Motorcycle Freestyle Rider Ernie Vigil Puts Triumph’s Scrambler Through The Wringer [Video]

With its on/off-road tires, spoke wheels, high rise dual exhaust, protective fork gators and flat one-piece seat and handlebar, Triumph’s Scrambler evokes notions of a McQueen-esque go anywhere, do anything machine in a modern motorcycle.

It’s probably safe to assume few Scrambler owners today put their retrofied rides to the test, seeing just how much abuse the 865cc parallel-Twin-powered Scrambler can take. However, in this Triumph North America video, freestyle rider Ernie Vigil (the video’s editor and co-creator) does what most Scrambler owners wish they were capable of with their new/old Trumpet.

From stand-up wheelies to stand-up rolling burnouts to some hairy-looking moments in the dirt, Vigil is relentless in his punishment of the Scrambler. But in the end the bike seems unfazed. Perhaps most notable are the scenes where Vigil rides the Triumph with abandon through desertscapes, stream crossings and apparently unmarked trails. These moments in the short film/video remind us of how mid-20th century riders road their machines anywhere, regardless of a motorcycle’s design intent.

By Pete Brissette