Triumph Street Scrambler
Ross gets reacquainted with his favourite of Triumph’s Bonneville-based machines
Ross has finally got his hands on one of his favourite bikes.
It might be a little later than expected, but my long-term ride for the year has finally arrived – and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve lucked out and managed to get my hands on one of my favourite bikes of the last few years – Triumph’s Street Scrambler.
Don’t worry though. I won’t simply be singing its praises over the coming months. I’m going to giving it a proper test, taking it out of its comfort zone to see how well it’ll handle some big mile touring, I’ll definitely be hitting the trails too, to see if it lives up to its Scrambler name. I will need to replace that plastic bash plate first though…
ROAD MANNERS
It’s always nice to have your first impressions of a bike reaffirmed – and that’s exactly what’s happened over the last few weeks. Just as I remember, the Street Scrambler’s an absolute treat to ride. It’s light and composed, with its wide bars allowing you to properly throw it around, while the standard Metzeler Tourance rubber helps to inspire confidence in the wet or dry. They’re a bloody good set of tyres on the road. Not quite so capable off it, but that’s a story for another day.
While its Brembo brakes aren’t exactly revolutionary, they are a step up from the previous generation machine and will allow the Triumph to stop quickly and safely without too much trouble.
Likewise, its KYB 41mm cartridge forks and KYB twin rear shocks aren’t what I’d call sophisticated – but they’re more than up to the job, offering a comfortable ride without being so soft that you’re bounced out of the seat when you hit potholes at full chat. There’s adjustment available at the rear, but nothing up front.
The real strength of the Street Scrambler is its ease of use. Seriously, it is so easy to get on with. That means I’ve been able to really push the Street Scrambler to its limits and have some serious fun, all accompanied by a glorious soundtrack from its twin exhaust.
ALL-DAY COMFORT
The Street Scrambler’s good for all day in the saddle. That’s quite something. I’ve ridden my share of the current crop of ‘modern retro’ machines, and have generally found that within a couple of hours I’m standing up on the pegs trying to un-numb by bum. I’ve had no such problem thus far.
The seat is a fairly low 790mm, but its seat/footpeg/ handlebar combination work together nicely, offering an extremely comfortable and surprisingly roomy ride for my 6ft 2” frame. Basically, it’s a nice place to be. That low seat does mean there’s a little less ground clearance than you’d probably expect, and when pushing hard I’ve found myself scraping the pegs a little easier than I’d like.
One thing that’s missing is wind protection, and a couple of short dual-carriageway stints have confirmed that I should try and avoid motorways at all costs. Triumph does offer a decent sized Touring Screen as part of its extensive parts catalogue, so maybe I’ll look
into that – but I suspect it’d probably spoil the Scrambler’s looks…
At this stage, my only real criticism is aimed at the exhaust. It looks great, sure – and it sounds great too. But sometimes it gets hot. Not necessarily hot enough to burn your skin or singe your clothes, but hot enough to make you think twice about resting your leg on it. When the weather’s cool it’s not a problem, but on hot, sunny days it’s notable. Ok, so it’s not really a big deal, but I thought it was worth a mention.