Triumph Scrambler 1200 X (2024 – ) review

Cynics may sniff at scramblers being style over content but Triumph’s 1200s have genuine capability under the retro looks, and a much more serious set-up than the Bonneville derived 900. Clues to this come with the longer-travel upside down forks and modern brakes, and while the rear end is still an old-school twin-shock set-up it’s an aluminium swingarm using higher quality rear suspension units (RSUs) than you get on a 900. Changes for this 2024 model focus on the 1200 X you see here, which replaces the previous XC for more distance between this entry 1200 and the XE top model with its proper off-road suspension and fancier trimmings. Compared with the XC the suspension travel has been reduced and the previous adjustable Showa forks and Ohlins RSUs swapped out for slightly more cost-conscious Marzocchi items. Which sounds like a backward step, the flipside being the more road-optimised set-up will suit riders who wouldn’t have gone off-road anyway, the starting price has been reduced by £800 or so and rider aids like cornering ABS and traction control that were previously only on the XE are now on this X as well.

Like the XE the previous XC was a somewhat intimidating looking machine, the long-travel suspension meaning an imposing stature liable to scare off those not interested in going off-road. Which makes some sense of Triumph’s creation of a more all-round option for the 1200 range, perhaps closer in spirit to the Scrambler 900. For context the 820mm seat height is 20mm lower than the XC it replaces and a whole 50mm less than the XE. There’s even a low seat option that brings it down to within a whisker of the Scrambler 900 if you're shorter in the leg. Even in standard form the new X feels lower and less scary than you might expect, the riding position tall and upright without being too stretched out. Great for visibility over the hedges on the lanes and when filtering through traffic alike, though the wide bars may limit your bravery on the latter. Comfortable and confidence inspiring, it feels like the X opens the 1200 range up to a much wider audience than before, which can only be a good thing.

The retro look means no weather protection and, perhaps, a limitation to how far you’d want to go on the Scrambler. The signature high-level exhausts may look cool but also limit how much luggage you can carry, though the accessories range does include a full set of single pannier, tank bag and tail bag with a total of 72 litres of carrying capacity, an additional grab rack and roll bag also available. You won’t be touring two-up on it but with this, some handguards and the taller of the two flyscreen options you could put the miles in with reasonable comfort. All the while looking way more hipster than your mates on adventure bikes, if such things matter to you!

90 horsepower and 110Nm of torque may not sound all that impressive factored against the 228kg bulk of the Scrambler, but sometimes performance is as much about context as it is numbers. It certainly feels a big step up from the Scrambler 900 we rode previously, which was pleasant but needs winding out to the throttle stop to really make progress. With a third more power but only another five kilos to carry the 1200 is in a different league entirely, the brawny engine flexible enough to dismiss in-gear overtakes with ease and your point-to-point pace noticeably quicker on all kinds of roads. Parallel twins may be the dominant engine format these days and, perhaps, not the most charismatic in more modern bikes. But Triumph’s is a beaut, with a gruff bark to match the muscular power delivery and the sense it has the power to do the looks justice. Sure, there are faster bikes out there. But the flexibility of the extra power just makes life easier and more entertaining in every respect over the 900, ditto the fact the gearbox is a six-speed over the five-speed on the smaller bike while retaining the easy clutch action of before. Brakes, meanwhile, are another area Scrambler spotters will identify costs have been trimmed, the XC’s radially mounted Brembos replaced by less fancy axial Nissins. If you ride hard you may feel the difference but at the relaxed pace we were going there still felt to be plenty of bite, lever feel helped by Triumph’s fitment of braided hoses as standard.

We’ll be riding the new XE soon for a sense of comparison but, in isolation, the shorter travel suspension of the new X is its dominant characteristic and makes it a more wieldy road bike. You still have the big 21-inch front wheel for that classic off-roader balance, and there’s sufficient squish at both ends that you need not live in fear of potholes, speed bumps and other such hazards as you might on a similarly engined Speed Twin 1200 or Bonneville T120. Which takes some of the stress out of riding the lanes less travelled the Scrambler encourages, tubeless wire wheels neatly combining modern convenience with trad looks. On faster roads you need a decisive heave on the bars to turn it in but the fact there’s less pitching and diving on and off the throttle means the X can carry respectable pace when needed and rarely feels wallowy. True, there’s no longer the adjustment you had on the previous XC and the Marzocchi forks and RSUs are perhaps a grade down in terms of fanciness. But it’s still way more plush and considerably more capable than the more defiantly retro 900, and encouraging of a modern pace of riding.

While some of the bits are a little less fancy than before the reduction in starting price is welcome, and increases the sense Triumph has made a decisive effort to make a more accessible big Scrambler. It’s never going to be a cheap bike, though, and the weight and power are going to make it a little more demanding of consumables like chains, brake pads and the rest.

Triumph’s parallel twins are proven and relatively unstressed engines, and used across a wide range of bikes in its Modern Classics family. While there have been some detail tweaks to the engine to improve response (peak power and torque now come a fraction lower in the rev range) the fundamentals are well proven, and we’d hope as dependable as before.

Given its remit a Scrambler is unlikely to be a high-mileage bike, though it’s perfectly capable of such and more usable than some of the more retro models in the Modern Classics range. So, if you do daily it and rack up the miles commuting or on long road trips you’ll be reassured service intervals only come round every 10,000 miles once you’ve got through the initial break-in period. Triumph’s warranty is an industry standard two years but if you want to protect ongoing value paying to extend it by up to two additional years is an option at any point within the first 18 months of ownership.

The addition of an IMU and, with it, cornering ABS and traction control is a welcome new feature for the entry-level Scrambler 1200 and underlines the fact that for all the classic looks this is, at heart, a modern motorcycle. True, you still need to go for the XE if you want the bells-and-whistles full TFT screen, the X getting a simpler and more cost-effective set-up with five rider modes rather than the six of the top model. Which is fine, because you probably wouldn’t be needing the XE’s Off-Road Pro setting on the X anyway. Beyond that your friendly Triumph dealer will inevitably be steering you towards the accessories, and you’re unlikely to escape entirely unscathed given useful stuff like heated grips and an auxiliary power socket are all cost options, as is paint in anything other than the standard grey seen here.

Style will doubtless be the main motivating factor for choosing a scrambler of any type, but Triumph’s 1200s back that up with substance and capability to match modern adventure bikes and set them apart from more defiantly retro rivals. Purists may sniff but the rest of us can just appreciate a bike that has the classic looks but modern conveniences. This more road-optimised X makes sense as well, given there was perhaps not enough separating the previous XC from the top of the range XE and it now means there is a big Scrambler for folk less fussed about letting rip in the rough. Those with longer memories may recall the ‘Street Scrambler’ badge once used on the 900, something this new 1200 X seemingly revives in spirit if not name and creates a welcome, and more accessible, option. All-in-all perhaps the most all-round 1200 Scrambler yet, and a fair swap for the loss of some of the previous XC’s fancier trimmings.