" Scrambling your own way "
Scrambling your own way is the way to go for your own individual ideas you may love to deck your Scrambler to a road based machine, or with engine mods a pocket rocket ! I prefer the roads less traveled and have now got my Urban Enduro to be quite capable of tackling all but deep river crossing ! I'm planning around Australia trip next year on my UE and have been doing some considerable testing of late yesterday it was to test my extra fuel and water capacity modification eg mounted 5LT fuel ( giving me 18.5LT ) and 3LT water.
So myself and a mate went on a 300km round trip yesterday leaving around 930 he was riding his Suzuki DRZ400 with Safari 18lt tank our first leg was about 30kms from my Home town in Victoria Australia of mainly back sealed roads, within 5kms I had taken out a crow that thinking he was a Japanese zero it hit my Dart screen which is very solid and unfortunately killed the bird , the new IKON Suspension both front and rear has been performing brilliantly and compliments my very comfortable modified seat ,we then hit a main dirt road which was in good repair and I was then passed by the DRZ , My EU does work fantastic on dirt now with the modified Suspension and I cannot rate the K60 Scout tires highly enough the traction on dirt is unbelievable but obviously not ( quite as good as a full knobby ) which was on the DRZ and also tacking into consideration that DRZ has over 200mm of travel were the Scrambler has only 150 and on a decent pothole you feel that ( regardless of how good your Suspension is 150mm of travel is just that ) So I was standing up on the SMMOTO Pegs ( wider like a dirt bike peg ) to look out ahead for hard hits to avoid, we than turned of to another back dirt road With cattle grids ( and cattle all over the place ) but still a nice senic ride with a creek and rolling hills our next challenge was through a state forest a track that was quite muddy and rutted in sections but still the EU handled it fantastically, obviously I could not attack it at speed like my mate on his DRZ ( he was having a blast ) I actually own one as well and sections like that I was wishing I had mine as well , but still was enjoying the Scrambler nevertheless I do love the fact that not being overly tall being able the put both feet on the ground does come in handy on some muddy sections , from there we hit sealed road again and contoured a lake for about 10kms of twisties were the K60,s still work well but you do get road noise around 80 kph so keep tbat mind if you are considering the K60,s ( This is were I left the DRZ in my review mirrors ) I waited for him at our next turn were we took a ferry across the lake then a 55km of mainly wide open dirt road, the surface was quite loss with lots of graval in sections and I also left the DRZ behind for the first half as I was doing around 100kph on this section and did at one point had it up to 127kph.
On this dirt road my mate almost got cleaned up by a cow that ran out in front of him I stopped and waited for him to catch up then I was pushing to catch him but a lot of corners and his knobbys had that little extra grip but I was no more than around 100m behind him we stopped at the end of the road, I actually was probably going to fast as I did have a few hard hits ( thats what happens when you get passed and try to keep up ) anyway we were on the black top again for around 5kms until we stopped for lunch at a little town that makes the best carmal lattes and home made soup. After some talk about how well the Scrambler performed we were half way in the trip 150kms down and 150 to go of more dirt , twisties and losing a foot peg ! stayed turned for the return trip !
So myself and a mate went on a 300km round trip yesterday leaving around 930 he was riding his Suzuki DRZ400 with Safari 18lt tank our first leg was about 30kms from my Home town in Victoria Australia of mainly back sealed roads, within 5kms I had taken out a crow that thinking he was a Japanese zero it hit my Dart screen which is very solid and unfortunately killed the bird , the new IKON Suspension both front and rear has been performing brilliantly and compliments my very comfortable modified seat ,we then hit a main dirt road which was in good repair and I was then passed by the DRZ , My EU does work fantastic on dirt now with the modified Suspension and I cannot rate the K60 Scout tires highly enough the traction on dirt is unbelievable but obviously not ( quite as good as a full knobby ) which was on the DRZ and also tacking into consideration that DRZ has over 200mm of travel were the Scrambler has only 150 and on a decent pothole you feel that ( regardless of how good your Suspension is 150mm of travel is just that ) So I was standing up on the SMMOTO Pegs ( wider like a dirt bike peg ) to look out ahead for hard hits to avoid, we than turned of to another back dirt road With cattle grids ( and cattle all over the place ) but still a nice senic ride with a creek and rolling hills our next challenge was through a state forest a track that was quite muddy and rutted in sections but still the EU handled it fantastically, obviously I could not attack it at speed like my mate on his DRZ ( he was having a blast ) I actually own one as well and sections like that I was wishing I had mine as well , but still was enjoying the Scrambler nevertheless I do love the fact that not being overly tall being able the put both feet on the ground does come in handy on some muddy sections , from there we hit sealed road again and contoured a lake for about 10kms of twisties were the K60,s still work well but you do get road noise around 80 kph so keep tbat mind if you are considering the K60,s ( This is were I left the DRZ in my review mirrors ) I waited for him at our next turn were we took a ferry across the lake then a 55km of mainly wide open dirt road, the surface was quite loss with lots of graval in sections and I also left the DRZ behind for the first half as I was doing around 100kph on this section and did at one point had it up to 127kph.
