EpicMale (Doc)
Active Member
The world is looking just great from the saddle of the new Scrambler. After a sixty mile ride this week, I had doubts when my shoulders started aching. I realized I was locked into my riding position like a newbie, waiting for the bike or my abilities to betray me. So I relaxed and the pain departed.
With just 150 miles on the odometer, I've barely scuffed the tires. But as I incrementally push the bike closer to its limits, I'm finding it more and more predictable. Which, of course, is a very good thing. Rough pavement is no longer a promise of physical torture to be revisited continually during subsequent days. Now I'm eyeing 6" curbs and thinking I can rock back and roll up over them with a blip of the throttle without leaving a spare vetebra behind. LOL...
Slow? I expected a severe decrease in performance after moving from a Valkyrie to the Scrambler. But as the engine gets broken in, I'm more and more impressed with the brisk acceleration. A short, moderate throttle, run up through the gears has me at 70mph, easily. Of course the Scrambler is also several hundred pounds lighter than the Valkyrie, so I shouldn't be surprised.
Braking, despite the semi-knobby tires, is not as tricky as I would have thought. Of course my last bike with knobbies was a mid-seventies 350 Yamaha Enduro that was race prepped for motocross. It was VERY tricky on pavement. But the Scrambler, perhaps with the greater weight, doesn't seem to have any of those debits.
So, bottom line, I'm happier with my new Scrambler than I anticipated. I was looking for something to take on short rides for stress relief and to maintain my connection with decades of riding and racing. It seems I got something extra: a great motorcycle that makes me want to get out and see just what I can make it do.
With just 150 miles on the odometer, I've barely scuffed the tires. But as I incrementally push the bike closer to its limits, I'm finding it more and more predictable. Which, of course, is a very good thing. Rough pavement is no longer a promise of physical torture to be revisited continually during subsequent days. Now I'm eyeing 6" curbs and thinking I can rock back and roll up over them with a blip of the throttle without leaving a spare vetebra behind. LOL...
Slow? I expected a severe decrease in performance after moving from a Valkyrie to the Scrambler. But as the engine gets broken in, I'm more and more impressed with the brisk acceleration. A short, moderate throttle, run up through the gears has me at 70mph, easily. Of course the Scrambler is also several hundred pounds lighter than the Valkyrie, so I shouldn't be surprised.
Braking, despite the semi-knobby tires, is not as tricky as I would have thought. Of course my last bike with knobbies was a mid-seventies 350 Yamaha Enduro that was race prepped for motocross. It was VERY tricky on pavement. But the Scrambler, perhaps with the greater weight, doesn't seem to have any of those debits.
So, bottom line, I'm happier with my new Scrambler than I anticipated. I was looking for something to take on short rides for stress relief and to maintain my connection with decades of riding and racing. It seems I got something extra: a great motorcycle that makes me want to get out and see just what I can make it do.
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