Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE (2024 – ) review

While other scramblers – Triumph’s included – talk the talk with their trendy retro looks one glance at the Scrambler 1200 XE tells you this is something a bit more serious. Sure, it’s got the round headlight, high-level exhausts and twin shocks you’d expect of a classic scrambler and successfully tugs the same heartstrings. But the towering ride height and amount of exposed stanchion on the long upside-down forks tells you this is built for more than popping out for a flat white from your favoured artisan café. Engine revisions for 2024 release a bit more mid-range torque and, at a glance, it looks much like the previous XE but Triumph has tweaked the spec a little, bringing the price down a nadge by replacing the previous Showa/Öhlins suspension with Marzocchi kit. Whether this matters beyond pose value is something we’ll explore but the XE’s position at the head of Triumph’s Scrambler range remains assured.

Where the new X version is intended to broaden the big Scrambler’s appeal the XE is remains unapologetically more imposing and dirt-optimised. The 870mm seat is 50mm taller than the X and feels it, even your six-foot tester forced onto tip-toes and feeling a long way off the ground for low-speed manoeuvring and pottering around town, the weight adding to the intimidation factor. Once in the seat it’s less of a worry, the upright position giving you great visibility and there being plenty of room to stretch out. Taller bars make it feel natural riding stood up off-road as well. Less of an all-rounder than the X, the XE is more suited to life outside city limits and taller riders unfazed by its size and weight, but is still a comfortable bike to ride all round.

In performance, tech and capability the XE is more than up to matching more modern looking adventure bikes but, inevitably, brings with it some practical compromises. Most obviously there’s nowhere to hide from wind, rain or other discomforts on longer runs, though you can get a bolt-on screen as an accessory that should take some of the sting out of bigger mileages. The size and weight of the bike also means it feels settled and substantial on a cruise so, accepting you’ll not be as sheltered as pals on ‘proper’ adventure bikes, it’s actually a capable long-distance machine. You may have to pack a little lighter, though, the high-level exhausts limiting carrying capacity and nor will it be as comfortable for a pillion. On the plus side you’ll look way cooler (and a little more rugged and windswept) than your GS riding pals so pays your money.

A classic case of the stats only telling half the story, the 90 horsepower and 110Nm on the spec sheet perhaps looking a little modest compared with more contemporary looking adventure bikes but feeling far healthier on the road. A new 50mm throttle body and revised exhaust headers help flexibility for the 2024 Scramblers by releasing those outputs lower in the rev range than before, while also improving breathing when you’re pressing on. True, the engine has its work cut out against the 230kg bulk but the combination of low-end muscle, top end bark and just enough rumble through the grips and seat to entertain mean it’s no hardship flicking up and down the slick, six-speed gearbox and the big Scrambler has the grunt to make A-road overtakes painless and easy. There are rider modes to adjust the throttle response if you want to but we were happy leaving it in the default and cracking on with it. Hauling all that bike up for the corners is no stress either, superbike spec Brembo Stylema radial calipers on twin front discs meaning a confidence-inspiring bite to the lever with plenty of feel as well, these a worthwhile upgrade from the more basic brakes on the X.

With a big 21-inch front wheel, wide bars and that bump-gobbling 250mm of suspension travel there’s nothing shy or retiring about the Scrambler 1200 XE, the physicality of its character rewarding riders of an equivalent mindset and build. Not that it feels unwieldy, the bike turning in positively while suitably entertaining and confidence inspiring on roads both open and twisty. But you need to be deliberate in your inputs to make the most out of it. While the Marzocchi forks manage to avoid plunging through their travel under braking and it feels like there’s decent mid-stroke support if you’re expecting a magic carpet ride you may be a little disappointed at the noticeable small bump harshness. Inevitably weight transfers play a bigger part of the riding experience than on the shorter travel X as well, to the point where the unweighted rear can lose grip sooner than you might expect, pitter patter bumps like the cobbles we rode over more than the damping could cope with and almost bringing us to a halt as the traction control cut power. In fairness you can switch to one of the off-road modes with their looser traction control settings in such situations and a fiddle with the adjustors on both fork and rear suspension units may smooth off some of those rougher edges, which is something we’d have explored with longer on the bike. The suspension makes more sense off-road, and we enjoyed a long blast over the moors where the XE happily gobbled lumps, potholes and compressions with ease albeit on some relatively gentle ground. While you might think it a bit fancy to be thrashing about off road we’ve seen plenty of owners riding them with knobblies and a coating of mud, proving there is real all-terrain cred behind the trendy looks.

While some of the bits are a little less fancy than before the reduction in starting price is welcome, and the big Scrambler’s increased accessibility is to be applauded. At the time of writing if you’d prefer a 2023 model year XE with the fancier Öhlins rear suspension units Triumph still lists it and at a pretty keen price, which could be a win-win. In running cost terms no Scrambler 1200 is going to be a bargain, the weight, power and way it makes you ride likely more demanding of consumables like chains, brake pads and the rest.

Triumph’s parallel twins are proven 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 the fundamentals are well proven, and we’d hope as dependable as before. Having said that our test bike did flag up a warning light to say ABS and traction control were not functioning on one trip, though this disappeared when we turned the bike back on and it didn’t happen again.

With its relatively understressed engine and burly build the Scrambler 1200 XE can rack up big mileages between services and, like other Triumphs, the intervals are 10,000 miles or – more likely – annual. 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 years is an option at any point within the first 18 months of ownership.

For all the classic looks the Scrambler 1200s are modern bikes underneath, and the XE has all the electronic aids you’d hope for including cornering ABS and traction control. These adapt according to which mode you select, the XE getting an additional Off-Road Pro mode over those offered on the X and meaning you can run with traction control and ABS fully disengaged for maximum control in the loose. We didn’t ride after dark to test the theory but the XE apparently has backlit controls the X doesn’t get. The XE also has a fancier TFT based screen contained within a retro circular casing but, to be honest, we preferred the simpler and more analogue one on the X – the graphics on this unit are a bit fiddly to read at a glance and it’s hard to see the information in direct sunlight as well. Beyond all this 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 a tank painted in anything other than the basic black.

The 1200 XE is a convincing riposte to anyone who thinks retro scramblers are all style over content, the Triumph having the looks and charisma to win you over but backing this up with unexpected off-road credibility and a surprising amount of modern tech. It’s a big, heavy and fancy looking bike to be chucking around off road but it seems there are owners out there enjoying this capability to the full to which we say fair play! If that’s what you want out of a scrambler then fill your boots but if you’re not going to be getting the tyres muddy the X version has all the looks in a more manageable package friendlier in more everyday riding situations.