On this dirt road my mate almost got cleaned up by a cow that ran out in front of him I stopped and waited for him to catch up then I was pushing to catch him but a lot of corners and his knobbys had that little extra grip but I was no more than around 100m behind him we stopped at the end of the road, I actually was probably going to fast as I did have a few hard hits ( thats what happens when you get passed and try to keep up ) anyway we were on the black top again for around 5kms until we stopped for lunch at a little town that makes the best carmal lattes and home made soup. After some talk about how well the Scrambler performed we were half way in the trip 150kms down and 150 to go of more dirt , twisties and losing a foot peg ! stayed turned for the return trip !
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That would be great as I camping most of the time ( and may get a bed and shower here and there )
The IKON front is progressive springs I did it myself and replaced the fork oil with the same 7.5 w ( will have to get back to you on the brand ) but they use it in Olions shocks etc and yes a HUGH improvement on stock ! Yer were is Jabaroo ?
IKON is located in Albury NSW ( I'm in Wodonga) right next to Albury- boarder town I know the owner, nice bloke, I replaced front and rear they will give your a special price for both it may help if you mention my name Paul - from Wodonga ( but not certain) anyway the right and left forks have different oil qualities- it's in owners manual under specs also you need a special tool to get left fork cartridge out right is fine , I had a bike shop take it out and put the spring in and charged me 30 bucks I left my forks hanging upside down overnight to drain stock shelve oil out pretty easy job !
Scrambling your own way Part 2 ( the return test trip ) So after lunch we geared up and headed South on Sealed road leading out of town for about 15kms it was sweeping corners and long straights but your typical narrow country road the weather was fantastic spring day of 21 degrees " exellent riding weather " I waited for my mate at our next turn off he wasn't far behind on the old faithful DRZ and off we went again on a well formed dirt country road the views were breathtaking and I was socking it up this time and not trying to stay with the DRZ " as my mate only knows one speed - flat out " anyway the Scrambler Urban Enduro was running perfectly after the flogging I had given it on the previous gravel road before lunch I love how the Scrambler holds its weight down low ( abit like a GS with the boxer engines ) and tracks so well on ALL surfaces and terrain, I compare it in the 4WD world like a Holden Jackroo be quite a capable off roader with some work but also let down by ground clearance , nevertheless like the Jack the UE -Scrambler with some mods can be very capable in ALMOST any terrain ( just don't take it at speed ) we took our next turn on some more great back country gravel roads until we hit the next main road " right next to a pub " unfortunately no time for a beer as my mate had to be home by a certain time to see his daughter get a school award ( I did try and tell him to get his priorities sorted and keep riding ) as I always say " its all about the ride " just outside the pub I put my 5lt fuel container in the bike , my latest mod and it worked a treat ! the fuel light had come on just over 200kms so now I have fixed the other Scrambler shortfall " fuel range " the container did not leck and was easy to use with a long spout build into the plastic container and is easy to disconnect when not required. We hit the sealed road again for about 5kms before taking our next right turn into a track that went for about 30kms it had everything steep hills , steep decents fallan trees slippery surfaces ( all very wooded state forest and National park ) we stopped a few times to chat and my mate also has that bad habit of smoking I was making my way through a gate standing up when just past the gate my foot slipped of the SMMOTO footpeg when I looked down it was missing ? I stopped and both of us began to search after about 10 minutes I found it but bolt was missing, so I did what most well prepared Adventure riders do I cable tied it on as a temp repair ! The 3 most important items you can carry on a trip are 1. Leathermans tool ( or aquilvent ) 2. Cable ties and 3. Electrical tape " all 3 will fit under the seat "
