VOL. 53 ISSUE 49 DECEMBER 13, 2016 P47
THE VITALS
Yamaha SCR950
Engine: 942cc, air-cooled,
SOHC, 4-stroke, 8-valve,
V-twin
Chassis and suspension:
Tubular steel cradle, 41mm
conventional, unadjustable
forks, twin unadjustable rear
shocks.
Front brakes: Single 298mm
discs, 2-piston calipers
Rear brakes: Single 298mm
disc, single-piston caliper
Front/Rear wheel sizes: 19
in./17 in.
Weight: 547 lbs. (wet, claimed)
Electronics: None
MSRP: $8699
Kit Palmer: "I wasn't a fan of the SCR
when I first hopped on it but this bike
grew on me. It has a lot of quirks—a
shifter lever that gets in its own way,
terrible footpeg clearance and an airbox
that cramps your right knee. It feels long
and heavy, and I'm not thrilled about
it being belt driven when I'm on the
dirt. Oh yeah, stay away from big (okay, any) bumps with that
whopping 2.8 inches of rear wheel travel. Still, I like the way
it looks and how its air-cooled V-twin motor puts the power
to the ground. And I like how Yamaha didn't even bother with
ABS or traction control. It's comfortable and spacious, and it
works pretty well in the dirt, too. I like it a lot—just not quite
as much as the others."
Sean Finley: "The Yamaha is the most
unique among the bikes tested and the
V-twin Cruiser roots are evident. If you are
coming from a cruiser background, this
would likely be the most comfortable bike
to ride. The motor provides good grunt off
the corners and it is stable on hard packed
gravel roads. But it is the heaviest bike
here and you will feel the weight if you hit any soft dirt and that
makes it the least comfortable of these bikes off road. For me,
the shifter was always in the way on my left foot and the air
filter banged my knee on the right but it is otherwise comfort-
able to ride long distances."
Jesse Ziegler: "As soon as you start to
ride the SCR like a sportier bike you run
into cruiser bits like the center-cylinder
mount air cleaner and the low pipe
clearing footpeg brackets. It even has
the world's simplest steel fuel tank and
quarter-turn cap. But, the motor, as a big
V-twin, does provide cool low-end torque
that easily pulls up steep switchback turns on mountain roads.
Also, the bike is so low you'll scrape the under bits on nearly
every corner on smaller twisty roads—so you'll feel pretty cool
that way. It's not my favorite, but it is capable of exploring roads
and it's priced so you can use it as a blank canvas to finish your
bike how you want to."
