MC Project: Triumphant Scrambler

Triumph's retro Scrambler is all show and no go, making for a boring ride. Increasing power and reducing weight positively transformed it.

Triumph's retro Scrambler is all show and no go, making for a boring ride. Increasing powe

While there's nothing to be done about the pseudo V-twin engine note of the 270-degree crank which Triumph curiously opted for on this parallel-twin motor-a vivid contrast to the trademark blat of Craig's period TR6 with its 360-degree crank-there's no doubt that in every other way, Himmelsbach has addressed the criticisms I first made of the Scrambler's performance. It's now zesty and stirring to ride, delivered to the mellow tune of a muffled crack from those cool-looking Kiwi pipes. They sound just right, don't give off excessive heat and, matched to the South Bay cams and EuroSports big-bore kit, deliver considerably more midrange torque. It wasn't so much the lack of power that frustrated me as the absent grunt you'd expect from a neo-classic.

That's all fixed now. Pickup is clean and sharp, with the eight-valve engine pulling hard and strong from as low as 2000 rpm in completely linear fashion all the way to the 8200-rpm rev limiter. I only found this once, on purpose, because in normal use you'll use the smooth-shifting gearbox-whose five ratios are well matched to the new power curve-to surf the lightly tuned engine's meatier torque curve to stay within its 3000-6000 rpm happy zone. And have loads of fun doing so, even with slightly stiffer clutch action due to the Barnett Kevlar clutch kit with heavier springs that Himmelsbach installed to prevent slippage.

Performance is now a step beyond the entry-level twin that Triumph seemingly intended the Scrambler to be: unthreatening to the point of anonymity, a great-looking but unexciting plonker of a motorcycle. Now it's a retro-styled equivalent of a modern all-purpose street rod like the Ducati Hypermotard, with the same everyday good manners and go-anywhere rideability matched to accessible performance.

That's further aided by the improvements Himmelsbach has wrought to the Scrambler's chassis, starting with the easiest fix of all: replacing the stock Bridgestone tires with a set of Pirelli Scorpions. It's a mystery why Triumph didn't fit these in the first place, since they run quieter and grip better, as well as being more suited to nominal off-road use. They're also lighter, so ask fewer questions of the non-adjustable 41mm Kayaba fork. That reduction in unsprung weight is further aided by the Takasago Excel alloy wheel rims that replaced the steel stockers, saving a further 7 lbs. The twin fully adjustable Penske shocks (with separate high/low-speed compression damping) are frankly overkill, but deliver good feedback, absorb bumps surprisingly well and never threatened to unhook the rear tire before the low-set footrests grounded. (Penske offers less-adjustable shocks for less money, if the high price puts you off.)

But the biggest factor in improving performance is the Scrambler's 45-pound weight loss. You feel that even before throwing a leg over the saddle and discovering a more relaxed riding position than the standard bike's too-upright stance, which was no good for combating windblast at anything over 50 mph. Himmelsbach rectified this by fitting a lower, flatter and slightly narrower Ducati Monster handlebar held by Yamaha XS650 fork clamps, which lets you lean forward into the wind.

Himmelsbach's attention to detail saw him remake the heavy steel frame plate between the front downtubes in aluminum, ground off various tabs and brackets and discard the stock oil cooler on the grounds that "I don't ride it for too long at a time, and hardly ever in traffic, so it was too heavy to earn its keep!"

However, it's not just the weight savings that let the modified Scrambler stop better. That's thanks to the 310mm fully floating EBC stainless-steel front disc now fitted, which besides saving a pound delivers much better stopping power than the original fixed Nissin disc, especially when combined with EBC pads in the twin-piston Nissin caliper. "That stock front brake really needed help, so even before we started on saving weight, we fitted the EBC disc and pads," Himmelsbach recalls with a smile of satisfaction. "At 50 mph it took 8 feet out of the stopping distance, which is almost a car length, so that's pretty significant."

Riding Craig's 50-year-old TR6 alongside the EuroSports Scrambler emphasized the qualities of the newer Triumph after its makeover, and showed how it could have-should have-been from the start. The original offered a lot of performance for the money in its era, while still looking undeniably great. Not so the new bike. But after Himmelsbach and his EuroSports crew got to work on it, the new bike does more than meet expectations. It's now the classic-style super street scrambler it always promised to be, combining off-road looks with tarmac potential, zestful performance with easy steering and agile handling with superb stability. It's gone from being a great-looking bike with merely adequate performance to one that you'll find yourself looking for excuses to ride. Job well done, Bill: Now you can rip that old article off the wall and chuck it in the trash ... and maybe suggest that Triumph's R&D and marketing departments stick this one up on their walls as a guide to doing the Scrambler right!

By Alan Catchart

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