The Scrambler

The Scrambler!

The scrambler came to prominence in the 1960s and ’70s, when public roads had improved to a point where the need for day-to-day motorcycles with off-road capabilities began to sharply decline. Motorcyclists looking to ride, race and play in the dirt were hit hard — but instead of giving up, they started stripping down road bikes, bolting on longer-travel suspension and fitting knobby dirt tires.

motorcycles triumph Photography Portugal post Post Production scrambler

The style’s popularity has ebbed and flowed in the years since, but it’s back in full force as of 2019.

To say the current motorcycle market is saturated with scramblers is an understatement: Nearly every major manufacturer now has a bike labeled with the name.

Problem is, most of the “scramblers” out there are based on existing sport standard style bikes, with only a few relatively cosmetic alterations to help them cope with life in the dirt. The number of options actually designed, engineered and tested to attack the dirt?

Well, they can be counted on one hand…but one of those fingers is needed for the 2019 Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE.

Superbikes are so damn good at setting scorching hot laps and dirt bikes are the perfect tools for navigating single tracks with surgical precision for the same reason: They’re built from the ground up to be laser-focused.
Scrambler-style motorcycle are jacks-of-all-trades, and like any such compromised proposition, concessions must be made; in this case, compromises to the ride and design are inevitable. It’s why they’ll never be the best at carving up your favorite road or pounding dirt along wooded trails.

But in that category, there’s no doubt the Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE raises the bar to a new level. It’s not the best on the road — but going in and out of corners, it still inspires more confidence than most other road bikes. It’s not the last word in off-road performance — but it’s more sure-footed than some bikes built specifically for the dirt.