblers and now we have ours.

I'd buy one if I had some extra cash laying around, why not?

PAAS · 01-18-2006

Did anyone really expect the "Scrambler" to have any real off-road capability? Surely not? It weighs the same as a standard Bonnie (i.e. too much for a dirt bike) and the steering geometry is very similar. The front and rear suspension (quality) is much the same as a Bonnie as well - it's just jacked up a bit at the back. It's purely a style item. If you like the style then buy it, just don't expect to go shooting the berm on it!

Paul.

Rock500 · 01-18-2006

My take on the scrambler is the same as boozefighter's. This is a street scrambler and a scrambler in name only. It's intent is to look cool and a bit different from all the rest. If it was intended for any real off-roading it would have to go on a serious diet with serious suspension and engine upgragdes.
It's sort of in the same category as 99% of the 4x4's on the streets that never see an ounce of dirt. There were plenty of British and Japanese street scramblers's in the Sixties that didn't see an ounce of dirt either. It's about image and looking cool.
I don't know what Cathcart was looking for or expected, but with his experience and savvy he should know that this is simply a Bonnie in different clothing to project a certain street image.
I'm more of a traditionalist, and while a bike like this doesn't appeal to me, it will appeal to a lot of riders and should sell like hotcakes.
OTOH, after I actually see one I may have a different opinion on its appeal to me. Truth is, I love 'em all!
As in all things great and small....time will tell.

Rocky

iandel · 01-18-2006

G''day,

dazco said

" It's like having a car with airplane wings that doesn't really fly."

It is also like having a 4wd suv which never goes off the road. :-D What has practicallity got to do with it?

dazco · 01-18-2006

Quote:

It is also like having a 4wd suv which never goes off the road. :-D What has practicallity got to do with it?

Because the scrambler ISN'T made to go off-road. It's just made to look like it is. A 4WD IS made to. But as i said, there as those who will like it's look and those are the ones who will buy it, not those who wish to use it for off-road. And thats cool.......i could be wrong but i just don't think they will sell enough for it to last.

Odysseus · 01-18-2006

Quote:

Sorry to have to tell you that the 790 engine and the 865 are the same size, so the BS about a smaller engine and pipe size are off target.

You could well be right, Joe. Here's a translation of what he said, (which he said in English, someone translated into Portuguese, and now I'm putting back into English again... anyone for Mandarin?):

"The big problem was mounting the exhausts.. I'm pleased that we managed to keep the same look, which I think is pretty "Triumph", but we had to change sides with the twin exhausts, because the battery cover was in the way if we wanted to keep it on the left, as in the original bike. We also had to use a large pair of silencers to meet current noise limits, which not only looked really ugly, but could also burn the passenger. But that was with an engine with the same spec as the Bonneville, which had more power. The silencers on the production bike are more harmonious, because they are smaller - and I think that's down to having used the Speedmaster's 270º engine, which is the least powerful in the Bonneville range, so we could fit smaller silencers. But I'm only guessing - I was already gone when they put together the pre-production models."