Trusty and Friendly
When I attended the fIrst rIde sessIon of the royal enfield scram 411 in april this year, I quite enjoyed spending a day with the motorcycle in Bengaluru. a few weeks later, when royal enfield sent over the motorcycle to the Bike India office, I was excited to start using it for my daily commute. I have now done around 2,000 kilometres on the motorcycle and it also got its first service when the odometer crossed 500 kilometres. I have always been attracted to and used naked streetfighters, so this was a wholly new experience adapting to a scrambler as my daily ride.
With the road conditions in Pune deteriorating by the day, the scram 411 has proved to be a really friendly companion in the city. It has changed the way I see motorcycles as I am now intrigued to own a scrambler or an adV because of their tough build and practicality. the 41-millimetre telescopic fork at the front and a link-mounted monoshock at the rear offer 190-mm and 180-mm of suspension travel respectively. With this set-up, the bike is able to take on literally anything that is thrown at it and this rugged nature is what makes it such a good motorcycle to ride, especially over bad roads.
the 19-inch spoked wheel at the front, as opposed to the 21-inch one on the himalayan, makes the motorcycle more compact for urban use and it can cut through city traffic effortlessly. Because of the smaller front wheel, the ground clearance has come down to 180 mm, which accommodates shorter riders. I do wish that the scram 411 were slightly lighter, but it is not something that really comes in the way of day to day activities. every pillion rider that has got astride with me really appreciated the comfort of the rear seat, too, which is an important factor for city use. another thing that would have made this motorcycle even more potent for experienced riders is switchable aBs, with which the himalayan is equipped.
overall, it has been a great few months with the scram 411 on account of the do-it-all nature and we will continue testing it to bring you more updates.