Royal Enfield Scram 411 Long Term Reports

I know I promised Spiti last time, but as fate would have it, I had to do my highway stints on the Noida Expressway. What immediately became apparent was that the Scram is a motorcycle that likes to cruise south of 100km/h. Once you go past that mark, the torquey acceleration turns into a gentle nudge. Under 100km/h, however, things stay quite pleasant. The wind blast is non-existent, the exhaust note is thumpy, and, honestly, the Scram feels composed.

I have to be honest here. I have been wringing the Scram like anything, which has affected my fuel efficiency figure this month, bringing it down to 25km/l. I can also feel vibrations through the instrument cluster at high rpm – it seems as if some rubber padding has gone missing.

On the plus side, Delhi recently had a thunderstorm, and while it took people hours to reach home, I did so in 35 minutes (usually it takes me 20 minutes). You see, the ground clearance of the bike is enough to make fallen trees feel like small speed breakers. And thanks to the up-swept exhaust, I could enter water-logged areas without worrying about water getting in. Plus, the fact that you can easily ride the Scram standing up meant that I could look far ahead to gauge obstacles in my path.

The one thing I haven’t talked about in my long-term review till now is – riding with a pillion. You see, I am not a big fan of riding with one, but of course, in the name of testing, I have to do so. And honestly, the Scram’s single-piece seat feels more comfortable than the Himalayan’s stepped seat. Ferrying around one of my heavily built friends, both of us were comfortable and snug in our seats, and even with a pillion, the Scram didn’t seem to lose any of its rough-road ability over broken roads. The cushioning too is perfect – not too soft or hard, meaning that it gives you the best of both worlds.

Having spent a couple of months with the Scram 411, I can now say one thing for sure – Royal Enfield has got the name of this motorcycle right. It’s a perfect scrambler to take you from point A to point B in the most effortless manner possible!

This month has been hectic, so the Scram hasn’t been run that much. I tried adjusting the pre-load on the motorcycle but found that the stock setting was pretty much the best it could do. On other fronts, I am pretty impressed that even after riding it hard, there’s not much I could fault with the bike. The only thing that came loose was one of the screws on the heat shield of the exhaust, which I tightened at home. The other thing that stood out about the Scram is that it is a very comfortable motorcycle to ride when you are standing up. Now, standing up is generally reserved for off-road conditions but even if you do it on-road, to relax, the Scram feels at ease underneath you. The bars fall to hand easily as I slightly lean forward to get in the perfect standing-up position. The tank is also designed in such a way that you can easily lock your legs around it, which provides more control over the motorcycle. The Scram’s an easy motorcycle for the city. Next time, Spiti maybe?

I have decided that the best way to get to my office and back home is on two wheels. The decision has been made solely based on the fact that traffic is bad, and two-wheelers are not only quicker in traffic but also more fun. And, while I am not a fan of big and heavy motorcycles, my partner-in-crime for these joy rides in the Delhi summer will be the Royal Enfield Scram 411.

It looks big, feels heavy to move around, especially when you are off the bike, and its 19-inch front tyre doesn’t do its handling any favour. I am 5’7” and have a small to medium build, and for a second, I wondered if I had bitten off more than I could chew. But all that fear vanished from my head almost instantaneously as I swung a leg over the Scram and roared off into the evening traffic.

As would be the case with any new motorcycle, it took me the first few kilometres to familiarise myself with the Scram. The biggest thing to get used to was the large front wheel. As I zipped through traffic, it felt a little weird at first, but once I got used to a large front wheel, the Scram’s behaviour became more predictable. Having ridden the Scram for a week now, I can honestly say that the large front wheel doesn’t rear its ugly head in most scenarios. It’s only when you start seriously hustling the Scram in city traffic that you feel limited by it. That’s okay, though, for while it might be called the Scram 411, we all know it has the soul of the Himalayan.

That soul shows itself when traffic begins to slow down due to bad roads, as it simply allows you to keep cruising at the same speed, for the Scram glides over the roughest of stuff with ease. The rear suspension does feel a little stiff, more so over expansion joints and speed breakers than over broken roads. I have a feeling that adjusting the pre-load on the rear shock might rectify this to an extent. But more on that in the next report.

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