Triumph Street Scrambler [2018]

The Scrambler as a concept is all about aesthetics with good performance and the ability to do a fair bit of off-roading. On-road riding is a part of its portfolio too, but the idea of Scrambler is to have a rugged-looking, go-anywhere motorcycle. The entire world has jumped onto this bandwagon and now Triumph has given the Indian market their new Street Scrambler. 

The Indian market wasn’t lucky enough to get the old Scrambler. But nevertheless, the new model has arrived which gets some major additions and revisions. The 900cc parallel twin motor is from the Street Twin, but it now goes inside the new off-road-biased chassis. This has made the bike shorter and lighter. It also made it more accessible and purposeful. The fuel tank remains the same but it now benefits from rubber inserts for better knee grip. The seat is new and can be interchanged with the one-piece unit from the Street Twin, which has to be purchased as an accessory. There’s also a provision for an aluminium luggage rack with the pillion seat removed. 

The 2017 version also gets a new handlebar. It is slightly wider than before and has been placed to have an easy reach even when standing up and riding. Talking about stand-up riding, where jumps are usually involved, the suspension needs to be stronger and beefier than in the regular street models. Triumph knows this and that’s why has equipped it with a KYB setup, 41mm in the front and twin shocks with preload adjusters at the rear. The rear shocks are longer now and offer more travel. 

The brakes on the Street Scrambler are from the Street Twin, a single 310mm disc and floating Nissin two-piston caliper up front and and a 255mm disc with floating two-piston caliper at the rear. ABS is standard but is switchable which is unique to this bike in the Street Twin model range. This British bike rides on a 19-inch wheel upfront and a 17-inch wheel at the rear. Both are spoked wheels and are equipped with Metzeler Tourance dual sport tyres. 

The launch ride was a really brief one but it did reveal a few things about the bike. Firstly, thanks to the wider handlebar, it is really easy to stand and ride. It gives better control and feel. But the presence of the high side-mounted exhaust makes it difficult to place the right leg correctly. While the foot is nicely placed on the peg, the exhaust hinders the leg movement, especially around the calf. 

The 900cc parallel twin motor is extremely refined and offers a good dose of torque at low and mid revs. Linear power delivery and crisp throttle response are one of the major aspects of this motor. This engine is mated to a five-speed gearbox and also has a slip-assist clutch for light operation at the lever. Unfortunately, we didn't get an opportunity to test the ride quality of the Street Scrambler. However, we'll certainly have an answer once we have the bike for a proper test ride. 

The Street Scrambler looks gorgeous, has the aura of a modern classic and is equipped well (traction control, ABS). This makes the Street Scrambler a very tempting motorcycle. In fact, it makes a lot more sense than the Street Twin as it is versatile, thanks to better suspension and a bash plate. While the Scrambler exhaust does hamper the riding experience for those who want to stand and ride, it does make the bike look very appealing as well. All this for a price tag beginning at Rs 8.10 lakh, beyond which you can customise the bike with over 150 accessories. But we'll bring you a detailed review in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!