TRIUMPH THAT’S BAYING FOR MUD
Here is a message for Steve McQueen: your reputation as an off-road god is secure.
I speak after a day in the dirt on the new Triumph Scrambler 1200 and, although it may just look like a Bonneville with a higher exhaust, a major revamp means that thanks to low seat height, perfect balance and clever control of the ABS and traction control in off-road mode, it’s more capable and fun in the dirt than many adventure bikes, and a blast on the road as well.
I’d had my doubts, mind you. Looking at the bike, I wondered just who actually rides a Bonnie off-road? They will now, that’s for sure. Even after one lap of the test track to check our abilities (zero, since you ask), I was feeling happy to power out of corners and let the bike sort out any rear wheel slides.
And so off on an extended jaunt through dirt, gravel, sand, mud and water, and even coming out of muddy water crossings with the tyres clogged and little grip, the back end just shimmied a little before the mud flung itself off with gay abandon. Remarkable.
It’s also helped by a 21in front wheel, perfect fuelling at low revs, a sweet six-speed gearbox and an engine, nicked from the Thruxton, retaining the lovely character of the 270-degree crank but lightened slightly and retuned for maximum torque at a subterranean 3,950rpm, just where you need it when things get down and dirty.
The bike’s practical off-road aplomb is even more impressive when you realise how gorgeous it looks, with exquisite brushed steel styling details, that Monza-style filler cap and a TFT screen which looks old-school, but can be toggled through several different appearances to include more or less info and black figures on white background or vice versa. Lovely.
The next day was spent raking around the roads of southern Portugal, on both the standard XC and the more high-spec and off-road-orientated XE, with one more rider mode, cornering ABS, heated grips, higher seat and bars, longer travel suspension and slightly longer rake, trail and wheelbase.
The engine’s so torquey that I spent most of the day in third, pulling away from even mountain hairpins cleanly then gunning the throttle, my ears filled with a delicious snarl and my heart full of the joy of being alive. As Steve did, when he was.