Hi all,
the Street Scrambler has arrived. I posted some pix.
The rave reviews are really justified (Revzilla, Captain); this bike is truly something.
After test riding the bike, I just had to have it earlier than Tuesday, and did not wait until the accessories arrive;
I picked it up yesterday, and since then, I have been looking for excuses to go fetch something to be riding it. I was up at 6 am this morning to put it to its paces.
I'll try to give some articulate feedback: the whole package is superb in quality and in looks - the combination of black, matt green, seat exhaust, simply works.
The exhaust makes a very nice, throaty yet not obnoxious; the exhaust sound of my beemer used to irritate me after 10-15 mn of use.It is still cold out here, so was not disturbed by the heat; let's see how it feels in the summer, when the temperature reach 35C and 80% humidity level.
The commodos are well placed, and you don't have to look away from the road to find them (it was a bit of a recurrent problem on the BMW);
The seat is super comfy yet firm; initially I wanted to keep the passenger seat, but to open the main seat, one has first to remove the pillion seat; if I do it using the small tool provided in the side cache, it would become tedious sooner than later. I decided I would go for the luggage rack; I think it works better in terms of looks; one thing though, the rack has a sticker which mentions a tolerance of the rack at 3 kg (6.6 poounds); not sure what to make of this.
The passenger footrests are removable, so, this will go next.
Then, the riding experience: just brilliant! The engine is torkey and can deliver soft or arm stretching acceleration; at no time does one feel power is lacking. Plenty of torque on each gear up to the 4th; I say 4th because I did not have a chance to take it to the highway yet, and did not feel the need to be on the 5th gear. I used the rev counter to check if I was using the gear efficiently; but again, the bike simply zipps through town with a great engine purr and throaty exhaust: what a symphony!
At no time did I feel that the bike did not have enough power to carry me; at no time did I feel the bike was too small for me; at no time did I feel overwhelmed by the bike as it happened a couple of times with the beemer, and only once with the T120 (and this was more related to the weight of the bike). I felt I could maneuver the bike without a problem; the engine is s-m-o-o-t-h!!! The gearbox is butter smooth; the engine keeps purring like a bike cat. Switching gears on the beemer could be tricky; going from 1st to 2nd, it was not rare for the gear to end up on neutral; or finding neutral required 2 or sometimes 3 attempts. I must have spent 3 hours today on the bike going places in town (so regular traffic condition) and did not miss a gear once. Will do so again tomorrow;
Then, winter is beautiful in Tokyo as it is usually blue sky, sunny but crisp; next week-end is a 3 days week-end; I am planning to hit the road and go to mount Fuji; nice twisty roads between the 5 lakes, and some gravel roads; to that effect, I ordered the heated grip kit, the mudguard extension (hoping it will help with the projections and help keep the radiator safe), the engine protection kit, the headlight grill, and the center stand as well.
I received comments on the bike, on the sound of the exhaust, even on me on the bike! I have been smiling like a daft boy since yesterday. My wife who did not approve of me owning a bike, especially when she saw the BMW, really felt relieved and reassured by the SC. Seeing me with a suit on and on it, she also thought it makes sense to commute.
In conclusion, this is really a great bike. I am not trashing the beemer; but with this SC, I feel I have the possibility to actually have fun with the bike! the Beemer was simply too much of a big bike in the Tokyo city traffic; I liked it as a bike, but did not enjoy it much; The T120 was great, but could be a bit heavy, and I am not a small guy nor am I without my share of muscles. I truly lke the classic looks of Triumph's t120/t100 and SC. I intend to have some fun with it, and let's see what Triumph comes up with next -a bigger scrambler maybe?
That's it guys! I hope those of you who have ordered theirs will receive it soon, and will add to this post; this is really a great bike and I am sure you will have tons of fun!
Well, I feel the need to go to the other side of town... gone riding ;-)
Best- Raft
the Street Scrambler has arrived. I posted some pix.
The rave reviews are really justified (Revzilla, Captain); this bike is truly something.
After test riding the bike, I just had to have it earlier than Tuesday, and did not wait until the accessories arrive;
I picked it up yesterday, and since then, I have been looking for excuses to go fetch something to be riding it. I was up at 6 am this morning to put it to its paces.
I'll try to give some articulate feedback: the whole package is superb in quality and in looks - the combination of black, matt green, seat exhaust, simply works.
The exhaust makes a very nice, throaty yet not obnoxious; the exhaust sound of my beemer used to irritate me after 10-15 mn of use.It is still cold out here, so was not disturbed by the heat; let's see how it feels in the summer, when the temperature reach 35C and 80% humidity level.
The commodos are well placed, and you don't have to look away from the road to find them (it was a bit of a recurrent problem on the BMW);
The seat is super comfy yet firm; initially I wanted to keep the passenger seat, but to open the main seat, one has first to remove the pillion seat; if I do it using the small tool provided in the side cache, it would become tedious sooner than later. I decided I would go for the luggage rack; I think it works better in terms of looks; one thing though, the rack has a sticker which mentions a tolerance of the rack at 3 kg (6.6 poounds); not sure what to make of this.
The passenger footrests are removable, so, this will go next.
Then, the riding experience: just brilliant! The engine is torkey and can deliver soft or arm stretching acceleration; at no time does one feel power is lacking. Plenty of torque on each gear up to the 4th; I say 4th because I did not have a chance to take it to the highway yet, and did not feel the need to be on the 5th gear. I used the rev counter to check if I was using the gear efficiently; but again, the bike simply zipps through town with a great engine purr and throaty exhaust: what a symphony!
At no time did I feel that the bike did not have enough power to carry me; at no time did I feel the bike was too small for me; at no time did I feel overwhelmed by the bike as it happened a couple of times with the beemer, and only once with the T120 (and this was more related to the weight of the bike). I felt I could maneuver the bike without a problem; the engine is s-m-o-o-t-h!!! The gearbox is butter smooth; the engine keeps purring like a bike cat. Switching gears on the beemer could be tricky; going from 1st to 2nd, it was not rare for the gear to end up on neutral; or finding neutral required 2 or sometimes 3 attempts. I must have spent 3 hours today on the bike going places in town (so regular traffic condition) and did not miss a gear once. Will do so again tomorrow;
Then, winter is beautiful in Tokyo as it is usually blue sky, sunny but crisp; next week-end is a 3 days week-end; I am planning to hit the road and go to mount Fuji; nice twisty roads between the 5 lakes, and some gravel roads; to that effect, I ordered the heated grip kit, the mudguard extension (hoping it will help with the projections and help keep the radiator safe), the engine protection kit, the headlight grill, and the center stand as well.
I received comments on the bike, on the sound of the exhaust, even on me on the bike! I have been smiling like a daft boy since yesterday. My wife who did not approve of me owning a bike, especially when she saw the BMW, really felt relieved and reassured by the SC. Seeing me with a suit on and on it, she also thought it makes sense to commute.
In conclusion, this is really a great bike. I am not trashing the beemer; but with this SC, I feel I have the possibility to actually have fun with the bike! the Beemer was simply too much of a big bike in the Tokyo city traffic; I liked it as a bike, but did not enjoy it much; The T120 was great, but could be a bit heavy, and I am not a small guy nor am I without my share of muscles. I truly lke the classic looks of Triumph's t120/t100 and SC. I intend to have some fun with it, and let's see what Triumph comes up with next -a bigger scrambler maybe?
That's it guys! I hope those of you who have ordered theirs will receive it soon, and will add to this post; this is really a great bike and I am sure you will have tons of fun!
Well, I feel the need to go to the other side of town... gone riding ;-)
Best- Raft