The term “scrambler” doesn’t mean much these days. Unlike the scramblers of old, which were street bikes converted for off-road use, today’s scramblers are typically just restyled versions of existing models with little to no meaningful improvements made for off-road riding.

Pretty much every major manufacturer has done this in one form or another, from BMW’s RnineT Scrambler to Honda’s latest SCL500. There are a few rare exceptions out there (Ducati’s Desert Sled and Triumph’s Scrambler 1200 XE come to mind). But for the most part, they’ve all come up painfully short in the dirt.

Bearing that in mind, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes when Triumph announced its new $5,595 “Scrambler” 400 X alongside its India-built stablemate, the Speed 400. The price was right, and the Scrambler was undeniably handsome, but how much different could it really be?

I said as much to the folks at Triumph, and its response surprised me. They told me I should give the Scrambler 400 X a chance on my next off-road trip. This happened to be all 350 miles of the new Chattahoochee BDR-X.

Fair enough.

I parked my Yamaha WR250 in the garage, loaded up the Scrambler 400 X, and set off for the mountains of North Georgia to see how this budget-friendly two-wheeler handles a little dirt.

In short: The 2024 Triumph Scrambler 400 X proved to be a stylish street machine that could hold its own on mild dirt. The impressively affordable machine had the chops to tackle highway cruising and a 350-mile backcountry route — all this while sporting the undeniable cool factor of a British brand steeped in history and culture.

2024 Triumph Scrambler 400 X Main Specifications

The Scrambler 400 X shares plenty of parts with its Speed 400 stablemate. But Triumph made a few notable changes that were relevant to my off-road mission.

The first and most significant is that the Scrambler gets an extra 10mm of suspension travel up front and another 20mm at the rear. This brings total travel to 5.9 inches front and rear. Both ends have slightly tweaked damping compared to the Speed 400. Ground clearance has also improved to about 8 inches.

It’s also worth noting that despite similar appearances, the Scrambler 400 gets its own unique frame. This frame employs a steeper rake angle of 23.2 degrees to compensate for its larger and heavier 19-inch front wheel. The trail is still slightly longer at 4.25 inches due to the suspension and wheel combo. This should strike a good balance between handling on the street and stability in the dirt.

The 398cc engine, on the other hand, is exactly the same, right down to the fueling. However, Triumph saw fit to tweak the gearing somewhat to better suit off-road duty. The Scrambler package also includes a plastic skid plate and plastic hand guards, as well as mesh grilles over the headlight and radiator for protection.

Rubber knee pads line the sides of the fuel tank, and the footpegs are larger and more aggressive with removable rubber inserts. Last but not least, the front brake caliper is slightly larger at 320mm and has a different pad compound to reduce initial brake bite and provide more predictability on loose surfaces.

The Triumph Scrambler 400 X Test

Our test route was a roughly 350-mile loop that mainly ran around the scenic backcountry of the Chattahoochee National Forest. Portions of the route take place on winding paved roads. However, the majority of the terrain is either maintained gravel or unmaintained two-track dirt roads. There is also a handful of nasty, rutted 4×4 trails.

As is the case with most BDRs, the route isn’t particularly technical. There are a few sketchy climbs and descents, loose rock gardens, muddy sections, and a handful of shallow water crossings. But there’s nothing here you’d need hard enduro chops to accomplish.

Here’s how that all went aboard this budget-friendly motorcycle.

On the Pavement

My goal for this review was to use the 2024 Triumph Scrambler 400 X as a dual-sport or mini-ADV. This meant getting to and from the fun stuff was part of the ride. As such, I rode the Scrambler up from my home just north of Atlanta, a roughly 60-mile haul with a good mix of streets, towns, and freeways.

All things considered, the Scrambler was a great little street bike. Out on the freeway, the liquid-cooled single cruised happily at 70mph with plenty of oomph left over for passing as needed. It got a little vibey up around 80mph or so, but it didn’t shake my fillings out either when I was in a hurry. The indicated top speed is around 100mph, in case you were wondering.

On twisty roads, I’d say the Scrambler was good but not great. The engine was a willing companion, cranking out fun, usable torque in almost any gear. But the larger and heavier front wheel required a little extra effort to turn in. The Scrambler’s well-damped suspension always felt stable and under control, but I had to muscle it a bit to hold a line, which was fun in its own way.

Around town, I couldn’t ask for much more. The Scrambler’s neutral riding position felt commanding and relaxed. And there was always plenty of leverage at the bar for low-speed maneuvers. The reasonably low 32.8-inch seat height made an easy reach to the ground for both my 6’1” frame and that of my 5’10” buddy.

Perhaps the most unexpected surprise I found on the street, however, was the Scrambler’s seat. It was unbelievably comfortable, even after a full 10-hour day in the saddle. With its slightly scooped shape and supportive foam, the stock seat reminded me of the Corbin I had on an old adventure bike, which was probably my favorite saddle to date — not something you’d expect on a bike this affordable.

