Triumph Scrambler 400X: The Only Motorcycle You'll Ever Need!

The Oxford dictionary defines the word "Scramber" as a person who walks over steep, mountainous terrain as a pastime. Back in the early 1900s some British motorcyclists decided to do just that, but on two wheels. For that purpose, they took normal motorcycles and fitted them with bigger suspensions and voila! A whole new genre of motorcycles were born and they were called: the Scramblers! As time went by, motorcycles became increasingly specialised and iterations of the OG Scrambler like the ADVs or the dirt bikes were developed to do what the Scramblers once did. Not too long ago, the legendary British motorcycle brand Triumph launched the Scrambler 1200, resurrecting the iconic design and do it all capabilities of a Scrambler and it became an instant hit amongst adventure seekers and everyday riders alike. Going by the success of the larger Scramblers and the growing demand for affordable, adventure ready motorcycles globally, Triumph dropped another bombshell on the motorcycling world some time in October last year: The Scrambler 400X! Is it just a Speed 400 with bigger suspensions or is there more to it? Let's find out. 

Triumph started developing this 400cc liquid cooled single from scratch taking possibly a few cues like bore and stroke figures from the KTM 375cc mill that powers their rabid 390 series of motorcycles. Those who have ridden a KTM 390 know how manic this engine gets above 4000 RPM. The issue is, it can only be ridden comfortably above 4000 RPM since there is absolutely no tractability lower down in the rev range. What Triumph did was smart. They tweaked certain parameters of this engine, including the compression ratio (lowered it) and transformed this Rottweiler of an engine into more of a German Shepherd one. Still fierce but far more versatile and far less one dimensional. There is torque available from the word go and you can pick this bike up in 6th gear from around 45-50 kph without any knocking or juddering. Pottering around town this feels like a torque forward motorcycle like a Honda CB350 or a Royal Enfield 350. Build up the revs and it shows you that there's still a lot of fun left to be had. Wring open the throttle, take it to the top end of the rev range and the Scrambler screams and shoots forward with the urgency of an arrow that has just left the bow. Talking about Arrow, I particularly liked the exhaust note on the Scrambler over any of the other 400cc motorcycles from the KTM-Triumph-Bajaj group. The twin barrel set up gives out a nice, husky knarl when revved hard urging you to ride harder over and over again. It's intoxicating, this sound. 

Moving on to comfort & dynamics. As compared to the Speed, the Scrambler gets a larger 19" front wheel, dual purpose tyres, longer travel suspensions at both ends, a sharper rake, a longer trail, a longer wheelbase, taller and wider handlebars, forward set footpegs and a taller seat height. This concoction of small changes, change the riding dynamics completely. You sit more upright on the Scrambler with a wide chested stance. Your feet get more space below your seat and the angle between your lower leg and your thigh is not as acute. This makes for an extremely comfortable riding position for long hauls in the saddle. The only thing missing here is a functional windscreen. The larger front wheel and longer suspension travel aid in absorbing anything and everything you throw at them. You do feel each and every pothole and road imperfection but the bite is taken off them. It's not exactly a plush ride but it's nowhere close to being harsh either. If I had to describe the ride quality on the Scrambler in one word, I would call it mature. This maturity however, does not come at the expense of handling. Thanks to the sharper rake, the Scrambler still tips into corners at the drop of a hat and stays there planted till you start asking too much of the dual purpose tyres. If the Speed scores a 10 / 10 in handling, the Scrambler scores a strong 8.5. The story continues in the braking department as well. While the Scrambler gets a larger front disc as compared to the Speed, it also gets organic brake pads as against cintered ones on the Speed. The result is a mild initial brake bite but steady and good progression as you pull the brake lever further in. Triumph say this is done so that novice riders don't end up locking the front wheel while off-roading. I would say, stop overthinking and just give us the full equipment Triumph! Thankfully it's a quick fix as you can simply swap the organic brake pads of the Scrambler with the cintered ones from the Speed and you get the bite and the progression both. 

So what have Triumph made here? Well, I would describe the Scrambler as an honest motorcycle. It makes simple promises and delivers on them without any fuss. This is a motorcycle that looks beautiful from all angles, is comfortable to ride, accelerates well, corners well, brakes well. There's very little to complain, really. So we have the perfect recipe here? Well.. almost! You see the Scrambler rides well in the city but the Speed rides much better. It rides well on the open highway but the ADV 390 rides better there. It rides well off-road but the Himalayan or the Xpulse..... you get the drift. In a world where you are spoilt for choice even while ordering a simple coffee at a modern cafe, the Scrambler hits you like a glass of cutting chai from your neighbourhood tapri. Evening 4 PM as the sun transitions from being scorchy yellow to a soothing orange, as you eyelids get heavier and your brain wants to just shut down, you don't want that tapri chai, you need it! In a world where marketing campaigns and social media content wire you into thinking that you need one motorcycle for commuting, one for touring, one for the highway, one for track days and one for going off-road, making a motorcycle buying decision gets increasingly difficult. If you have the budget of having just one motorcycle in your garage to do it all, take a step back, shut out the noise, visit your nearest Triumph showroom (they are warm and friendly people), take a long test ride of the Scrambler 400X and decide for yourself. 

Scramble on!