Australasian Dirt Bike – May 2019

Wehadaprettyintensesandloopwith

abunchofjumps,logsandwater

crossingstoplayaroundon.When

hoppinglogsitfeelsjustlikeadirtbike,

alittledouble-bliptechniqueandthe

bikewillrocketupintotheair,

remainingbalancedandincontrolat

alltimes.Thefirmsuspensiondoesn’t

allowittodiveorbottom-outwhen

smashingintothelogs.

Itcrawledcomfortablythroughwater

atlowspeedsandploughedthrough

thesandwithouttoomuchtank

slapping,providingyoukeptthe

throttleon.Whenlaunchingtabletops

(yes,theyactuallyhadtabletopsforus

tojump)youjustneededtomakesure

youweren’tcrossedupbecause

correctingsomethingthislargecanbe

detrimentaltoyourhealth.IfIkeptthe

bikestraightithandledthelanding

withease,neverbottoming.

Ittooksomeconvincingthatthe

OhlinsshockswouldworkbutonceI

smashedintoabunchofsquare-edged

bumpsIwasconvinced.Sureitisa

littleheavierandtheexposedsprings

couldcomeintocontactwiththe

groundifyoucrash,buttheheavier

rear-endactuallyhelpskeepthebike

trackingstraight.Youcanalsomake

quickadjustmentsmanuallysoifyou

knowyou’regoingtotackleacertain

terrainforthedayyoucanadjustthe

shockstoexcelinalmostanycondition.

WHO’SGOINGTOUSEIT?

ThestandingpositionontheScrambler

XEfeelsjustlikeadirtbike.Youdon’t

needtobendyourbackasitpushes you

forwardandoverthefront-end.You can

almostrideitlikeyouwouldadirtbike,

but,wouldyoutakea$22k,207kg

machineintothebush?Iguessit

dependshowmuchmoneyyou’vegot.

Italsowouldn’ttakemuchtoturn

thisintoadecentadventurebike,all it

needsisascreenandabiggerfueltank

(mostridersgotbetween 3 to5L/100km

fromthe16Ltank)butifyoudidthat it

mightloseitsdirtbikeprowess.

Ithinkmostpeoplewhowillbuy the

ScramblerXEwillprobablynevertake

itwhereitcango.You’llseeitat

countrypubs,inwineregionsand

commutingbackandforthtoworkbut I

doubtyou’llcomeacrossoneinthe

bush,whichisashamebecauseitis

capable.Ifyou’relookingforaweekend

adventurebikeforridesthatdon’t

includelongbitumenstretchesthat

needascreen,butyoudofancythe odd

ripthroughsingletrack,thenaddthe

Scrambler1200XEtoyourshortlist.

Gotsomethingtosayaboutthisyarn?

[email protected]

More images and info at adbmag.com.au

LAUNCH REPORT | TRIUMPH SCRAMBLER 1200 XE

The punchy

throttle allowed

me to jump

step-ups, launch

over logs and

wheelie across

holes and ruts

All the tech

Bikes like these are loaded with

tech you’ve heard of. Here’s a

shortlist of the fruit you get:

• Rider modes


• Traction control


• ABS


• Keyless ignition


• TFT display


• Torque-assist clutch


• Ride by wire throttle


• Heated handgrips


• Cruise control


• Turn-by-turn navigation


• Bluetooth phone control

GoPro

connect

The Scrambler 1200 XE comes with

GoPro connectivity which allows

you to activate a helmet camera

from the TFT dash (below).

Triangular Triumph logo mimicked in stoneguard

It sounds horn despite Euro 5 emissions gear

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