VOL. 53 ISSUE 31 AUGUST 9, 2016 P73
it offers quite a bit more wheel
travel at 140mm (5.5 inches), with
125mm (4.9 inches) up front.
The fact that this is still some
way down on the 190mm (7.5
inches)/200mm (7.9 inches) R
1200 GS numbers denotes this
as being a street Scrambler when
all said and done, albeit with
some off-road capability after a
visit to the aftermarket catalog.
There's only a single seat and
no pillion footrests or hangers as
stock, though these are available
as options, plus the 4.49-gallon
fuel tank is supposedly the same
shape as before, except it's a
liter smaller than the Roadster's
aluminum tank but still provides
a 160-mile range, and is made in
less costly though heavier steel.
In spite of that the Scrambler
weighs in at 485 pounds fully fu-
eled and ready to go—4.4 pounds
less than the original R nineT.
SAME HEART, DIFFERENT BODY
The Scrambler is powered by
the same neo-retro air/oil-cooled
1170cc Boxer twin engine measur-
ing 101 x 73mm found in its sister
bike, which, while still boasting a
modern four-valves-per-cylinder
DOHC format, has now been
superseded by the more powerful
Wasserboxer mill in the GS/R/
RT Boxer model families. In spite
of now being Euro 4 compliant
thanks to revised engine map-
ping via the all-new Bosch BMS-
MP ECU, a larger catalyst and a
fuel system that now includes a
carbon canister, it nevertheless
produces the same 110 bhp at
7750 rpm as its Roadster prede-
cessor that's still only good for
Euro 3, and gives just 2.2 lb-ft less
torque with 85 lb-ft on tap at 6000
rpm. That's some achievement
by BMW's R&D team, since there
are no mechanical differences
between the two bikes' motors,
apart from what's surely a further
key factor in the Scrambler hitting
the Euro 4 numbers with minimal
loss in performance, and that's
the glorious-sounding high-level
Akrapovic exhaust system it car-
(Left) Nice touches like the
faux-leather seat give the
Scrambler a touch of class.
(Right) Unbelievably, this bike
doesn't come with a tacho
as standard!
