Last month I had the opportunity to go on a little East Coast adventure with Dean and Lee, it was all for the new Triumph Scrambler and I wrote a piece for Tank Moto about the adventure, it was a heap of fun and to keep everyone up to date I added the article below. Thanks to Dean for the photos, Lee for the video and Triumph for the opportunity!
Just recently I had the opportunity to spend 5 days on the road with 2 good mates aboard Triumphs all new Street Scrambler. To say I was excited was an understatement; it had been a year since I really wound open the throttle and watched the KMs and the countryside roll by.
Triumph had just launched the all new Street Scrambler to the media in Noosa QLD and we convinced the Triumph execs that it would be a good idea to leave three bikes behind all fuelled up and waiting for an adventure.
We had a one way ticket to freedom, helmets in hand we stepped off the plane and into a humid paradise, three Street Scramblers awaited us in the car park, like a chauffeur baring our names each key defined our steeds for the next 2,500km.
With its unmistakable Twin Exhaust exiting high on the right the name “Scrambler” sparked connotations of taking the road less travelled, exploring Australia’s vast unpaved landscape, it dispelled any thought of taking the fastest route.
At first the Scrambler felt familiar, having spent some valuable time with the Street Twin last year I could feel its roots within the Scrambler, I knew it was a good start as I dearly missed my lightly modified Street Twin, it was the one bike that reset my ideals on what I believe to be my perfect machine.
I am familiar with the Triumph Scrambler and its heritage, the UK manufacturer invaded the USA Desert Racing scene and dominated racing in the 1950’s to 1970’s, known as a light weight race bike in those days the 500cc and 650cc variants were modified by innovators such as Bud Ekins and raced by superstars like Steve McQueen to cement the Triumph into motorcycling folklore.
It’s hard to believe that 50 years on those same purposeful styling cues have made their way into the current Triumph range in the form of the Scrambler, the high pipes that incorporate a catalytic converter, the bash plate that protects the frame from rock strikes, the sleek and slim fuel tank with rubber knee guards, the higher bar position and lower seat height promote you to get out of the saddle and into the wilderness.
It’s a bike that respects its elders yet accommodates technology, the speedo sits above the headlight and lets you know everything you need, scrolling through the functions with your left thumb reveal switchable Traction Control, ABS, Digital Tachometer, Fuel Range and trip logs. For me firing up the bike was quickly followed by switching off the traction control, a hint that things are about to get very sideways very quickly.
With the traction control and ABS switched off its up to you to control the grip of the Metzler Tourance 19 inch front and 17 inch rear tyres, one of the finest all-rounder tyre that proves itself both on the road and off, Its controlled by the KYB 41mm cartridge front forks and the twin KYB rear shocks both offering 120mm of travel, speeding up comes in the form of a 55hp 900cc parallel twin that’s mated to a 5 speed gearbox, slowing down your rate of sideways comes in the form of Nissin brakes, 310mm front and 255mm up front, overall it’s a complete package that’s capable of taking you anywhere.
In my mind a perfect motorcycle is one that allows you to get through the city, phone plugged in under seat on charge, ABS on just in case, caught up in the rat race but doing it with the intention of leaving it all behind. When the weekend arrives you can swap the city scape for forestry, ingest the clean air and feel comforted in the fact that that no matter how testing your route is your new Scrambler and your ever growing skillset will get you through it.
Believe me the Street Scrambler is everything it looks to be, climbing aboard in Noosa, wrestling the Friday afternoon traffic bound for Byron Bay, breathing a sigh of relief as the off ramp signals the small country towns connected by rolling green hills that is part of the Hinterland region, the hills give way to the cityscapes that are iconically Sydney, through the Royal National Park and over the Sea Cliff bridge climbing to the highest point in Australia, Kosciusko National Park.
From there we drop down through the ski fields of Victoria and rest in Bright for the night. With 2000km completed we celebrate some exploration in the high country with a trip through the Buckland Valley that includes river crossings and refreshing swims that reinvigorate our tired body’s. As we snake our way back to the Hume Highway our clothes dry out and the mud falls from beneath our bikes. Melbourne soon appears and the clean crisp air of the last few days disappears in the rat race once again, we are relieved to be home but the Scrambler has given us new boundaries of exploration and that’s something that’s going to be difficult to ignore.