Myself, I was around when a scrambler bike was advertised back in the early 70s(everything worth-your-while was and still is, from this time frame) and I'm not sure either if I get it or not ... I just remember that every scramble bike I saw from then had 2 high pipes (chrome?) coming out the back ... It was like "that's a scrambler"... didn't really matter anything else ... I'm just building off what was stated above and trying to git-it also.... You might have to go with me just a little here, and maybe even go back a couple decades, but look at the bike in this pic (forget that low pipe that we know is there but unseen) ... Is this sort of a scrambler bike attitude?
Air cooled 800 and tips the scales at 400lbs. Clearly not light weight even though the article says it is. Ducati was not supposed to release any more air cooled motors but that's changed. Found a writeup... http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/motorcycles/2015/2015-Ducati-Scrambler-Icon.htm The Triumph hits the nail well appearance wise as did many who took the bikes and lightened, made the pipes and made them dirt worthy. The above article goes on to define Scrambler... Sure a mix of what's needed to meet the end needs. Road, dirt, hill climbs, etc... But 400lbs is a non starter IMO. Fashion statement apparently. Bring the displacement and weight down and make it Scramblerable, ie.. 20 miles down some dirt roads, a loop around the dirt track, pick up that quart of milk and a couple of steaks downtown and head home the way you came. I like this approach with this old boxer... In fact finding an old 650 Boxer and doing exactly what this person did would make an awesome bike. and just found this Not a Scrambler...
The Triumph scrambler looks cool looks cool, but watching David Beckham hill climb or loading three scramblers in and out of a boat on the Amazon convinced me that these modern versions are way too heavy and impractical for adventuring. Wish he would have known about the CCM GP450 and got CCM to lend him prototypes!
I've been taking a serious look at these bikes and I'm kinda torn between the Scramblers and an adventure bike. I started a new thread so not to hijack this one.
Scramblers get to it for a thorough testing.... http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/s...&dom=fb#ooid=FhNnBydjrKih7BHO-PY6qbs48qPoB5Eu
Here's some numbers on the sales .. Ducati sold 7,400 motorcycles in June, a 60 percent increase over the same month last year. And through the first half of the year, the company increased sales by 22 percent to a record 32,600 motorcycles delivered. While Ducati is pleased with those results, Domenicali says the company is not looking to increase sales volume to a specific number: ``We are not targeting to go 100,000 motorcycles.'' This year's sales include 9,000 deliveries of the Scrambler, a new retro-styled brand aimed at customers who may not have traditionally considered buying a Ducati. Some enthusiasts have been critical of the laidback Scrambler _ complete with its own yellow logo and line of clothing and accessories _ as a departure from the Ducati's racing roots. The Scrambler's 75 horsepower, for example, is just a fraction of the 205 horsepower erupting from Ducati's top-of-the-line Panigale 1299 S superbike. Read more at: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
Sales are excellent locally and price point is also excellent. Funny that the horsepower is excellent too for the air cooled motor and to read that "some enthusiasts have been critical" just seems to dismiss where Ducati came from and what horsepower is really needed on 2 wheels. My car has 200hp.
