#Scrambler

Within the past week, Ducati has published two videos on its YouTube page teasing two new Scrambler variants: the Cafe Racer and Desert Sled. The first video, published on October 11, teases the Cafe Racer model. The 14-second long video doesn’t reveal too much, obviously, other than a man in a dimly-lit garage standing next to the Cafe Racer, about to install its nicely-styled leather-wrapped seat onto the bike. Seeing as there’s hardly any light in the garage, it’s difficult to make out any features of the new Scrambler. However, the California Air Resources Board has already certified both the Cafe Racer and Desert Sled models, so we know both bikes are based on the standard 803cc Scrambler and not the smaller Sixty2. Given the Cafe Racer name, it’s reasonable to expect lower bars, possibly a solo seat with a cowl over the tail, and street-biased tires on 17-inch wheels instead of the knobs and 18-inch front wheel on the standard Scrambler.

Maybe it’s human nature, but motorcycle publications are constantly trying to determine which bike can lap the fastest, jump the highest, or travel the farthest. Competition is what feeds the beast. Motorcycle.com’s as guilty of it as anyone, and it’s easy to see why: motorcycling has become so segmented these days, with machines designed to satisfy one particular niche. They do it very well, too; sportbikes are insanely advanced, adventure bikes are capable of traversing nearly any terrain, and both cruisers and sport-tourers can pound out miles in two very different, yet also very satisfying, ways. And we haven’t even mentioned streetfighters, nakeds, and standards…

If you’re wanting to spend some quality time with your millennial hipster kid and think some shared motorcycle experiences are the way to do it, but you don’t want to relive your ownership of a Honda CB400, and have the means to afford a shiny new two-wheeler even the youthful bearded crowd will have a hard time pooh poohing, BMW’s new R NineT Scrambler might be for you.

Helen Musselman would never believe in her wildest dreams that Musselman’s Honda, one of the first Honda dealers in America in 1959, would still be around today. But the commitment she and her husband have to the brand – and the brand to them – is one of the reasons Musselman’s Honda is still going strong in its original Tucson, Arizona location.

Yamaha has gotten good use out of its popular Bolt line, giving us the Bolt, the Bolt R-Spec, and the C-Spec. Now, the tuning fork company has recast the Bolt as a Scrambler. The SCR950 shares much with its Bolt brethren. The same engine and frame are used throughout the line. All sport a 19-inch front wheel and a 3.2 gallon tank – though the SCR’s is now seamless. You can bet this change will make it to the remainder of the line at some point. Still, you get the picture. Yamaha built a platform to support a line of models that could be created with minimal change to components and parts manifests in an effort to keep the price of the bikes down. With the MSRP ranging from $7,999 for the base Bolt to $8,699 for the SCR, the strategy appears to be successful.

The SCR950 is the second Yamaha press intro this year offering a re-stylized version of an existing model – the first one being the XSR900 launched a few months ago and reviewed here. With the XSR Yamaha took the laudable FZ-09, dressed it in vintage ’70s attire, and upgraded the bike’s performance with better suspension and some (ironically) modern electronics. For the SCR, Yamaha took the popular Bolt model, stirred in some select features from the C-Spec, added a seamless tank, reimagined it as a Scrambler, and, voila, another très chic neo-retro from circa 1977.

As an industrial designer, one might wonder what took Hugo Eccles so long to blend his profession with his love for motorcycles. Then again, in his 20-year career servicing clients like Ford Motor Company, American Express, TAG Heuer, LG, Olympus, Nike and many more, it’s understandable that maybe he was a wee bit busy with his day job to worry about his hobby.

It took a while for Suzuki to get in on the small-displacement motorcycle market in the U.S., but the company now counts four models punching in under 250cc with the retro-styled VanVan 200 scrambler joining the returning TU250X, GW250 and the previously confirmed DR200S for the 2017 model year.

Back in April we noticed the Star Motorcycles website was being redirected to Yamaha’s website, and we broke news with an official response from Yamaha that its Star Motorcycles brand was being reabsorbed into Yamaha’s street lineup now split into four segments: Sport, Super Sport, Sport Heritage, and Cruiser.

Triumph’s investment in its all-new liquid-cooled engine family continues to pay dividends, with a new Scrambler the latest beneficiary of the parallel-Twin. The prototype seen in these photos reveals several commonalities with the new Street Twin 900 but adds typical scrambler features like a high-level exhaust and wire-spoke wheels with semi-off-roady tires.

It’s always interesting when manufacturers introduce concept models. While concept models can provide a good indication at a company’s design or technological direction, we’re resigned to the fact that most won’t see serial production, no matter how many Futurama “Shut up and take my money!” memes people post on Facebook.

Benelli may now be Chinese-owned but that hasn’t stopped the Italian brand from having a presence in Milan, presenting three new motorcycles at EICMA. Shown here is a new scrambler model called the Leoncino, or “lion cub”, a name that traces back to a line of lightweight Benelli models from the 1950s.

Honda is dipping its toe in the suddenly trendy scrambler waters, introducing a concept model based off of its CB650F and CBR650F platform. The CB Six50 Concept, like the CB4 roadster concept, is a design exercise from Honda R&D Europe presented at EICMA.

Moto Guzzi reached into its past, reviving the name Stornello for its new scrambler. The original Stornello was produced from 1960 to 1974 and was one of the first Italian motorcycles to be modified into a scrambler model capable of light off-road duties.

BMW took the lid off of the R nineT Scrambler we  confirmed last week, and it looks like it may have been worth the wait. Based on the  R nineT first seen in Munich in late 2013, the Scrambler expands upon the potential of the platform.