#scrambler

Ducati says the Nightshift, “whose name immediately evokes the atmosphere of the night, fits into the `Land of Joy’ as the ideal choice for all those looking for an essential and stylish bike at the same time, with a comfortable riding position, also in the company of a passenger and which allows its owner to experiment through customization.”Yours exclusively in Aviator Grey, the Nightshift gets a new flat seat in Cafè Racer style for two. A straight and narrow handlebar is added to the Cafè Racer mirrors, with number plates taken from the Full Throttle. 

When you’re not scrambling to make ends meet or get ahead, it seems like you’re constantly rallying the troops, possibly ’round the flag but usually just trying to instill pep. It’s always something, and both of those things are so ingrained in my psyche that I barely even miss roosting on the track or burning up the backroads. We were less impressed with the all-new Triumph Speed Twin than we expected to be a couple weeks ago, but when SoCal Motorcycles let us swap it out for a new Scrambler 1200 XC, it was love at first ride. Maybe in the ’60s, scramblin’ meant riding around in the desert with McQueen and those guys, but with the current state of infrastructure, now you can interface gnarly terrain without leaving the city. Scrambling is now something you can do every day.

A head-to-head comparison this is not, but rather a showcase of two unique models that blur the lines of what adventure-capable motorcycles can look like. Triumph and Moto Guzzi, motorcycle manufacturers from two very different regions of Europe, both have long storied histories with plenty of ups and downs. The British brand dates back to 1902, two decades before Moto Guzzi began manufacturing in 1921. 

One man’s Scrambler is another man’s cafe racer. What? I don’t really know. Scrambler maybe means something different in Italy, where that nomenclature encompasses entry-level Ducs with off-roady aspirations as well as cafe raceresque ones. What they all have in common is a two-valve per cylinder version of Ducati’s classic air-cooled V-twin, ranging in size from 399 cc all the way up to the 1079 cc of this lovely new 1100 Sport PRO Ducati loaned us for a few days. I’m down. I’ve been a big fan of air-cooled Ducatis since before there were liquid-cooled Ducatis.

Honda officially confirmed the CT125 minibike is going into production as the CT125 Hunter Cub. At the moment, the 2021 Honda CT125 Hunter Cub has only been announced for the Japanese market, where it will be available for 440,000 yen (US$3952).

Scramblers are one of my favorite genres of motorcycles these days. I’ve always been a fan of the retro off-road vibe these types of bikes are centered around. The original scramblers, of course, weren’t off-road machines at all, but rather small street bikes chopped down to the essentials for weight savings and altered for better off-road performance. In this most recent modern era of scramblers, we’ve gone through the same trends seeing “scrambler” styling with little intention of actual off-road use, and just like in the ‘60’s, we are now seeing manufacturers offering these machines with real off-road chops. 

Ducati usually makes a big splash at EICMA, Italy being its home market, of course, but in recent years, Ducati has been moving its product reveals farther and farther ahead of the show, with this year’s launch taking place two weeks ahead of the Milan show.

The Ducati World Premiere held in Italy’s motor valley brought with it the unveiling of a couple of new e-bikes, a new Panigale V2, slightly tweaked Panigale V4s, and the highly anticipated Ducati Streetfighter V4/S. Other models such as the Diavel and Scrambler received additional color options while the Multistrada 1260 family received a new lux trim package aptly named the Grand Tour. Let’s take a closer look at what Ducati calls “new versions” of these existing models. 

I’ve found myself riding in the King of Cool’s tracks more often than I’d realized lately. First, in November while participating in the 50th running of the Lake Elsinore GP, a southern California event McQueen raced in the early ’70s under the alias Harvey Mushman and again, as I jumped the 2019 Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE on the motocross track at Wim Motors Academy this past weekend in southern Portugal. Sure, Steve McQueen may not have jumped the fence in The Great Escape, but there’s no shortage of proof that the actor competed in many off-road races and had an affinity for motorcycles, including the Triumph TR6, a bike many may view as the original scrambler. The latest iteration of Scrambler to hit the market is the new Triumph Scrambler 1200 XC & XE and it will haul the mail, on-road or off, all the while looking the part of a premium modern classic.

Letting the cat all the way out of the bag today after most of it escaped yesterday, Triumph sent us along this actual hard information about its new Scrambler 1200. Two of them in fact: Scrambler 1200 XC & XE.

Triumph held its global dealer conference today, and, because it’s the 2018, photos from the presentation have leaked out on social media. Pictured above is the new 2019 Triumph Speed Twin and below, the 2019 Triumph Scrambler 1200.

Four years ago, said Claudio Domenicali the CEO, Ducati launched its first Scrambler at Intermot here in Koln, which was really like starting a new brand for Ducati. A brand to make Ducati more accessible, and a really successful one so they say, with more than 55,000 units sold since 2015.

Here’s a quick 50-second teaser vid for the upcoming film “Venom,” in which Ducati North America CEO Jason Chinnock explains how the Scrambler reflects the lead character, Eddie, played by Tom Hardy. Does the bike wag the film or vice versa? The bike influences the stunts for sure, says Chinnock. “The bike helps move the action sequences along.” We’ll buy that. Ever since Mike Vaughn made them buy three Kawasaki Ninja 900s, movies have sold a lot of motorcycles.

We already know Triumph is introducing a new 1200cc Scrambler, and the California Air Resources Board has certified a new Speed Twin, and now it looks like the British manufacturer will also be updating its 900cc Street Scrambler and Street Twin for 2019.

I’ve owned class-leading motorcycles with plenty of tech and performance for many years, but my time at Motorcycle.com has taught me how much fun middleweight bikes can be. Like every other member of the staff here, I too get all hot under my leathers waiting for the latest technology to trickle down from MotoGP into production sportbikes or monstrous 1200-plus cc naked bikes that have enough torque to dislocate your arms. But sometimes riding a bike that’s not so extreme can be relieving and an absolute blast to scoot around on.