Featured Peter And I Scramble Bimble...

So here we are...

Peter (@heartlander ) got his 1200 Scrambler XC for a week and now we have plenty of time to test and enjoy it.
Plenty of rain as well.
On the first day, we got soaking wet and discovered, that both our riding boots were taking in water by the pound.
(So in the afternoon, we each got a new pair during an adhoc-shopping-frenzy!)

Today was great though: no rain, just a little fog in the morning which in fact added to the scrambler feeling
we got ourselves into.
So we hustled from breakfast to coffee and cake in no time, Peter switching from rain- to road-mode (he said the bike felt pretty quick in rain-mode to start with) and was taken aback by the sheer torque this bike delivers.

Meanwhile, I had a lot of fun buzzing about on my little Husky and enjoying this nimble piece of pure riding-pleasure.

Then we swapped machines for a while.
YESSS! Wroooaaaammmmm....!!! The Scrambler 1200 does live up to my expectations.
Short sum up: Suspension is much better than it was on my Bonnie. Riding position upright and very close to perfect. Sound? Yeah! I wouldn’t change a thing.
Handling is very agile and pretty close to the Tiger 800 that I once owned.
The saddle we both found a little tough on the long haul, but needs more testing. Probably just a matter of getting used to.
The info-display is well readable even in bright and sunny conditions. (You can spend quite some time playing and fiddling with it...)
The height was perfect for me. I am 1,80 Meters tall.

And now some pics!

Cheers

 

Hello Sandi,

that was actually something I was worried about as well.

When I stopped at a traffic light, I looked down and was a little terrified to see my right leg touching the exhaust-guards. Then I realized, it did not feel any warmer than the usual heat radiating from the engine... So, no problem there (we had an outside temperature of about 15 degrees C. (60 deg. F.). So I can not judge, how it is in the middle of summer!). The two pipes do not protrude too much on the side, so for me it also was no issue comfortwise.
Peter also did not mention anything in the negative about the exhausts. So I am pretty sure, he was fine with them as well.

He still has the bike until Monday, next week...
We will keep you all posted about further impressions

Cheers!

(Just saw that you live in Arizona; I went to school in New Mexico (Las Cruces) for a while in 1991 and I would assume that this bike should be lots of fun on the many dirt-roads that you can enjoy in the desert!)

 

You definitely have a point there. But I stopped judging people for the (sometimes ridiculous) amounts they spend for this and that.
Take synthesizers for example: people spend 4000,-£ for a vintage machine that constantly detunes itself
while they could get the same quality for the fraction of this price tag... (without the name and the flair that comes with it...)

BUT Peter and I both agreed: While the Scrambler costs about 13.000,-€ and the Husky merely 5300,-
they are both equally fun to ride.
I think it is really great, that we as customers can decide. The offered products are almost overwhelming at the moment...

Oh, and something else: there really is a way the market regulates itself: the cafe racer version of my Husky (the Vitpilen aka White Arrow) was tagged with 6300€ at the start. Now it sells brand new for 4300€ !!!


People chose the KTM Duke 390 (same engine) in most cases and in general have a problem with the design in Germany compared to e.g. Italy, Spain, New Zealand etc.
We are quite conservative here, and this design definitely is not

 

Peter is testing her the hard way...
I bugged out today. Too feckin wet

 

Today (Friday) we took off with 3 bikes and 4 blokes

We started as rain-men once again but after a Coffee-Shop-Break, the weather gods were kind to us.
And again we had a swell time. It is really a pleasure to be overtaken by the Scrambler with its‘ growling sound.
The new boots are warm and dry as well and so you can even enjoy adverse weather conditions, but whom am I telling this... !?

Greetings!