Triumph Scrambler 400 X First Ride Review: True Blue Scrambler

Before ADVs, there were scramblers, unlocking new territories for bikers to conquer. Britishers took roadsters and made them dirt ready and went scrambling. And true to its British roots, Triumph has done the same here with the Scrambler 400 X. It took the Speed 400 and made it more purposeful and rugged. So lets answer the seemingly simple question, is this Scrambler the right adventure motorcycle for your garage?

A Beefed Up Roadster?

When Triumph and Bajaj did set out to create this new platform, the intention was to use the majority of the same parts across the board with few minor tweaks to suit each bike’s intention. Hence, you will find the same chassis, same subframe, same fuel tank, lighting elements and the same engine here on the Scrambler as you do on the Speed. But everything here is a bit more curated to take on harsher terrain.

For starters, the headlight gets a protective grille. There are rubberised tank grips. It gets a split seat setup with a lovely ribbed texture. To make it capable of going rough roading, the chassis is beefed up. There’s a side number plate, just like the scrambler racers of the past. An aluminium bash plate is standard, so that you don’t scrub its belly.

As a whole, you are getting a bike that looks a lot more substantial and solid. It might not be quite as stunning or beautiful as the Speed 400 but that’s no biggie. You will be pleased that the quality standards haven’t dropped here. So, it definitely gives off that meaty persona that scramblers should. And this is just exemplified the moment you hop on to the bike.

Commanding Presence

Longer travel suspension, larger front wheel and changes to the chassis make for an intentful and commanding stance, one that dares you to take on any obstacle. The controls on the wider steel handlebar are well positioned and you have ample leverage to flick the Scrambler from one side to the other quickly. And because one can get rid of the rubber insert in a jiffy, the clawed foot pegs provide extra traction while dirty dancing.

Yes, on paper the saddle height is tall at 835 mm and shorter riders might be a bit hesitant. But if you pick up just a few simple skills along the way, there’s no reason for you to feel this to be daunting at all.

Despite this being a short 250 km ride, I wasn’t feeling any bum soreness as I did with the Speed 400. The extra padding and roomier seat does a fine job of keeping you settled in the saddle and thanks to the tank grips, you can straddle the bike well and not slide back and forth continuously.

More Settled

The new 398cc single motor puts out the same 39.5 bhp and 37.5 Nm. It has to lug around a bit more weight here, 9 kilos more to be precise. Hence, in order to keep the engine still as lively, Triumph has played around with the sprockets, lowering one tooth at the engine side. As a result, it should technically be just as peppy. But is it?

Not as much. The extra heft (185 kg) does come into play here as the Scrambler builds up speed in a rather controlled manner. It isn’t boring or flat, but just not that thrilling. It is something that makes riding fast a little controlled for riders of all skill levels. What is more delightful, especially for the tourers, is just how much easier it sits at 100-110 kmph. The vibes are far more controlled and it seems like it will do those speeds all day long. You do feel it to be gruff when rolling through the gears. So on the versatility front, it definitely scores higher than its roadster sibling.

Even though it is heavier, Triumph claims the fuel efficiency of the Scrambler 400 X is just 1 kmpl less than the Speed at 28 kmpl. We will be finding out exactly how much it does when we get it for a proper test but we managed to do around 250 km through the shoot and there was still some fuel left in the tank.

Happy To Lean

Suspension travel at both ends has been bumped up to 150 mm. You get a larger 19-inch front wheel. It rolls on block pattern MRF Nylogrip Kurve rubber and it has a larger front disc. Plus, Triumph has been smart. It has sharpened the steering but increased the trail, so as to reduce steering effort. The ground clearance has shot up. How has that affected its handling?

The most stellar part of the Scrambler is the way it takes the bends. It isn’t sharp but still very confident. Once you get the hang of it, it is precise and composed, allowing you to carry some serious lean angles to the point you start scraping the footpeg feelers. And this is phenomenal considering it is running a larger 19-inch front wheel. You might feel it to be a bit vague at first but trust the bike and it will delight you thoroughly. This is something similar to what we’ve felt with the Suzuki V-Strom SX. Also, not to forget doing typical scrambler hooning stuff like wheelies and goon cornering is a rather joyful and rewarding experience.

What remains a letdown are the brakes. I expected it to be better than the Speed because of the larger 320mm rotor but it in fact feels a bit more subdued. You have to go harder at the levers to slow it down rapidly. This is a shame as that sort of holds you back from riding the bike hard and fast and to its full potential. Thankfully, the ABS calibration for tarmac duties is on point and doesn’t give you any sort of scares.

One of the reasons why the Scrambler is a great handler is because of the taut suspension setup. It isn’t firm or jarring in any manner, you just feel it to have a sharper edge over smaller imperfections. But since it is a scrambler, you can just stand up on the pegs and ride the bump out nicely.

Dirt Capable

When you do take it off tarmac, you see that this intentful stance is equally rewarding while tackling the tricky terrain. And Triumph has made sure that this remains a Scrambler and not an adventure motorcycle. What I mean is that it doesn't feel rather bulky or top-heavy like some ADVs do. It feels fairly neutral and balanced, very planted and it can take on any sort of small rocks and obstacles in its path very well. But you can't expect it to go hardcore trail bashing like you would on say an XPulse 200 or XPulse Pro because then you start to notice the limitations of this format or rather this motorcycle. The 19-inch front wheel and the wide tyres just start to deflect a tad bit. So, if you want a bike that's definitely meant to go just mucking around this does a fantastic job.

You have switchable traction control and switchable ABS at your disposal, increasing its dirt riding capabilities. The latter aid certainly does come in handy when you want to stay in firm control of the bike through a rough spot by stamping on the rear brake, or even just to hoon around.

The feature set on the Scrambler remains the same as the Speed. Hence, there’s no change to the semi-digital console besides the additional menu option for switchable ABS. It is still as easy to navigate and read on the fly with the tacho still making it tricky to figure out the exact revs on the fly. The USB-C port continues to be neatly positioned, making it easy to charge devices on the fly.

Knocked It Out Of The Park

Triumph and Bajaj have once again knocked it out of the park, this Scrambler turning out to be an even more powerful hitter than what I had thought. It is definitely the more India-worthy motorcycle in the Chakan-Hinckley camp and you should definitely consider this bike if you want something that can do it all, something that will take you to remote places, keep you happy on the highway and hopefully be just as fun in the city. And the sweet asking price of Rs 2.63 lakh is just the dessert to sum up this rather sumptuous motorcycle.

What remains to be seen is just how easy it is to live with and what the service and maintenance costs are like, even if the service interval of 1 year or 16,000km are the highest in the class. But we had been crying for a true blue accessible scrambler and Triumph has delivered one brilliantly.