Rennie Scaysbrook | September 22, 2016
Yamaha’s Sport Heritage brand spawns a new, old-school off-spring: the super cool SCR950
What is old, is new again. That’s the feeling you get when you look at Yamaha’s SCR950. A bike designed to be old from the get-go, the SCR feels like something my dad would have cruised the back roads and trails of North Sydney on, long before he decided to complicate his life with a smaller, crazier version of himself.
Hey, it’s a scrambler, isn’t it? May as well throw it sideways for BJN’s lens!
These days, motorcycle companies want two things: to save money and to create new bikes. Normally that statement is a total contradiction, but Yamaha, and indeed BMW with its R nineT Scrambler, has found a way of doing just this by taking its 942cc Bolt cruiser, giving it a custom onceover and calling it the SCR950 Scrambler.
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Photography by Brian J Nelson
Yamaha has precedence in this field of taking new bikes and making newer—or older, depending what side of the fence you sit on—versions. Think bikes such as the FZ-09/XSR950 and FZ-07/XSR750 (that we don’t get in the U.S.). The company has an enormous heritage from which to draw, plus some of the best bikes on the market today. And, with the engineering dollar being stretched further now than any time in history, you can bet the SCR won’t be the last rebadged/ repackaged/ rebranded bike we see from the Tuning Fork house.
The SCR is the fourth machine from a major manufacturer (behind Ducati, Moto Guzzi and BMW) to focus squarely on the scrambler market. It was a decision made for them by their customers, who have taken the blank canvas of the Bolt cruiser and made all sorts of weird and wonderful custom creations.
“We’d always planned to make a café racer, or maybe a scrambler, with this model (Bolt), but not long after we released it we started to see dealers and customizers in the aftermarket taking the bike and building scramblers off it anyway,” says Yamaha U.S.’s Product Planning manager, Derek Brooks. “That was a bit of a confirmation to us that we were heading the right direction with the SCR.”
Both color schemes are ’70s refugees, but our pick goes to the red.
The SCR950 uses the same powertrain as the Bolt but with drastically changed ergonomics, seating position, aesthetics and styling. Gone are the clip-on bars, single seat, low-slung exhaust, cast aluminum wheels, gold rear shocks and long rear guard, replaced by a single piece bar, flat one-piece seat in the traditional scrambler style, upswept exhaust, spoked wheels, silver shocks and steel fenders. You also get re-positioned footpegs, chunky block Bridgestone TW rubber, a neat little digital tacho that doesn’t display much information at all and vintage colors that adorned bikes like the XT500 from the early ‘ 70s.
The motor that’s wedged between the steel frame rails feels about as heavy as a boat anchor when you first take the SCR off the sidestand and in all truths it probably is. Thankfully it performs better than this horrifically overused figure of speech as there’s plenty of torque on offer between—eesh, I don’t know what rpm, as the tacho won’t tell me!—all I can tell you is it’s low down, right where you want it from a big V-twin. It’s a far from intimidating engine and perfect for sub-60 mph cruising, using the twin’s inherent rumbles and vibrations to gauge your next gearshift point.
(Left) Love that little rear light! (Right) The dash is funky and very minimalist. So minimalist, there’s no rev counter!
A cruisy, twisty mountain road is a good place to be on the SCR, purely because when you’re not trying to get anywhere in a hurry, you’ll get the most enjoyment from it. The motor doesn’t throw out too many vibes, the gearbox is pretty good, the wide bars give good room and leverage. In all, the cruise is just, well, nice.
There’s absolutely no point in searching for the high revs with the SCR—click a gear higher and let the motor pull you along from corner to corner, the torque coming in delightfully soft waves via that beautifully mapped throttle, which helps you no end when you decide you truly need to embrace your inner hipster by hitting the nearest dirt road and go moto camping with nothing but a bag roll you can strap onto that huge seat.
Yamaha chose not to fit a chain drive to the SCR so try and refrain from doing any jumps on it as you’ll have yourself a heavy paperweight when, not if, the belt snaps. Be gentle and you’ll get plenty of life out of the SCR.
The SCR’s got a bit of sporting prowess about it and no doubt you’ll see these things popping up in Super Hooligan races all over the country in the coming years. Despite the hefty weight of the motor, the SCR handles superbly well in the twisties. You are limited by just how far you can push it with the Bridgestone knobby tires on the tar, but there’s plenty of low-speed fun to be had on an SCR, especially in dirt. You can maneuver the SCR easily in soft silt and the abundant torque will pull you out of sticky situations easily, just don’t go taking it on anything other than a back country road as the lack of ground clearance will come up on you, fast.
The SCR950 will happily punt up and down canyon roads all day long. It’s mainly the block Bridgestone tires that hold it back.
The 41mm forks and shocks are soft in their damping but plenty compliant, giving you a pretty smooth ride in all conditions. Braking power isn’t amazing from the front but it’s ample and the softer initial touch of the lever makes for an easier time on dirt, especially for the more inexperienced riders out there.
One thing I didn’t care for was the seat padding. After 45 minutes my ass had gone to sleep and I spent more time on the pegs and riding it like a dirt bike than I think would be legal. It’s great for short trips but if I was going to be doing some weekend rides with luggage I’d be going for a custom seat, stat.
You might find you’re doing this more than intended on a long ride. The seat got real hard after 45 minutes.
Aesthetically the Yamaha hits the scrambler nail on the head pretty well. There’s nice touches like the LED rear taillight and side number boards, plus the red and black color scheme looks pretty rad in the metal and I love the old-school fork gaiters.
The SCR950 is pretty good value, as well. Priced at $8699, it’s right in the ballpark of the Ducati Scrambler Icon ($8895), $2400 under the Moto Guzzi V7 II Scrambler at $10,990 and a whopping $4301 less than the BMW R nineT Scrambler ($13,000), due out for release later this year.
Optioned up with a picnic to go to! Yamaha’s made a nice little accessory catalog for the SCR.
Yamaha has created a few accessories that will hopefully get your customizing juices flowing if you’re not handy with a welder—or know how to stitch your own leather saddlebags.
Yamaha’s done a good job with the SCR950. It’s one of those bikes that won’t age horribly over time because it was born old—it’s almost like the Benjamin Button of motorcycles. The sheer lack of electronics, simple styling and the carefree nature the SCR950 exudes is pretty intoxicating, as is the ride itself. CN
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SPECIFICATIONS: 2017 Yamaha SCR950
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Engine:
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Air-cooled, SOHC, 4-stroke V-twin, 8 valves
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Displacement:
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942cc
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Bore x stroke:
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85 x 83mm
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Horsepower:
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N/A
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Torque:
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N/A
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Compression ratio
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9.0:1
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Clutch:
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Wet multi-plate
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Transmission:
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Five-speed
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Chassis:
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Tubular steel cradle
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Front suspension:
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41mm conventional, non-adjustable
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Rear suspension:
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Twin shock absorbers, non-adjustable
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Front brake:
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Single 298mm discs, twin-piston calipers
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Rear brake:
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Single 298mm disc, single-piston caliper
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Front tire:
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100/90-19
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Rear tire:
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140/80R17
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Rake:
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28.4°
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Trail:
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5.1 in.
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Wheelbase:
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62 in.
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Seat height:
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32.7 in.
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Overall width:
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35.2 in.
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Overall length:
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88.6 in.
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Fuel capacity:
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3.2 gal
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Weight:
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547 lbs. (wet, claimed).
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Color:
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Charcoal Silver and Rapid Red
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MSRP:
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$8,699
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