Don't kick Royal Enfield Scram 411

Who wants a Scram 411? 

 Royal Enfield introduced its Scram 411 motorcycle with a video showing young men hooning around, raising dust clouds and generally being obnoxiously enthusiastic. 

(Note that there are no women in the video.) 

"Is the Scram 411 what Royal Enfield customers want?" I asked at the time. 

The answer to that just came in an email from Scram 411 owner Nicola Farr, of the UK. 

Here is what an experienced woman motorcyclist says about the Royal Enfield Scram 411: 

"I would love to see a review of the 2023 Scram 411, as I see a lot of negatives being pointed out in reviews like Ryan does in his FortNine video.

YouTube vlogger Ryan kicks a Scram 411.

"I’ve recently bought a new Scram 411. Now I have years and years experience of riding motorcycles (I started in 1975 riding and always had a motorcycle on the road).

"Why did I buy a 400cc motorcycle? I have a Fireblade in the garage, a Versys, and several Bultacos, a GasGas, and I’ve just sold two WR400F bikes.

"Well, as I see it the roads are busier than ever these days, the UK government has a passion for all sorts of speed cameras, so you can’t open your big bikes up like you could; this is where the Scram's pure experience comes into play.

It’s cheap to buy, cheap to run, has a 6,000 mile service interval; the latest are injected rather than a carb; I’ve got 97 mpg on a full tank to a full tank while running in.

"Yes, it’s built to a price point that makes it affordable for the Indian market. But it also makes it affordable in other countries.

"I’ve finished running mine in just today: 1,310 miles.

Nicola Farr of the UK knows motorcycles.

"I’ve ridden fast highways and single-track country lanes on it during the running in period. I must say what a fantastic bike it is. I really can’t fault its performance and reliability up to this point; the smiles per miles are way beyond what my imagination expected or I could have hoped for. 

"So much so I haven’t ridden my other bikes all summer!

"Yes I get passed by bikers and cars  but I get to see the world as I pass, instead of a blur at 100 miles per hour. The journey has suddenly become more important than the destination, which is what I remember riding to be all those years ago.

"The navigation on the Scram, and the other models to that point, takes time to understand and any lag is down to the phone and the phone’s ability to get a signal, etc. The UK bikes phone app is behind the release in the home market so it could improve if it’s released world wide.

"So would I repeat my purchase if I could rewind time? YES, every single time. It rides well, feels right, it has been reliable, economical and it has good looks, and loads of accessories are available

Royal Enfield Scram 411 appreciates the scenery.

"The seat is comfortable on the Scram for all day riding. I’ve fitted a few extras like hand guards,  engine bars in case I drop it and a rack to carry my day's essentials on a ride.

"As I was rolling down past the beautiful Welsh countryside, I thought this Royal Enfield I own is probably going over roads that had been ridden on by much earlier Enfield model bikes, over 100 years before me!  

"I bet they were equally impressed with their Royal Enfield bikes as I am with my Scram! The valleys rang with the dependable thudding of the engine exhaust sound as I took the twists and turns of the narrow road. Climbing the twisting lane it was music to my ears for sure.

"The pure riding experience of the Himalayan Scram stays with you, long after you have returned home and had a coffee in your favorite armchair awaiting your next excuse to go for a ride."

Here comes the Royal Enfield Scram 411

Get out of the way. Here comes the Scram 411.

 The Royal Enfield SCRAM 411 will appear in U.S. and Canadian dealerships as early as September. OF THIS YEAR! 

The Scram 411 is a street scrambler, based on Royal Enfield's popular Himalayan adventure motorcycle. Its Himalayan (the mountain range) bones mean you're welcome to take the Scram 411 off road if you want. 

The 2023 Royal Enfield Scram 411 will retail for $5,099 USD, $6,749 CAD, Royal Enfield North America said.  

It announced the Scram 411 in an unusual press release. It actually boasts about what you don't get with the Scram 411. 

"The Scram 411 sheds the distinctive engine guards, windshield, center stand and rear rack of its adventure-touring counterpart, leaving a delightfully agile, freshly styled ADV crossover motorcycle." 

Scram 411 retains the high ground clearance and foot-on-the-ground seating welcome in the dirt. 

BONUS PLUS: "The first 1,000 units in North America will feature the Royal Enfield Tripper Navigation, a simple and intuitive turn-by-turn navigation pod that pairs with your smartphone via the Royal Enfield App. Royal Enfield will also offer an all-new Scram 411 Collection of apparel and Genuine Motorcycle Accessories," the press release said. 

Downtown, where it will often be found, is Scram 411 in White Flame.

The Scram 411 comes in seven different color schemes, none of them chrome. Leave it out in the rain if you want. 

The styling makes it clear that the Scram 411 came to have rough fun. It's clearly no cruiser.

Royal Enfield introduced the Scram 411 with a video of young people aggressively skating boarding, stunting (on bicycles) and generally cutting up.

In other words, young people are pictured doing the kinds of stuff they shouldn't do on a motorcycle, on the street.

The video ought to have come with a warning label: "Caution. Professional skate boarder. Closed skate park. Do not attempt."

It's only a commercial. People use motorcycles for fun, but really put on the miles going to work and school.

The Scram 411 promises to be a useful multi-purpose tool with styling that says its rider is no drone.

