Group test
Want feel-good retro charm without the kickstart-battered shins? It’s a knobbly ‐shod naked away. Bike compares and contrasts four very different European(ish) scramblers.
The past is a foreign country – they do things differently there. But that doesn’t stop us looking back fondly at old holiday photos. Cherry ‐picked snapshots that stir up memories of carefree pleasure, simpler days and worry-free escapism. Cheerful, joyous and tinged with sentimental sepia warmth.
The exact same appeal can be found in the current crop of modern European scramblers. Or, at least, scramblers from European brands. First and foremost is the updated Ducati Scrambler (built in Bologna), which breathes a touch more modernity into the funky, fashion-conscious V-twin. But nipping at its knobblies are fresh offerings from Italian siblings. There’s Fantic’s Caballero 700, combining rugged styling with a tried and trusted motor designed in Japan. There’s Benelli, based down the road in Pesaro, whose new Leoncino 800 is put together in Wenling, China. And closer to home (ish) is the Triumph Scrambler 900, designed in Leicester and assembled in Thailand.
But truth be told, we don’t care much which foreign country the past comes from. We just want a modern scrambler that makes us smile, one that serves up an evocative riding experience, has enough pace to keep up in the modern world, and still warms the cockles of our hearts when we’re having a poke round in the garage afterwards. So, which is best?
Triumph Scrambler 900
No flashy futuristic technicolour TFT display. No multi ‐purpose Bluetooth connectivity featuring integrated sat-nav guidance. No scrolling bar graph rev counter. No rev counter at all, in fact. Take your eyes off the road to glance down at the Triumph Scrambler 900 and all you’ll find is – get this – a circular dial, containing a needle pointing at some numbers. The mind-boggling minimalism of it all. Wherever do those Hinckley folk get their crazy ideas from…
Oh, all right, if you want to be picky a little LCD insert can show a fuel gauge, a gear position indicator, two selectable trips, real-time and average mpg… and switchable traction control… and, cough, a digital rev counter.
But let’s ignore all that for now because I’m clumsily scrabbling towards making a point. Of the four displays here, the Triumph’s is the simplest, the most deliberately, wilfully basic, and intentionally offers the closest thing to an authentically old-school view of the world. And, neatly enough, so does the overall riding experience.
Triumph’s Scrambler 900 – formerly known as the Street Scrambler – is built squarely for lolloping aro
