Triumph Scrambler 900 (2023 - ) review

While the Bonneville breeding is clear enough and acknowledged with the branding on the single round clock the Scrambler has long spread its wings and come to define a whole genre of bikes off the back of the reborn Scrambler 865 back in 2006. The switch to a new generation with more modern water-cooling in 2017 and then update to Euro 5 engines in 2021 have simply refined the formula, this rebranded Scrambler 900 coming with little more than a new name and some fresh colour options. At its core it remains, basically, a Street Twin with high-level exhausts, conventional forks with signature rubber dust covers and twin rear shocks. If it ain’t broke, and all that.

Road-oriented suspension travel means a sub-800mm seat height, opening Scrambler ownership to those for whom the ‘big’ 1200s sit too high. Which is good news for shorter riders, or beginners seeking a less intimidating looking machine. Credit due, though, because Triumph has also kept it roomy enough for taller riders not to feel like they’re riding a ‘junior’ bike. Tempting though the 1200s may be there’d be no shame in going for the 900 if you just wanted something more road friendly for commuting, Sunday ride-outs or exploring the kind of lanes and smaller roads you’d not be taking on a bigger, more powerful bike. The upright riding position gives a good view for filtering through traffic as well, the bars wide enough for easy control without limiting the kind of gaps you can go for.

As a naked retro bike you’re not getting much in the way of weather protection, but that’s fine for the kind of riding you’d use the Scrambler for and its performance up to the speeds where such things matter. The raised exhausts mean you can only run one pannier, which Triumph sells as an official accessory and looks rather natty and in keeping with the whole trendy Scrambler image. And image is, let’s face it, a big part of the appeal. A top box just wouldn’t look right, after all. The only real limitation is a lack of range, the need to fill up every 100 miles meaning your routes and breaks are as much dictated by the bike’s need for fuel as yours for tea and another bacon sarnie. Which is fine if you’re just mooching, but can be a pain if you’re out for a day’s riding and looking to cover some ground.

Let’s call it quality rather than quantity in terms of performance, the parallel-twin unlikely to set your pants on fire with its modest 65 horsepower, and definitely more comfortable up to 60mph than beyond it. But it’s all about the way it gets there, and the grin it puts on your face doing so. Even on standard pipes it sounds pretty fruity, and the torquey power delivery makes it super flexible, willing to pull from any gear and not limited by the fact there are only five in the box to play with. Third and fourth do for pretty much any situation, though it’s so fun to blip your way up and down the ‘box you’ll likely put a few extra shifts in just for the hell of it. The power is such you’ll find yourself winding it out to the stop more than you might on a bigger bike, but the fact you can enjoy more of the 900’s performance more of the time is more satisfying than frustrating. And means the single Brembo up front is plenty to be going on with. Younger riders can, meanwhile, buy in restricted A2 licence compliant trim for upgrade at the appropriate time, as required.

In Scrambler style the 900 gets a bigger front wheel, though in this case it’s only a 19-inch rather than the 21-inch on the more off-road oriented 1200s. Even through the wide, high bars it needs a more meaningful tug to tip it into the turns than a more road-optimised machine but this physicality is all part of the fun and you quickly appreciate the sense of neutrality and friendliness. This doesn’t come at the expense of handling as the speeds increase, either, the Scrambler 900 nailing a real sweetspot of chuckability, predictability and fun. If less sophisticated than the long-travel suspension on the 1200s the basic fork and twin rear shocks are up to the job on the road and the kind of speeds you’ll be doing. True, if you really want to go off the beaten track you’ll quickly reach its limits, a theory we tested with a few cobbled shortcuts and gravelly tracks. For bombing about town or rides out down the lanes the 900 nails a really nice balance, though.

Although, as mentioned, the range between fills is on the limited side you won’t be spending much when you do stop, a brim-to-brim measure on an enthusiastically ridden cross-country blast still scoring us a ‘true’ 57mpg. So, running costs should be reasonable. And with the smaller engine insurance and the rest should be more reasonable for the younger or newer riders the 900 will appeal to. The mechanical simplicity and understressed power delivery shouldn’t put too much strain on the chain, brakes or tyres either.

Like the Trident 660 we swapped out of the Scrambler’s fuel gauge had an alarming habit of reading as totally empty when switched on for the first time after a couple of days. It soon ‘came back’ after a minute or two but it might give you a scare if you’re setting off for work and hadn’t factored in time for a fuel stop. Other than that nothing went wrong over the period we had it, and Triumph is building enough of these parallel-twin Modern Classics that if there were any inherent weaknesses with the engine we’d know about it by now.

Standard stuff, here, with a two-year warranty on the bike you can extend by another year or two at extra cost if you do so within the first 18 months of ownership. The fact this is transferrable if you sell the bike might make it worth considering if resale value matters to you. After the usual 500-mile initial service maintenance intervals are 10,000 miles, meaning more time enjoying your bike on the road than having it seen to at the dealership.

The no-frills, no-nonsense vibe of the Scrambler 900 is all very appealing. Suffice to say, if you want TFT screens and read-outs for every bit of information look elsewhere, the traditional round clock housing a small display at the bottom for basic info you scroll through from the controller on the left grip. There are Rain and Road rider modes, plus an off-road mode you can select at a standstill that disables the traction control and ABS if you do choose to chance it in the rough. Beyond that the Triumph accessories catalogue awaits to tempt you with all manner of extras to help your Scrambler hit the hipster high notes, including fly screens, the aforementioned side pannier, uprated Fox rear shocks and any number of branded trim bits. If not a cheap bike to start with there are, suffice to say, many and various ways to make your Scrambler even more spendy.

There are faster bikes you’d choose for white knuckle thrills, and more practical bikes for just getting around on. The Scrambler, meanwhile, is one of those bikes you’d clap eyes on when going to the garage or shed for something unrelated and just want to fire up simply for the hell of it, and the grin it’ll plaster on your face. Thank the combination of charismatic looks and engine note for that, the mix of classic vibes with modern convenience built on foundations of timeless style and solid build quality. It’s also very easy to get along with, thanks to the manageable size, easy-going controls and confidence-inspiring handling. There are now plenty of scrambler style bikes in the market, some with more performance and others with sharper, more road-friendly handling. But for its all-round blend Triumph has really hit the sweet spot here.