Scrambler Love

[parallel]

Man I just LOVE this thing. It's just as advertised, easy to ride with plenty of power. A couple of my neighbors and I rode a bit over 106 miles up the River Road then we took Highway 22 through French Settlement which is a very nice 45 - 55 MPH twisty road through the bayou with nice shade and low traffic. We ended up catching some heavy rain on I55 coming back south. Man that rain at 70MPH brought back memories of the hydro-blasting that was the norm on the SWCC boats back in the day. That I could deal with... but the lightening was freaking me out a bit.

I took a little ride on some washed out roads this afternoon to get an idea of how she handles off road. She's a bit clumsy at really slow speed in the dirt, but I was pretty impressed with how capable this bike is. My biggest complaint is that the rear brake caliper hangs down from the swingarm making for an easily damaged rear brake. Even so it's not likely that I would ever be riding in such rough terrain.

 

[whitecoyote]

Awesome Triumph!

That's one sweet Triumph!
I have a blast with my Steve McQueen SE.
These new Triumph's are an awesome machine.

 

[feralmerril]

I had a 1958 T-110. I think that was the last year of the seperate transmission before as a one unit in the engine. The T-110 was a 650 single carb as opposed to the twin carbs bonnieville. I recall giving a $160 for it back in 1968. They had Soul.

 

[Bob R]

I love my non-traditional Triumph. It gets me to there with the greatest of ease.

I have been riding British bikes since 1970, Triumphs, BSAs and Nortons. I am very happy to see Triumph making a small comeback in the US. I spent way too many years riding Japanese bikes between the Norton and the new Triumph.

bob

 

[parallel]

Nice Rocket!

 

[BigBill]

I started riding husqvarna dirtbikes first. The rake is different than on the jap dirtbikes. Is there a difference from the jap street bikes to the European bikes too frame and rake wise too?

I'm thinking of a small bike for around town and the country twisty back roads.

 

[Herknav]

Nice looking bikes. Unfortunately for me, I was expecting to see pictures of some CJ-8s.

 

[ralph7]

Nice looking bikes. Unfortunately for me, I was expecting to see pictures of some CJ-8s.

Heck, I first thought it was a thread about breakfast.

 

[indiandave]

Heck, I first thought it was a thread about breakfast.

And I thought this thread was going to be about quarterback Fran Tarkenton.

 

[Marshwheeling]

I had a 1958 T-110. I think that was the last year of the seperate transmission before as a one unit in the engine. The T-110 was a 650 single carb as opposed to the twin carbs bonnieville. I recall giving a $160 for it back in 1968. They had Soul.

The pre-unit Triumphs continued through 1962; in 1963 they went to unit construction. That's for the 650s; the change might have happened a couple of years earlier with the 500s. I have had a number of Triumphs. The only one left is a 1957 6T (Thunderbird).

The current Triumph twins are very nicely done, capturing the look of the originals pretty well. Of course, they are much better technically. I haven't ridden them much, only a brief ride on a friend's, but in that short time, I could tell they are a much better bike.

Triumph may have started the current fashion for retro repro vehicles. Ducati did it with the Paul Smart replica. In the auto world we have the new Beetle, the new Mini, the Fiat 600, and the new Mustang, all styled much like their original antecedents, but all much better technically.

The Scrambler is my favorite of the new twins. It is too heavy and lacks the suspension for really rough work, but it ought to be a lot of fun on fire roads, and at modest speeds off-road.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

I had a 1958 T-110. I think that was the last year of the seperate transmission before as a one unit in the engine. The T-110 was a 650 single carb as opposed to the twin carbs bonnieville. I recall giving a $160 for it back in 1968. They had Soul.

I believe that the single-carb 650 was called a Trophy - at least it was in the early sixties.

 

[G-Mac]

I was a mechanic at a Triumph dealership "back in the day"....haven't ridden one of the new ones, bit they sure look nice.

 

[jag312]

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who likes the new Triumphs. I keep my 1999 Triumph Legend TT, 900cc triple, in my living room. I built a ramp up the front door and ride it in and out of the house.

 

[whitecoyote]

Mind Party with Johnny Lewis - YouTube

 

[wbraswell]

Do not post pics of scamblers that are not the exhaust side. That is a rule of motorcycle pics. When I was a boy, nothing was cooler than a Honda CL77, 305cc scrambler. You could take the silencer off the end of the pipes, and it had butterfly valves on them. Open the valves and rattle windows for blocks.

 

[Bob R]

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who likes the new Triumphs. I keep my 1999 Triumph Legend TT, 900cc triple, in my living room. I built a ramp up the front door and ride it in and out of the house.

If I were single, I would do the same thing. Of course I would need a pretty wide door.

bob

 

[Eltioloco]

My scrambler has a little age to it but still does its job well.

 

[Marshwheeling]

Mind Party with Johnny Lewis - YouTube

"Professional rider on a closed course. Do not try this at home."

Jimmy Lewis is an incredible rider. He rides a 600-lb. BMW 1200GS like that.

When I talk about a bike's capabilities, I mean with an average to slightly above average rider. With really good riders, the bike does not matter much. The son of one of my riding buddies built a KZ650 for trail riding, with Fox shocks and RM forks. He could climb hills on it that I wouldn't walk down. On another occasion, he rode an RD350 with clipons up through Bulldog Gulch in the Black Hills, rocky, rutted 2-track with a lot of slash from lumber cutting. Not the toughest trail in the world, but at the very least I would melt the clutch trying to get through there on an RD.

You can still have a lot of fun on your scrambler without doing feet-up power slides. If those are part of your repertoire, more power to you.

 

[Marshwheeling]

My scrambler has a little age to it but still does its job well.

I lusted after a Victor for many years. I never got to ride one until it was way past obsolete. I'd probably be a lot tougher guy than I am now if I had lived with one for a few years. I have a buddy who does vintage flat-track on one and has a pretty good time with it.

 

[Marshwheeling]

Do not post pics of scamblers that are not the exhaust side. That is a rule of motorcycle pics. When I was a boy, nothing was cooler than a Honda CL77, 305cc scrambler. You could take the silencer off the end of the pipes, and it had butterfly valves on them. Open the valves and rattle windows for blocks.

Those were called Snuff-'r-Nots.