Nice thread colebatch....

If dont have in your mind serious off-roading it will be just fine as i see in the thread above....

Its true that crossing rivers or get out of the main road is gonna be tricky with the scrambler...
An on/off is better in all terains...
But the WimWillemWimbo ask for all road so i think that scrambler will be OK....

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3mountainsadventure

I would go for a standard Bonneville T100 not the Scrambler if that is what floats your boat. The extra 10 HP goes some way to offsetting the insane weight. The low exhaust is not really an issue in terms of ground clearance although they do get dinged up on gravel roads, but clears the way for luggage other than the bonkers 1-pannier thing Triumph will try and sell you. All useful Scrambler bits like bash plates fit the T100 as does the most important mod, semi-knobbly tyres.

I think there are better naked/standard bikes out there now though. My 2004 790 (had it for 8 years) on Heidenau K60's would go anywhere an airhead GS would and I would have another tomorrow for the right price but there is no real solution for the weight and short range (Kawasaki W800 is lighter, Guzzi V7 is lighter and has a 22 litre tank). The suspension is cheap and nasty where as the W800 is only cheap. The Kawasaki is reported as reliable while the Bonneville has a poor quality, cheap nasty coil in a stupid place to get damp and wheels that used to snap spokes and the Guzzi is just Guzzi like (and can also have tubeless tyres).

I'm currently riding a WeeStrom but my next bike could well be another naked. I want light, simple and long ranged. This puts the Guzzi joint top of the list with the Yamaha SR400 with the Kawasaki W800 and Enfields following. As a cruiser rider I think you would find the Harley Sportster will go most places although tyre choice will be painful. For me this puts the Bonnevilles down the shopping list.

Enjoy whatever you get, just don't go the route of trying to make a Scrambler do what the Triumph marketing department suggest it will do. It is in the end a nostaligia trip for Steve McQueen fans hiding a now pretty out dated road bike. Throw money at the suspension, tank, luggage, coil and power delivery and you could have just bought a spare trail bike.

More equally random thoughts here https://sites.google.com/site/threewheelbonnie/ and details of how you should only use a 650cc trail bike here https://sites.google.com/site/threew...e-elefant-2010 and more details of the imperfect stuff here https://sites.google.com/site/threew...nd-of-the-line and here https://sites.google.com/site/threew...10/the-repairs

Andy

I am guessing you might have misunderstood his use of "all road" ... it appears since he specifically refers to off road as well, that he means "all types of road", instead of "100% road".

But yes the bike will have no problems in any case.

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you are right...

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3mountainsadventure

Hey guys,
Thanx for the replies!

@Colebatch: Thanx for that link! Looks interesting, will read that as soon as I finish this post
About the looks... yeah I guess that's a matter of taste. In my opinion there is no way any off road bike looks better than any cruiser (with some exceptions though... there are some horrifyingly customized cruisers out there too )

@Mollydog: yeah I absolutely will try some offroading before I leave As you say it will be some years before I leave, so there is plenty of time to do that
Budget wise: I'm a student right now, but I'm hoping to be able to afford this once I have a decent job. By then there probably will also be some occasions available at more affordable prices as well
That a light bike is an advantage I hear a lot around here. What kind of problems would you encounter with a heavy bike (like the scrambler)? And how serious off-road do you need to go for that to become a big problem? I suppose I will be able to judge that myself a bit better once I start learning some off roading.

@threewheelbonnie:
Thanx for the suggestions (bonneville, w800, guzzi)
The standard bonneville is also an awsome bike! I figured since the scrambler is placed more towards off road by triumph, it would be more suitable. You say that the bonneville could do the same as the scrambler, with the same mods; but then what does make it more suitable compared to the scrambler?
I'm not the biggest fan of guzzi's though, the placement of that v-twin just doesn't do it for me. I love the look of triumph's parallel twins! w800 is bit of a bonneville copy, which is good in terms of looks and if it's more reliable that's a pro of course.
And a sportster? Not sure if I can picture that going offroad... previous mentioned bikes are all a bit higher instead of the low chopper that a sportster is. It is a nice bike though
Will also look into the links you posted seems interesting!

But all of you seem to think the scrambler will do, if i'm not planning on too serious off-roading.
So what's too serious off-road? The ultimate goal is pamir highway, so if that's too much, then I might need to reconsider the importance of looks :P

Thanx again for your replies!
Wim

Totally depends on what kind of roads you plan to be on. You could easily ride from the English Channel to Magadan on a Scrambler by staying on the main roads--by "main roads" I mean paved or graded gravel.

Heavier bikes become more problematic when you'll encounter: mud, sand, loose gravel, and water crossings. You'll encounter some of each of these whatever roads you take, but it might be a 30-60 minute stretch (as most) in a construction zone, etc. rather than several days like you would encounter on the BAM road or OSR. I don't know about the Pamir, so can't really say.

Why are heavy bikes bad on these surfaces? I'll let more experienced riders provide a better answer, but basically because: (i) heavier bikes sink more on these surfaces and so are harder to control; and (ii) when (not if) you drop the bike in deep mud, etc., it can be a real challenge to pick up a heavy bike by yourself, especially if you are doing it several times a day.

All moto travellers have to choose between picking the bike they like and tailoring the roads to suit it, or picking the roads they like and tailoring the bike to suit them. Neither way is right or wrong IMHO, although I'm sure others have strong opinions about it. If this is your first big trip, I wouldn't sweat it too much, either way you'll probably have a great time.