Australian Road Rider — August 2017

STORY: GREG LEECH

PHOTOS: ARCHIVE

T

riumph’s Scrambler 900 became

available in 2006, adding yet

another avenue for a buyer into

the Bonneville range, which

today consists of the Bonneville, Scrambler,

Thruxton, America and Speedmaster.

Here we are taking a look at the original

Hinckley Scrambler, which has since

morphed into a much more sophisticated

beast that in 2017 boasts new-fangled gear

like switchable ABS, switchable traction

control, ride by wire, torque-assist clutch,

immobiliser and a USB power socket. But

forget all that. This one is about the bare-

bones jobbie of 2006 and how it stacks up as

a used buy.

As a style exercise, it was probably a bit of a

winner. It certainly gave Triumph yet another

avenue to hark back to a rich history (with

particular links to the TR6C), evoking the On

Any Sunday phenomenon that was at the

embryonic stages of a big resurgence. The bike

very nicely paid homage to the McQueen Desert

Sled days and Triumph has always been very

canny at ge ing in front of the game when it

comes to range strategy. It was a masterstroke

of forward thinking that le its rivals, errr,

scrambling to catch up. Sorry about that.

The bike made use of the brand’s 865cc, air-

cooled, DOHC, fuel-injected parallel-twin, and

was good for 43kW at 6800rpm and 68Nm at

4750rpm. While those numbers might not be

blowing your hair back, it’s a lovely fl exible

unit that is a willing and free revver with a

good dose of torque. Chassis dynamics see a

tubular steel cradle frame used, non-adjustable

Kayaba 41mm forks, and Kayaba twin shocks

with adjustable preload at the rear. Suspension

was adequate for the bike, if a li le austere and

utilitarian. In short, it worked well.

Brakes were a single 310mm disc with Nissin

dual-piston caliper at the front and a single

255mm disc with Nissin dual-piston caliper

down the back. Stopping power was very good.

“It was a masterstroke

of forward thinking

that left its rivals, errr,

scrambling to catch up”

r The man himself. Steve McQueen was known for his affi liation with Triumph and that tradition continues today.

r The latest Scrambler is a far more sophisticated beast compared to

the fi rst-generation Hinckley offering.

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