As usual, Mark Wells, chief of design at Royal Enfield, has thought it out:

"Most scrambler motorcycles focus only on aesthetics and looks. When we began work on the Scram 411, we were determined to create a motorcycle that would be distinct in design and purpose, and bring the best of rough-road capability to urban riding. With its distinctive look and design, playful colorways, accessible riding proposition, the Scram 411 is an ultimate ADV crossover for the urban environment."

Great! But. Isn't it more difficult to get correct a "crossover" design that offers to do two jobs better than expected, rather than one job as expected?

Motorcycles by nature are fun, versatile, economical, useful, exciting and inspiring vehicles. The Scram 411 checks all those boxes.

Is the Scram 411 what Royal Enfield customers want? Maybe new Royal Enfield customers do. Perhaps that is the point of it.

Scram 411 in Skyline Blue, one of seven color schemes.
See this post for all seven color options.

Get excited: Royal Enfield Scram 411 coming to the U.S.

Royal Enfield introduces the new Scam 411. This is the Graphite Red. The other six colors announced and full specifications appear below.

 "The Scram 411 is scheduled to arrive in the U.S. late summer/early fall." 

If you're alive and into motorcycling you've known for a long time that Royal Enfield planned a "street" version of its popular Himalayan adventure bike. 

The announcement from Royal Enfield North America that the Scram is on its way is probably all you still needed to know about what looks like a fun, friendly and affordable new Royal Enfield motorcycle. 

After all, you've seen the Royal Enfield Himalayan and you've been impressed by the Himalayan, which takes on the high mountains and even reached the South Pole. You like it, even though your personal motorcycling challenges are urban potholes, not mountain ranges.

For months you've seen reports that Royal Enfield would build the street version of the Himalayan that would be right up your urban alley.

What was taking so long? You thought, why not just take off the extra front fender, make the headlight turn with the forks, strip off the expedition gear, and scram!

Apparently, what took so long is that the Scram 411 is not just a de-contented Himalayan. As with every motorcycle Royal Enfield introduced since 2009, there's deep philosophy behind it.

Royal Enfield corporate leader Siddhartha Lal needs no help philosophizing.

"This is not just a motorcycle. It's a mindset," he said.

Royal Enfield Chief of Design Mark Wells said it by the numbers at the Scram 411 launch.

"Modern existence demands a multi-purpose tool that is optimized for agility, an ally that is always ready for whatever surprises life has in store. ADVS are too specialized for the city; whilst most road bikes are too soft for the hard realities of contemporary existence.

"We really wanted this thing to look fun and funky, so we took inspiration from flat track, from scrambles, from all over the place.

"Despite this bike has got 19-inch front wheels it's still got 190mm travel at the front and 180mm travel at the back. We've got 795mm seat height, and a really great ergonomics triangle. The dual purpose tires are the perfect compromise, giving confidence on broken loose tarmac and also grip and comfort on the highway.

"The 200mm (ground) clearance, which makes sense on the trails, also when you're in the city.

"This is no cosmetic crossover or pumped up street bike. This is a brand new sub-category, created with legit ADV capability that was cross bred with scrambler playfulness and accessibility.

"The technical term for this new subspecies is ADV-crossover. But we just call it the Scram."

OK. First objection. With all this serious consideration to what the Scram 411 should be, why give it a name that is flip, slangy and just so easy-going that it sounds inconsequential?

The answer to that is the word "young."

"The Scram 411 is the perfect crossover for young city-dwellers, who prefer a motorcycle that is fun and engaging to ride around the city, yet has a rugged appeal," Royal Enfield Executive Director B Govindarajan was quoted, in the press release.

Yup. "Young" means easy-going and carefree. But does it mean "careless"? The launch video depicts Scram 411 riders speeding, showing off and behaving like idiots on city streets. Yes, young people do those things, sometimes. It's painful to think they'd do it on a Royal Enfield.

They mostly won't, of course. They will use the Scram 411 to commute weekdays and ride to fun destinations on weekends.

Still, excitement plays a role in the purchase of any motorcycle, no problem there. The Scram 411 offers impressive capabilities at a likely very reasonable price.

Then why do the seven colors announced for India include three (and it should be five) colors that include the word "Graphite" in their name?

Five gray paint jobs, a meek shade of blue and an actually great looking white are the choices. Even the "Blazing Black" appears (at least on the website) to be yet another gray.

That's my second objection. Does Royal Enfield think young motorcyclists want to blend into the shadows?

Scram 411 Blazing Black color.

Scram 411 Graphite Blue color.

Scram 411 Graphite Yellow color.

Scram 411 Silver Spirit color.

Scram 411 Skyline Blue color.

Scram 411 White Flame color.

Finally, my third objection. Bear with me on this. Royal Enfield is not shy about referring to its Himalayan as the "heart" beating inside the Scram 411. The Himalayan name and equipment carry that reference to the mountains, which is part of Royal Enfield's heritage and brand.

As a near Himalayan look-a-like, the Scram 411 retains a lot of that character but is original and unique in its own right. It is yet another example of Royal Enfield bringing its own special sauce to a new product.

But the Scram 411 also is recognizably a movement toward utility. And utility is something you can buy elsewhere. In fact, almost anywhere.

What brought me to Royal Enfield is something available no where else: an emotional link to the great British motorcycles of the past.

It's a given that Royal Enfield must grow beyond its retro Brit-bike associations to survive. It's not in business to cater to me alone.