2017 Triumph Street Scrambler Project Bike: Making It Pretty

I've always had a soft spot for Triumph's modern retro line. My first new bike was a 2010 Triumph Bonneville and spent weeks on end agonizing over finding the right bars or mirrors to get it looking and riding exactly how I wanted. It was the bike that helped me fall in love with motorcycling, but it also wasn't all that great of a bike. The suspension was awful and it handled terribly and it felt incredibly top heavy.

Triumph's revitalized modern retro line is a massive update. The new 900cc and 1200cc motors work wonderfully, and the bikes work and ride much better from top to bottom. I've always loved the Scrambler, and Triumph's new Street Scrambler quickly caught my eye on it's release. I fell further in love on the launch, where its nimble handling won me over.

I leave my hipster roots more and more behind the further I get into this whole motorcycle journalism thing; I can't even remember the last time I wore an open-faced helmet. So I decided it was time to a return to center of sorts, and Triumph was kind enough to help with the cause. With that I present to you our new 2017 Triumph Street Scrambler project bike, something I'm already completely in love with.

And, the return to my roots this is, I decided to also stick to a more traditional upgrade schedule which meant turning my attention first to the looks. The Street Scrambler looks beautiful off the showroom floor, but there were a few things that stuck out to me, plus part of the fun is in the little details you pick yourself. The first round of accessories are as follows and directly from Triumph's parts catalog:

Black ACG Badge A9610265
Black Clutch Badge A9610257
Black Intake Cover A9618182
Chain Guard Black Drilled A2055008
CNC Machined Front Reservoir A9620057
Headlight Grill A9838244
Machined Oil Filler Cap A9610240
Number Board Kit A9708431
Quilted Bench Seat A9708479
Rubber Tank Pad A9790010
Fox Adjustable ShocksA9640208

On top of those, my friends at British Customs sent over a prototype for their new race exhaust after I was whining to them about how the stock exhaust adds to the width of the bike and hits my knee, as well as their fender eliminator kit.

Overall, the idea was to black out the motor and add some nice finishing touches like the machined front brake reservoir and headlight guard. The stock seat was too soft and I didn't like the lines of it, but Triumph's flat bench seat fixed both of those issues (although it could be a tad narrower).

I thought the British Customs exhaust might be a little too weird for something I was trying to keep classic, but now that it's on the bike I actually love that it spices up the looks a bit. It's waaaaay too loud and we're working on custom inserts for it, but it definitely adds to the riding experience.

The Fox Shocks made the biggest improvement thus far, and the Scrambler no longer squats when I'm hard on the gas on corner exits. They will still take some tuning, as they felt a little soft still for some hard street riding but then a little soft for the light off-road riding I did in the desert.

There are still a few things from Triumph's parts catalog left that I'm looking to add, and then we'll get onto some ideas I have with motor work and the front suspension.

Leave your questions and comments down below, especially if you have ideas for a mirror option that works well and still looks nice (and no, I will not use bar ends).