Cruiser In Scrambler Clothing?

Here is our first impression following a first ride on theYamaha SCR950, which is closely based on the XV950.

- Roland Brown

BOOOMPH! AS the SCR950’s front tyre hits the bump in the dirt road the forks compress almost to their bottoms, and the handlebars twitch violently. From my position standing up on the wide foot-pegs I’m thrown momentarily off-balance, before the Yamaha recomposes itself and rumbles along contentedly again.

Any bike could generate a similar wobble when ridden off-road, but few scramblers would be knocked quite so out of shape by a Sardinian dirt-road divot that was so shallow I’d barely noticed it. Then again, the SCR950 is distinctly different from any others in the growing street scrambler class, because it is essentially a fairly lightly modified V-twin cruiser.

The SCR is closely based on the XV950 — known as the Star Bolt in the US, its main market — whose launch in July 2013 gave the first hint that Yamaha were emerging from their lengthy credit-crunch influenced hibernation. Both models date back further to the XVS950 Midnight Star with which Yamaha introduced the 942-cc, air-cooled V-twin engine in 2009.

Neither of those low-slung cruisers seems like obvious inspiration for a street scrambler. But Yamaha wanted to expand their Sport Heritage division with a classically styled, vaguely dual purpose rival to models including BMW’s R nineT Scrambler, Ducati’s Scrambler Desert Sled and Triumph’s Street Scrambler.

The XV, with its SOHC, 60-degree V-twin engine and traditional twin shock chassis, seemed like the simplest starting point. Its essentially dated engine and chassis layout offer old-school charm to compensate for the lack of modern engineering or performance. The eight-valve unit has been updated slightly to get through Euro 4, but its maximum output of 54 PS at 5,500 rpm hasn’t changed for eight years.