Australasian Dirt Bike – May 2019

http://www.adbmag.com.au MAY 2019 | 87

A GIANT AMONG

DWARFS, TRIUMPH’S

SCRAMBLER XE IS

JUST A BIG-ARSE

DIRTBIKE!

W

hen I got my invite

to the Triumph

Scrambler 1200 XE

launch I was

nervous that a bike

like this wasn’t really up our readers’

alley. It wasn’t an adventure bike,

more like the thundering desert sleds

raced by the legendary Steve

McQueen and Bud Ekins in the ’60s,

so how was it relevant to true blue

ADB dirtbike owners?

After a bit of attitude adjustment by

Triumph go-to-market manager Paul

McCann, I was signed up for the

launch. McCann convinced me that

the 1200 XE would be more than

capable off-road and was just like a

big-arse dirtbike. Despite his arm

twisting I was still a little sceptical

until I read the specification sheet:

37.5 per cent more peak torque than

the 900cc Street Scrambler, Showa

USD fork with adjustable rebound and

compression damping and 250mm of

travel, twin Ohlins shocks with fully

adjustable preload, compression and

rebound (with none of that electronic

stuff), 32mm longer swingarm than

the more road-oriented Scrambler

1200 XC, a seat height of 870mm,

wide, tapered handlebar, laced

21-inch front rim and 17-inch rear and

Pirelli Scorpion Rally tyres as

standard. This is a 1200cc dirtbike!

Triumph kick-started the Scrambler

scene when the likes of McQueen got

involved with the brand. It re-entered

the market in 2016 with the road-

oriented Street Scrambler. Two years

later and Triumph decided to get

serious with a 1200cc Scrambler with

more off-road capability. They bolted

on a bunch of defence gear, wrapped it

in knobbies, tuned it for off-road and

jacked up the suspension. What they

created was like the Hyde of dirtbikes,

it’s an absolute monster!

DESERT SLEDS

Does the E in XE stand for extreme? It should

Everywhere you look there are nice detail touches

Keep it straight and this sort of thing isn’t a worry