At an evening event at the ExCeL in London, Triumph announced two new machines - the Scrambler 1200 XC and the Scrambler 1200 XE. The event was hosted by Steve Parrish and Maria Costello with Paul Stroud (Triumph's Chief Commercial Officer) running through the specifications of the machines.
The machines are effectively a cross between the Street Scrambler and the 1200cc Bonnevilles, but with a frame designed specifically for them they are more than just that with Triumph promising 'Category Dominating Specifications'. You can read the official blurb in the link below, but to summarise:
Twin high level exhausts, Ohlins rear suspension, long-travel aluminium swinging arm, Showa long-travel USD front suspension, Brembo brakes, all LED lighting, side-laced wheels with a 21 inch on the front and tubeless tyres, new frame designed for the Scrambler, integrated GoPro and Sat Nav (when paired with a phone) from a new Triumph phone app.
The Scrambler 1200 XE has longer travel suspension than the XC, and an IMU to give better cornering, ABS, and traction control - plus some styling enhancements.
One thing to note is that these machines feature a new TFT screen - one that doesn't look like a tablet has been grated to the front. It is more of a round display without being too round and fits the style of the bike well. All the machines have keyless ignition and single-button cruise control. The specs are pretty impressive.
The prices are due to be announced on the 14/12/2018.
The launch event itself was pretty good. In a dim lit hall in ExCeL Triumph had set up a stage, a small scrambling track, their merch stand (with the new Scrambler 1200 merchandise lines), several bars, and several food stalls. Within minutes the queue for the bars and food were quite long - but at £5 for a bottle of anything it was a bit pricey.
The event properly started when Steve Parrish and Maria Costello came on stage to introduce the bikes. Explaining that this was taking the heritage of the TR6C, TR6SS, T120C and T120TT Triumph Scramblers of old to a new level, there was a ride past from a restored TR6C which sounded awesome. Then it was the turn of the Scrambler 1200s. Paul Stroud took over presentation duties at this stage. After running through a brief summary of the specs, he announced a 'return to Baja'. Triumph are fielding a factory team to take part in the legendary Baja 1000 desert race in November (2018). Then up on stage came a Scrambler modified for the Baja 1000 ridden by Triumph's factory rider.
The next stage of the event switched to the Scrambler track where teams of two from several different countries took turns in racing Scrambler 1200s against each other. Initially they were a bit... well slow... but with the Italian rider's turn they were pushing a lot more. There were a few spills, some close finishes, and lots of back end sliding. The machines looked impressive, but looked a bit too big for the track. Steve and Maria were commentating from the start line, and Triumph had got Matt Roberts behind the scenes interviewing the team captains on the large screens when there wasn't any racing.
Lastly, to round off the evening, The Amazons played a set which was enjoyed by all. You will probably have seen loads of footage on Facebook - if not, look at your dealer's page as they will probably have something. The event was happening at the end of Triumph's Global Dealer Conference so dealers from all over the world were there as well as invited guests and those who had got free tickets through the online promotions.
It was a good evening - if you get the chance to go to one then take it.
