Off I go after going back inside for some extra cold weather protection. They can sleep in without "that damn biker" waking up the 'hood. My neighbours probably appreciate this, compared to the relatively loud exhaust of my RR. Idle through the twin Akrapovic tailpipes is nice and solid, although not too loud through the morning air. I do a complete pre-ride inspection for giggles and remember that the bike has just over 100kms, so this is probably unnecessary. They're nice and bright, and the headlight looks impressive with its LED daytime running light and very consistent beam. I do a quick check anyway to see how they would appear to any accompanying motorists at 07:00 in the dark and misty conditions. The wife says ride with your hazards on, but I've always found this practice to be a little redundant. As I step out of the house, I'm greeted by a damp road and misty air. I decide not to take along my regular backpack and dress light because I don't think I'll be needing everything I own to accompany me to work today. So that means a public holiday and a short work day. Why did I have such a low opinion of this bike before? It wasn't that bad. She felt nimble and had loads of low-down torque to manage the traffic. The few brief corners I took didn't scare me at all, and the tyres were a lot less of a concern. The ride-by-wire throttle has a nice meaty resistance to simulate the resistance of a cable. Hand shifting felt natural with a nice positive clutch lever feel. I arrive home in one piece and am pleasantly surprised that I don't hate the bike. However, this gives me a more visceral experience: The drums beneath me, the wind on my chest and the knobbly tyres, which I almost seem to have forgotten about, offer a unique experience. The wind blast wasn't unbearable at traffic speeds, but it's something to note when I ride again during a windy day or at higher speeds.
One thing I missed was the wind protection offered by fully faired bikes. The bike is quite narrow toward the middle so squeezing the tank to maintain complete control came at the expense of a little extra adductor muscle effort. The Scrambler has a nice 140mm of rear shock travel, so the seating position is relatively high and offers a nice plush feeling as you ride atop the beautifully finished red leather seat. The left-hand side contains the cruise and traction control, indicator and lighting functions, while the right has the mode selector, kill switch/starter button combo, and heated grip control. There is a definite sense of familiarity. A pedestrian crosses briskly with a huge grin and the universal thumbs up hand signal for "nice bike".įortunately, she has a few of the comforts I am already used to heated grips, confidence-inspiring dynamic traction control, and excellent brakes, the likes of which I have to test slightly as I hit the N1 turnoff and have to merge with traffic. Walter Sisulu Avenue looms ahead as I stop for the final time before hitting Nelson Mandela Boulevard, where my next possible traffic light stop is around 10kms away. A guy behind me honks his horn as I waddle my way through traffic at a slow speed, nearly falling over, unbalanced by the boxer's low centre of gravity and opposing forces. I struggle through traffic as I become accustomed to the clutch lever and having to row my way through the gears manually. Quickshifter up and down? GTFOH! We're off to a bad start, she and I. The familiar things I'm used to on my own bike are not there the sweet inline-four with performance exhaust? Nope. "Here goes nothing," say I inside my helmet, fingers and toes crossed. Other than that, it will be just fine," says another. "Ah man, don't worry, just don't be too aggressive, and it will corner great," says one of the guys. You can almost feel a weird sideways vibration as the boxer engine produces its characteristic opposing tug of war between the two pistons. She jumps to life and settles into what I can only describe as sitting on top of a very happy dog wagging its tail. An ever-so-slight hesitation can be sensed as she turns over the twins with a bit of effort. It wasn't easy to hold my laughter as it felt like I was pushing it over greenmarket square. In fact, when pushing this thing off the showroom floor to prepare for my ride home, I kind of cursed the person responsible for saddling me with this oddball of a bike. It weighs more than 220kg, and with those knobbly tyres, it looks like a chore to ride. With a 1100cc boxer twin delivering 81kW (109hp) and 116Nm, it doesn't seem all that impressive. In fact, on paper, it's very different to lots of the offerings out there. On paper, this beastie, a 2022 BMW R nine T scrambler, could not be more different from my S 1000 RR.
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