Street scramblers

[Fire-medic]

Looks like many manufacturers are realizing that few people are riding to Pantagonia, Darien Gap, or Mongolia, but lots are riding to Starbuck's, Wild Wings, and the local grocery store much more frequently.

So, while many like the idea of riding to far-off places, they can make better use of a street scrambler, like the bikes from BMW, Ducati, and now, Triumph.

Here's the Triumph:

This frontal close-up just hits on so-many style notes that it's a perfect appearance:

Fork gaiters, the Triumph/BSA "Zener diode" under the steering head, shapely headlight nacelle and its supports, the 'jewel' inside the lens center, the bare fork downtube between a top and bottom triple tree...

And we know about the Ducati 800 cc bikes, 'Scramblers' in different flavors, all having something of the street tracker appearance while allowing a rider to choose the appearance which best represents his personal style, though the running gear is essentially the same. Easily customizable:

And the new BMW R nine T GS:

I dunno about you, but these reasonably-priced bikes look like a lot of fun for not a lot of $, and they remind me about my first ride, a Honda CL77 Scrambler:

This isn't mine, but I had one very similar, in orange, painted by a friend in Battle Creek MI who owned a body shop.

 

[Rollie]

First bike I rode on the street in 1967

 

[dannymax]

Love that old school styling....gators especially.

No idea why BMW stuck that red seat on the R nine T....it goes with absolutely nothing on the bike except the tail light!! :confused2:

 

[caseyjones955]

Boxers are great, love the BMW, also a soft spot for Triumph. All fantastic looking machines. I would think for someone that had a high percentage of city riding it would be perfect. Not only do they have great character and retro appeal but they look so light and flickable.

 

[SpecOps13]

Great Stuff, Had the Honda 305 Scrambler once upon a time...

 

[Fire-medic]

THe reason the BMW has a red seat is that the R80 GS that started the BMW on/off-road series had a red seat. I'm not sure of the exact date that BMW released it but I'll hazard a guess and say 1982. I'm lazy today, someone else can look up the orignal release date.

 

[dannymax]

Wikipedia says 80 - 87 and yup....got the same seat. I wanted to take an R nine T for a little cruise while they were servicing my XR but ended up falling asleep in the lounge chair! :blink000:

Speaking of lazy.....................:biglaugh:

 

[Kronx]

I'm a fan of Triumphs. I also think Yamaha made a slick little bike in the Bolt.