mudhen's scrambler

[aeronca]

say brother mudhen, i saw you bashing through the water on your scrambler and it looked pretty capable, how do you like it? im really concidering trading the steamer in for one.

[Stretch]

Scramblers have carbs, you know.

:mrgreen:

[aeronca]

i know - i know, but i would only have to deal with two :lol:

[Stretch]

And properly maintaining a new bike is way easier than trying to undo a previous owner's neglect.

[aeronca]

the only bad deal is that my '95 is so friggin cool. i've had my share o bikes but none as fun or cool looking(except for my hodaka) as the steamer. just toying with the idea. you have to admit there (the scrambler) pretty cool also. i sat on one the other morning, and couldnt believe how small it was.

[Stretch]

Well, that's my issue... the size.  I raised my Tiger's seat an extra inch and a quarter above the tallest factory setting, and I can still flat-foot it with my knees slightly bent.

I have a friend who just bought a new Scrambler a couple months ago, and he loves it.  He traded in some sort of H-D Fat Glide Wide Electra Dyna Boy.  I imagine the Scrambler feels quite a bit different for him as well.

[aeronca]

do you know if they have bags for that thing? i also think a dual headlight kit from baja designs would look wicked good on it.

[Stretch]

I dunno.  My bud doesn't have bags on his.  He's in his early 70's and just day-trips around the immediate area for a couple hours at a time.

[Mudhen]

It's a different animal than the Steamer, that's for sure.  Here's a quick list off the top of my head:

Way shorter, like you said.  Smaller in every way.  I can easily lean it over in the dirt and spin donuts on it.  I can turn it around on the trail when I need to...I don't sweat profusely at the thought that any trail is a one way ticket.  I haven't dropped it yet...and I've been on trails that I would have definitely dropped the Tiger...but my feet are down on the ground to stop the weight before the weight gets moving.  It's an absolute joy off road, actually.  I'm guessing the 4" of suspension travel may affect the 'rippers' in the world...but doesn't seem to make any difference to me.

The air intake is about 3" off the ground (slight exaggeration).  That needs addressing before spring, if I still own it then.

I get about 45mpg on it.  That's at 80mph with the stock 18t sprocket or 70mph with the 16t I use in the dirt (10 minute change - no foolish cover like our bikes).

My legs get cramped during my 65 mile commute to work and I'm only I'm 5'9".

The lack of any sort of weather protection drops the temperature about 10 degrees - 30f seems more like 20f or less on the tiger.

The smooth air is absolutely amazing to me.  I can use my Arai XD without any buffeting...unlike the Tiger or my old GSs.  But even though I can put up with the nakedness, I don't consider it a long distance adventure bike.  I just don't think I'd be able to put up with the wind day after day on the road.

The bike doesn't get knocked around by the wind too bad, though...since it's still pretty heavy.

It's not the dog that you'd expect it to be with 65hp.  But it's most definitely not a triple.

People love it.  They stop and ask me how long it took me to restore it.  A guy said to me at a gas station, 'hey, your light is on...I know how quick those batteries go dead on those old things'.  I told him it was a 2006 and he should STFU and mind his own business...(only kidding of course...I thanked him politely and turned off the key).  Off road people stare in amazement...

[Mudhen]

Oh ya...bags.  None that I know of.  Some people have fabbed up hoops to keep soft bags off the exhaust...but I haven't seen any hard bags for it yet.  I think that will be tough with the exhaust sticking so far out.

The exhaust gets hot, btw.  Some people say they don't feel it, but I feel it - even through pants, riding pants, and the 3 layers of shielding on it.  My Gerbing controller is melted as are some of the straps on my tankbag...anything that touches it behind the shields is a goner...

[Advwannabe]

Sounds like you are not completely sure you are going to keep it. I was hoping this would work out for you as I'm not keen on KTMs or BMtroubleyous.

Australian Road Rider is doing a group test next month with the scrambler, F650, KLR650, wee strom and DR650. Should be interesting.

[aeronca]

you alway's make your bikes look soooo sexy,or are they manly?  if you were my neighbor you would be my best friend, and we could hang out and i could ride your bikes all the time. :D  but seriously, i really dig the scrambler. you dont find it underpowered at  all?  i mean i would'nt want to jump over a barbed wire fence with it, but i would expect it to pull it self around the back country with out too much effort. but with that said my tiger is kind of a pig off road.  i dont know dude, i like it and think you should keep it, and put on a really cool dual headlight set-up on it from baja designs. are you going to put some hand gaurds on it?       eric

[Mudhen]

you alway's make your bikes look soooo sexy,or are they manly?  if you were my neighbor you would be my best friend, and we could hang out and i could ride your bikes all the time. :D  but seriously, i really dig the scrambler. you dont find it underpowered at  all?  i mean i would'nt want to jump over a barbed wire fence with it, but i would expect it to pull it self around the back country with out too much effort. but with that said my tiger is kind of a pig off road.  i dont know dude, i like it and think you should keep it, and put on a really cool dual headlight set-up on it from baja designs. are you going to put some hand gaurds on it?       eric

The underpowered thing is a tough one.  Underpowered for having fun on the street?  I guess, although I don't do much street riding other than commuting.  I get on the Tiger after a few days on the Scrambler and watch out (actually, my license should watch out).  But off road it's fine...plenty of torque to get the job done.  Dropping the front sprocket a couple teeth is much better, but it's still a little too high for me (of course, I think my Tiger is still too high with 17/53 on my 18" wheel).

It would make a great adventure bike as long as you could stick to the back roads...but I don't have that much time.  So I prefer a bike that I can sit on the slab all day long and get where I'm going, then have fun off road.  I knew this wouldn't be that bike...but the Tiger has been laid up with a few little issues so I've been using the Scrambler everyday.  It's exhausting commuting on it  :roll:

The '08s are fuel injected if you don't like carbs.  They put some stupid covers over the throttle bodies to make them look the part, though...

Which Baja Designs kit?  This one?



The Scrambler headlight is just fine.  It's dark for the commute home now, so before I head out I just pop it open, light the candle, and it's ready.  Easy peasy.  (I may as well have no headlight at all...freakin' ridiculous)

That group test sounds interesting, Advwannabe!  I've seen the light on the DR650...not that I'd ever own one because it's not glamorous enough   :lol:

[aeronca]

aye, that be the one. personaly i think it would look good on that bike. make for a nice desert runner. its nice to hear they're going to injection. what issues are you haveing with the tiger?

[Mudhen]

aye, that be the one. personaly i think it would look good on that bike. make for a nice desert runner. its nice to hear they're going to injection. what issues are you haveing with the tiger?

The Scrambler isn't what I think of when I think 'desert runner'.  Maybe 'dessert runner'.

I was just out getting the Steamer started up and without the front fairing pieces on, the headlights look kind of like that Honda!

I had a couple valves just barely out of spec a couple thousand miles ago so thought I'd do those.  When I pulled the plugs one of them looked terrible - all caked in black junk (new 3k miles ago).  Add to that my fuel mileage has been horrible for a long time, and I think it points to emulsion tubes.  They're certainly not all that round anymore...so I picked up a set from Factory Pro.

I also put the Trailwings off the Scrambler onto it, replacing the TKCs that have been on there for more than 12k miles.  They still have tread but I'm sick of the vibes.

Just fired her up on a bottle.  It was tough getting it to catch, but running smooth now.  Gotta go set the throttle cable - still don't have that process down and never quite feel that I've got it just right.  Tips welcome.

Pat