Triumph Scrambler 1200 first ride
Triumph says the Scrambler 1200 is the first to combine retro offroad style with actual off-road ability. RIDE checks it out
There are adventure bikes and there are scramblers, but there are no adventure scramblers. until now, that is. under normal circumstances, a triumph bearing the Scrambler name – anything resembling a scrambler, in fact – is really a road bike with crossover tyres, fork gaiters, a high-level exhaust and wire-spoked wheels. they look great – all nostalgic off-road retro chic – but they’re better on tarmac than trails. Which isn’t news.
But now triumph has built this, the Scrambler 1200. the engine is a 1200cc Bonneville t120 parallel twin tuned up 10bhp to 89bhp — but instead of dressing it in an off-road frock, as per scramblers of yore, the 1200 gets a bespoke frame and steering geometry, with an aluminium swingarm and 21in front wheel, top-drawer brakes and long-travel suspension, and is absolutely lathered in premium technology and luxury gadgets. It looks like a retro but it’s kitted out like a flagship adventure bike. and it goes off-road like one, too…
there are two Scrambler 1200s: the road-based XC; and the higherspec, more off-road-capable Xe (triumph didn’t think the names through – ‘XC’ and ‘Xe’ sound the same). they share engine, frame, bodywork, brakes and wheels, but suspension, swingarm, steering geometry, electronics and spec level is different, which gives them different handling characteristics on and off-road.
at the risk of turning the first ride into a spec list — it really is that long — we’ll skip some of the equipment details common to both bikes, like cruise control and keyless ignition as standard. Or triumph’s tie-up with Gopro and Google which allows the rider to control a Gopro hero 7 from the switchgear or to receive turn-byturn directions on-screen via an accessory Bluetooth module.
Instead we’ll focus on the meat and potatoes like, for example, the 1200’s styling. a basic off-road requirement is long suspension travel and good ground clearance. the road-based XC, with 45mm Showa forks and Öhlins twin
shocks, both fully adjustable and with 200mm of travel, looks relatively compact, as a scrambler should. So if you spend more time on the road and looks matter, this is your variant.
The off-road XE has a super-lanky 250mm of travel from its suspension, plus fatter 47mm forks. That’s not just longest in class, that’s more than any other adventure bike, KTMS and BMWS included. Add the long springs to the XE’S longer aluminium swingarm (it’d look better in black), with that parallel-twin motor stranded in mid-air and it’s fair to say the Scrambler XE trim is unconventional. But maybe that’s because we’re not used to seeing genuine off-road capability on a classic.
Normally, a scrambler’s low seat height and easy manageability would be an advantage over an adventure bike. And that’s true for the Scrambler XC; it isn’t vertically intimidating in the least.
But, mounted on a pair of stilts, the 1200 XE’S seat height is 870mm — the same as a BMW GS on its tall setting. An Urban G/S is 850mm; Triumph’s Tiger 1200 is 855mm. So the XE is definitely on the tall side, though it doesn’t feel unwieldy for my 6ft frame paddling the bike around. Triumph claims 207kg dry, which presumably includes ex-liquids like paint and plastic; fully fuelled, it must be over 230kg — pretty much on par for an adventure bike.
Off-road, the XE is a giddy, freewheeling delight. Freed from the po-faced, adventure uniform-wearing, standing-onpegs malarkey, the Scrambler 1200 XE instead encourages a sat-down, foot out, gas-it-and-go approach – it instantly reminds me of whizzing around off-road as a kid on a Raleigh Grifter. Only quite a lot faster and without the pedalling. The Scrambler is certainly child’s play to slide about: with such long springs and a torque-rich, finessed throttle response, the 1200’s back end doesn’t snap sideways so much as slew round in a clichéd, graceful arc. It breaks away in slow-motion.
Over rougher terrain you can still stand to soak up the bigger bumps; serrated pegs, higher and wider bars than the XC, plus the 1200’s signature chassis balance, make the Scrambler as controllable as a GS in expert hands. In my hands, it plays silly buggers.
Road tripping
On the road, the big parallel twin thumps, booms and bangs with colourful bottomend and midrange, making full use of Triumph’s fuelling expertise to belt out smooth, energetic drive from tickover. It’s less intrusive than a V-twin and less lumpy than a flat twin; smooth and pulsating and sounds ruder than it is. Get up around 90mph and, rather like the old R1200GS flat twin, the Bonnie motor starts to run out of headroom. But gunning about all day managed to dip fuel consumption in the high 40mpg; in normal riding it showed 53mpg. On a 16-litre tank, that’s 160 miles.
The XE’S road handling is as confident as its off-road skills. It rolls from side to side in fluid swoops, Metzeler Tourance tyres sticking in wet, dry, or half-and-half. Despite long springs, the XE doesn’t collapse on the brakes and can trail-brake deep into turns, even with a 21in front. It’s only when you jump on the 1200 XC, on shorter suspension, with a shorter swingarm and wheelbase, and sharper steering geometry, you discover its steering is even more direct and accurate.
Other differences: the XE has heated grips as standard, with Imu-informed cornering ABS and traction control. The XC has five riding modes, while the XE adds a sixth: Off-road Pro, which disables the aids. Prices are £11,500 for the Scrambler 1200 XC, in dealers from late February, and £12,300 for the XE from late January.
The Scrambler 1200 is a new breed of scrambler, combining both real and cosmetic adventure chops, plus flagship features at a competitive price. The XE pays for its off-road prowess by looking slightly gawky; the XC prefers life on the road. Neither replaces a well-rounded GS, but if you want adventure with a stylish, classic twist they’re in a class of one.