Getting Dirty With the Triumph Scrambler 400 X

To put it mildly, my off-road expectations for this bike were low. Between the 19-inch cast front wheel, limited suspension travel, and street-biased rubber, I was mentally prepared for a 3-day, 300-mile sufferfest followed by a less-than-glowing review.

I can’t, in good faith, tell you that the Scrambler 400 X is a true dual-sport in street clothing. But I’m happy to report that it exceeded expectations by a long shot. This is no desert sled built to go smashing through the whoops. But if you’re looking to do some honest off-road exploration, it was well suited to the task.

Much of this was due to the Scrambler’s simple one-touch “off-road mode.” This cuts both ABS and traction control off entirely with a long press of the info button.

There’s no advanced slide control or anything on offer, but thanks to the engine’s entertaining yet approachable 39.5 peak horsepower, traction is effectively “built-in.” I really had to make an effort to get the bike to do anything squirrely.

On maintained gravel, the Scrambler X was just plain fun. The engine was peppy and willing. And the street-biased Metzeler Karoo Street rubber provided enough grip to keep the bike tracking predictably, even when I was banging it off the rev limiter out of corners.

The same went for your average two-track dirt road. The Scrambler’s well-sorted damping made the most of its 5.9 inches of travel and did a respectable job soaking up potholes, roots, or rockier sections.

The tall handlebar and mid-mount controls made for a fairly comfortable standing position. And there’s even a nice narrow spot to wedge your knees between the tank pads and the front of the seat to grip with my legs. 

As the obstacles got larger and more frequent, however, the Scrambler definitely started to show its limitations. I found the bottom of the fork when trudging through uphill rock gardens or rooty descents. It was rare for the bike to actually be bounced off-track. But my wrists took a lot of abuse while hammering through the gnarlier sections of our ride.

As is often the case with “scramblers,” offroading on the Triumph required more careful line choices and a lot less speed. It tracked its way through almost anything with a decent degree of composure, but you’ll never mistake it for a long-travel trail bike, either.

As far as complaints go, I really only have two major ones worth sharing.

The Downsides of the Triumph Scrambler 400 X

As far as complaints go, I really only have two major ones worth sharing. The first is the rear brake, which I cursed continuously over the course of our 3-day trip. On the street, it was fine, but in the dirt, it was an absolute stain on an otherwise impressive bike.

The main issue here is that the lever needed to travel a long way before I felt any feedback. More often than not, that meant the only way I knew my rear brake was working was when the rear tire locked up entirely, which wasn’t ideal when I was carefully picking my way down a rocky hill.

To make matters worse, the pedal sits about an inch below the footpeg, which made it incredibly awkward to articulate when I was standing on the pegs. There’s no meaningful way to adjust the lever (there’s only a single locknut above the brake clevis), so I was resigned to working around the issue for the entire trip.

My other notable complaint was a lack of any real protection behind the front wheel. The radiator hangs down into harm’s way, and the coolant reservoir sits just underneath it. This meant all that stood between me and a potentially catastrophic event out on the trail was a thin plastic skid plate. Upgrading to aluminum protection on both counts would be money well spent. And as luck would have it, Triumph offers a proper skid plate as a factory accessory.

Conclusions on the 2024 Triumph Scrambler 400 X

For a certain type of rider, the Triumph Scrambler 400 X is truly the only game in town. It’s affordable and had bonafide capability both on and off-road. Additionally, it delivered an air of credible curb appeal and retro-cool by merit of simply being a Triumph motorcycle.

The latter is arguably the Scrambler’s ace in the hole. There are better-handling street bikes for the money (Triumph’s own Speed 400). And there are more capable off-roaders (Honda’s 300L). But you simply can’t manufacture the deep cultural association Triumph has earned over the last century.

When you picture Bob Dylan riding around with a lit cigarette and no helmet, he isn’t riding a Royal Enfield. The same goes for Steve McQueen, Marlon Brando, and Clint Eastwood, and I say Royal Enfield intentionally here because the elephant in the room is clearly the latest Himalayan 450.

When it comes to sheer bang for the buck, the $5,799 Himalayan 450 delivers similar street manners while offering considerably improved off-road capability with a spoked 21-inch front wheel, more suspension, and better ground clearance. It lacks some appeal as a street bike, however, and style isn’t the only reason why.

Royal Enfield is largely viewed as a made-in-India brand that’s leveraging the appeal of an iconic British marque. Conversely, Triumph is an iconic British brand that’s leveraging the economy of made-in-India manufacturing. To put it another way, the “cool factor” is already baked into the Scramber 400 X, whereas Royal Enfield still has some work to do in the hearts and minds of the motorcycling public.  

At the end of the day, this street bike delivers timeless style at an outrageously low price. It was also fun in the corners and reasonably competent off-road. These gave it plenty of capability for dual-sport touring with your buddies on forest service roads.

It’s one bike that gives riders of any skill level a taste of everything that’s great about motorcycling. In other words, it’s a real scrambler, and you can own one for under six grand to boot.