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Earlier this year, Triumph announced that they would be releasing a Scrambler 1200 that is "truly amazing off-road." The global unveil was set for tomorrow, Oct. 24, at Triumph’s dealer show in London. Unfortunately, no one seemed to tell all of the dealer personnel in attendance, because earlier today Instagram was flooded with photos of the new Triumph Scrambler 1200.
I was tipped off to the leak by my fellow off-road Triumph aficionado, Steve Kamrad. Between the two of us, we have racked up nearly 45,000 miles on our respective Tigers. Nearly all of which stemmed from off-road abuse. So we were both interested to see exactly what Triumph has up their sleeves with this new Scrambler 1200.
At this point, we know enough to start piecing together at least a few answers to our questions about this bike.
It looks like there will be at least two new Scrambler 1200 models for 2019, an XC and an XE. What I am having a hard time figuring out is the differences between the two versions. From the slide I have seen, it looks like both versions will share some decently impressive hardware.
For starters, the front wheel is a 21-inch spoked rim. This is a true off-road size compared to the 19-inch hoop found on most Scrambler models. There is no word of the rear wheel size, but I can only hope it’s an 18-inch wheel for more off-road tire options than a 17-inch rim would provide.
It looks like these bikes will be wearing Pirelli Scorpion tires as the stock offering. From what I can tell, they look to be the street-biased MT90AT Enduro version of the Scorpions, not the more off-road focused Rally STR tires. I’d love for Triumph to go the route of BMW and KTM and just offer TKC80s as a stock offering.
The details on the suspension are fuzzy, but it looks like both bikes will get a fully adjustable Öhlins rear shock and a fully adjustable long-travel Showa fork up front. This is a departure from the WP suspension that has become the normal off-road option on the Tiger XC line.
The bikes will be slowed down by twin, radial-mount Brembo M50 monoblock calipers up front. These are the same brakes used to slow the track-oriented Street Triple RS. No word yet as to the specific electronics packages, but the dash looks to be an all-new digital style that mimics the look of an analog unit. I would expect to see Triumph’s “off-road” ABS as an option. This allows for ABS to be disabled at the rear wheel while staying active at the front.
It looks like the one difference between the two bikes will be the dirt-oriented folding foot controls. Apparently, the XE will get adjustable hardware while the XC will not.
I am assuming both bikes will get the same 1200 engine. Most likely a variation (if not the exact same engine) that is found in the current T-120. Remember, that bike utilizes the High Torque version of Triumph’s 1200 plant whereas the Thruxton has a specific High Output version with a focus on top-end horsepower.
While I am not sure if it’ll be “truly amazing off-road,” the rumor is that Triumph is planning on putting its money where its mouth is. They are planning on running one of these at the 2018 Baja 1000 next month. I think that alone says a lot about their intentions for this bike and the types of roads it should be able to handle.
I still have a lot of questions surrounding this bike. These photos and stats have definitely piqued my interest. I look forward to reading the official press release tomorrow and I am even more excited to ride this thing when it’s released.
