Somehow, I imagine that if anyone is reading this at all, they're probably new to motorcycling or maybe even just thinking about it. In that spirit, I thought maybe a novice rider's review of the Scrambler might be a nice contribution to the canon. I've put about 4,000 km on this thing since getting it in June. I'd read a lot about how to get a first bike (which this wasn't, technically, but I did get it during my first season), and was duly warned against getting something so big and so powerful. Indeed, this redheaded stepchild of the Bonneville family is intimidating to sit on if you're new to this. It's tall, it's got a biggish motor at 865cc, and it's heavy at 500lbs wet.
The big lesson, for me, turned out to be that these measures don't mean much on the road. The truth about Scrammy was deeper into the numbers. Specifically, I'm talking about torque. How much, and where it is on the tach. In Scrammy's case, there's plenty of it at 50 ft/lbs, and the majority of it is available below 3,000 rpm, after which the curve flattens out nicely. What this means is that there is absolutely no incentive to rev the crap out of it only to hit an arm-stretching peak in the power band. You can choose to be mellow, and it will cheerfully do whatever you ask without surprising you or making you feel like you're abusing it. Between that and the fact that it turns out motorcycles don't want to fall down, I was confident as soon as I was rolling. I wouldn't want to have to pick the thing up off the ground, mind you, but this bike isn't going to unduly challenge a new rider, that's for sure, as long as he/she is tall enough to keep it upright at a stop.
You'll find some carping about the shocks by professional reviewers of this bike, and they're right, in my opinion. The bike is oversprung and underdamped at both ends, which can make potholes and pavement irregularities a bit too exciting. Hagon makes some well regarded and surprisingly affordable shocks and springs for this bike, so I upgraded both in the fall. I can't honestly say they changed the ride quality much, but they absolutely improved the damping. The bike is much less unsettling on sudden bumps and through corners. Speaking of which, and from no basis of expertise, I'd say it's a decent handler over all. Less responsive than my little CBR, but much more so than the ponderous S40. On the twisty roads around here, I'd say mellow is the word again... it just does what you ask, and always leaves you feeling there's some margin of error if you need it.
I've caught the farkling disease, for sure, but in surprising moderation compared to what I've done with some of the cars in my past. You can see in the photo that it has the Arrow 2-into-1 exhaust, which sounds glorious and old-school badass (once the fuel map was properly revised). The leather saddle was an e-Bay find, a casualty of an abandoned custom project. It gets a lot of complimentary attention. I added the headlight screen and skid plate for that desert sled look, and the Hagons, of course. I'm thinking dresser bars might be in my future, too, but past that the bike doesn't seem to want for much.
The real risk to my credit card seems to be stuff to wear. Can you have too many jackets? I don't think so. Because if you ride one of these, you'd better expect to be social. Not looking like a testosterone-addled kid on a sport bike or a gangster on a cruiser definitely lowers some barriers. And Scrammy's retro looks seem to invite misty reminiscing by strangers of all kinds about the Triumphs in their lives that got away. You owe it to them to look like you belong on one. If you're going to trade on the history of a brand like that, consider it your karmic duty.
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