Before we set of nature called have you ever heard the saying does a beer crap in the woods ! Well I was a beer this day I knew leaves had another pupose ! So we got going and with 5kms or so hit the back stuff again Tar , at the top of a mountain pass so it was twisties all the way down and as usual the UE done it with ease even with the K60,s then into the next town around 30kms away were we decided not to stop for coffee as my mate had to get home we rode another 30kms back home were the Scrambler looked like it had been in war zone ! So I gave it a bath and put it to bed so what do I think , for me a no brainer I've owned other adventure bikes Triumph tiger 955i , 800 , dirt bikes and road bikes and still have a Triumph 1050 Sport and my Suzuki DRZ 400 So were does the Ducati Scrambler fit in ? well it will never be a 2 up tourer or deep river crossing machine and break any land speed records but besides those points with a few modifications its more than capable of traveling the globe solo ( check out utube Ed March he went around the world on a Honda 90 ) and if you have ever heard of Osteen Vince who has always traveled the world on small bikes ( nothing over a 400cc ) saids NO ONE EVER COMPLAINS ABOUT SMALLER AND LIGHTER JUST BIGGER AND HEAVYER EG 1200 GS .
So with a few mods like more comfortable seat, better suspension, heated grips, carrying rack , crash bars , wider pegs , hand guards , adjustable levers and extra fuel carrying capacity you have a great simple aircooled engine Also with the extra 5lts I now get a minimum of 300km range - not bad , so get out there and ride !
Before we set of nature called have you ever heard the saying does a beer crap in the woods ! Well I was a beer this day I knew leaves had another pupose ! So we got going and with 5kms or so hit the back stuff again Tar , at the top of a mountain pass so it was twisties all the way down and as usual the UE done it with ease even with the K60,s then into the next town around 30kms away were we decided not to stop for coffee as my mate had to get home we rode another 30kms back home were the Scrambler looked like it had been in war zone ! So I gave it a bath and put it to bed so what do I think , for me a no brainer I've owned other adventure bikes Triumph tiger 955i , 800 , dirt bikes and road bikes and still have a Triumph 1050 Sport and my Suzuki DRZ 400 So were does the Ducati Scrambler fit in ? well it will never be a 2 up tourer or deep river crossing machine and break any land speed records but besides those points with a few modifications its more than capable of traveling the globe solo ( check out utube Ed March he went around the world on a Honda 90 ) and if you have ever heard of Osteen Vince who has always traveled the world on small bikes ( nothing over a 400cc ) saids NO ONE EVER COMPLAINS ABOUT SMALLER AND LIGHTER JUST BIGGER AND HEAVYER EG 1200 GS .
So with a few mods like more comfortable seat, better suspension, heated grips, carrying rack , crash bars , wider pegs , hand guards , adjustable levers and extra fuel carrying capacity you have a great simple aircooled engine Also with the extra 5lts I now get a minimum of 300km range - not bad , so get out there and ride !
I'm very keen to meet up with other Scrambler ridings and check their bikes and get impressions etc , were is Rossberry creek at ?
They come Standard on the Urban Enduro and Classic models
My seat was done by my local upholstery guy ( if you have a place somewhere near you that does car seats etc they would of done a bike seat before ) way better than spending heaps of money on a cobin , Segent or comfort seat as NONE of them will suit you perfectly as we are all built differently ! They will be abit better but thats not difficult as stock seat is made of concrete ! getting it done local they can tailor it to suit you just don't get the cover put back on until you are happy with the final product - in other words take it for a good long test ride and get any adjustments you need done prior to fitting of cover and more than likely will cost you half as much as the cobins etc and be WAY more comfortable.
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