Yamaha goes retro with SCR950 motorcycle
Scrambling for a piece of the motorcycle sales pie that Ducati and Triumph have created with their retro Scramblers, Yamaha has unveiled its SCR950.
The company’s new oldlooking bike, an attempt to create relevance among young urban consumers, is only new on the outside.
Underneath the classic styling — which includes a vintage-looking gas tank, number plates, fenders and fork boots — lurks a Bolt. Yamaha’s popular city cruiser supplies a welltested engine, power train, frame and suspension elements for this new machine. That means the SCR950 uses the Bolt’s 942cc air-cooled V-Twin engine, five-speed transmission and belt drive. The fork boots cover the Bolt’s telescopic fork — with the same 4.7-inch travel. The two bikes differ in ways that affect the look, the ergonomics and the ride. The SCR gets a 17-inch rear wheel, to the Bolt’s 16-inch, and has a slightly tighter rake and slightly longer wheelbase. Both have a 19inch front wheel. Front and rear wheels on the SCR are spoked. The chopped fenders are steel.
Its wide, retro-style seat rises to 32.7 inches, well up from the Bolt’s 27.2 inches, for a more upright riding position. The SCR weighs 547 pounds fully fueled, five pounds heavier than the Bolt. It’s also a little pricier. The 2017 Bolt goes out the door at $7,999, and the Bolt R-Spec at $8,399. The SCR950’s MSRP will be $8,699 when bikes hit dealers in July.
That’s within distance of the 800cc Ducati Scrambler’s $8,495, and the 865cc Triumph Scrambler’s $9,400.
Yamaha also unveiled a bigger, brawnier FZ this week. The FZ-10 is a bigger brother to the FZ-07 and FZ-09. As the SCR950 is built off the Bolt, so the FZ-10 is informed by Yamaha’s YZFR1. That’s where the FZ-10 gets its engine, suspension and chassis.
This stripped-down, 998cc bike features a titanium muffler and comes with ABS, cruise control and a four-setting traction control system. Yamaha calls this aggressively-styled sport bike “the ultimate thrill ride.”
The FZ-10 will retail at $12,999 when it arrives in dealerships this month.
charles.fleming @latimes.com