Royal Enfield has been upfront about the fact that time constraints played a major role in the development of the new Scram 411 – a scrambler motorcycle based on the popular Himalayan ADV. There’s certainly plenty of evidence to support the claim. In the metal, the Scram 411 is near-identical to the Himalayan. The only difference is that it sits lower by 60mm with the front handlebars adjusted to be closer to the rider by 20mm. The Scram 411 also has a steeper rake (by half a degree) for sharper handling, dual-purpose tyres and its overall geometry has been changed to make it more agile.
To understand why Royal Enfield tried to squeeze in a new motorcycle into their annual line-up, prior to the arrival of a new Himalayan, one must understand the appeal of the scrambler. As an all-purpose, thrashable runabout, the scrambler holds considerable sway over urban motorcyclists with a nostalgia fetish. This has allowed this particular genre of bespoke motorcycle to endure long enough to become a factory-fitted staple for most motorcycle brands. Triumph has one, Ducati’s got one and now, on the budget end of the spectrum, Yezdi has one. For the first time, Royal Enfield found itself on the back foot. With the entry-level scrambler market ripe for the taking, RE worked through the constraints of the pandemic to bring out the Scram in the nick of time.
In the metal, it’s a lightly modded Himalayan. The frame, the fuel tank, and the headlamp are all straight from the Himalayan, save for a newly machined metal bracket serving as a sort of crowl for the headlamp. RE once again emphasises that cost-saving measures played a role here, given that everything from design approval to tooling and manufacturing would have taken too long to accommodate a radically redesigned machine in the given time frame. The brand also didn’t want there to be any confusion as to the fact that this is very clearly a part of the Himalayan range and any drastic visual differentiation would have only diluted the Himalayan brand.
What can the Scram 411 do that the Himalayan cannot?
This is perhaps the only question worth answering when it comes to the Scram 411. And the brand has been careful in addressing this. The Scram 411 after all, has the same powertrain, the same gear ratios, the same gearbox and the same brake setup. Its fuelling has been tweaked to make the bike a bit more aggressive at the bottom end, but that’s pretty much it. While the Himalayan, with its larger front wheel and higher ride height, is positioned as a proper ADV, designed for a group of riders specifically looking for an Enfield built for the mountains, the Himalayan Scram 411 falls somewhere in the middle of the sliding rule. It’s supposed to be a bit more off-road friendly, more fun in the cities while still retaining enough of the Himlayan’s gristle to be a good long-distance tourer. Royal Enfield’s Global Head of Product Strategy and Design, Mark Wells claims that the bike still has higher ground clearance than most “so-called ADVs”.
So, can the Scram’s less focused range of abilities lure in the potential Himalayan customer? Not according to Royal Enfield which believes the Himalayan riders are uncompromising in their search for a purpose-built, easy-access ADV. The Scram comes with spoke wheels with no alloy options in sight (for now), so its preference for tarmac-free surfaces is perfectly evident. But the saddle isn’t flat like you’d expect it to be on a scrambler and is designed with pillion comfort in mind. A narrower, flatter seat would have given the Scram a more distinct appearance. All RE has done here is switch the Himalayan’s split-seat setup for a single unit. Hopefully, an after-market accessory can change that.
What’s it like on the tarmac?
The Scram 411 comes with the same power levels as the Himalayan, with 24 bhp of power and 32Nm of torque. Not insufficient by any means, especially when considering how accessible and capable a machine the current-gen BSVI Himalayan has grown to be. For those who find the Himalayan’s ride height a tad intimidating, the Scram’s lower saddle will be a welcome change.
Even on open highways, the Scram has a decent amount of grunt. No, it won’t surge ahead, and sure there will be a certain level of vibrations at higher revs, but that’s what you get with a single cylinder. The feistier bottom-end does make a difference here, though. Right off the bat, the Scram feels lively and raw. The suspension can be adjusted to be stiffer, but the suppleness works on porthole-laden roads. The one thing RE can look into is the brakes which remain identical to the Himalayan’s. Unlike the Interceptor, which has phenomenal brakes, the Scram requires a proper squeeze of the front brake lever after which you’re conditioned to brake a little early. The re-adjusted handlebars provide a nice, relatively upright riding position, so spending long hours in the saddle isn’t a hassle.
Taking the Scram 411 off-road
This is where the fun really begins. You will be aching to take the Scram off-road and the dual-purpose Ceat tyres do a fairly good job of allowing you to have some proper off-road fun. The hilly terrain around Big Rock Dirtpark in Karnataka’s Kolar district proved to be the perfect playground, offering a mix of gravelly, sandy and rocky surfaces with a handful of steep ditches thrown in for good measure.
Although the Scram could benefit from some weight shedding, it does feel primed for trail-bashing in a way the Himalayan doesn’t. Having traversed Big Rock’s motocross section on the Himalayan, I didn’t find myself missing the stability provided by its comparatively larger front wheel. The bash plate at its base, fended off many-an-attack from rocks, fallen tree branches and boulders, never once bottoming out. And even in second and third gear, the Scram had enough grunt to be able to catch some airtime over the sharp peaks of Big Rock’s motocross track and trail section.
With the Royal Enfield Slide School running in the background, it was too tempting not to put the Scram through its paces on a flat track. In an attempt to put a schism between its otherwise healthy relationship with traction, I was surprised to find the Scram more flickable on a flat track than I originally expected it to be. Its relatively tall initial gears allow you to hold the bike in first right up till the first turn of the oval track, making it a great beginner bike to learn trail riding and flat tracking on, if you’re so inclined.
Verdict
For the moment, the Scram directly locks horns with the Yezdi Scrambler. As far as abilities go, it does what RE claims it’s built for. A relatively easy-access, all-terrain motorcycle which is versatile and robust. Its design changes may leave you a little underwhelmed, but the Scram 411 is still one of the only affordable scrambler machines in the market. Unlike the Hero XPulse, the Scram 411 is a good bike to ride on tarmac. However, unlike the Yezdi Scrambler, it doesn’t get switchable ABS and riding modes. It’s also a tad lower on power (but has higher torque) than the Yezdi. For the RE Scrambler to truly work, the brand has to put in a bit more work and smoothen out the edges. And even though its accessories list includes a hand guard, tripper, radiator and master cylinder guard for the rear brake, it fails to completely look the part due to minimal visual changes. It even has a five-speed gearbox compared to the Yezdi’s six-speed unit, and a 300mm front disc compared to the Yezdi’s 320mm unit. The Scram 411 might be a fun and appealing motorcycle, but given what the competition offers, it still has a few rough edges it needs to smoothen out. For those who swear by the Himalayan and need a more trail-friendly machine, the Scram 411 is it.
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