YAMAHA'S SCR950 was one of the best surprises to come out of last autumn's bike shows: a properly cool-looking scrambler, with wire-spoked wheels, steel mudguards and an XT500-like seamless tank. <br /> <br />And all Yamaha had done was adapt an XV950R cruiser. Custom-builders had done it, so why not? The air-cooled V-twin cruiser platform is part of what gives it its genuine custom-bike look. <br /> <br />Of course that meant it wouldn't actually go off-road. Cruisers are near the bottom of my list of things to tackle trails on, just above ice skates. <br /> <br />So I arrived at the press launch of the bike in Sardinia with no more expectation of going trail riding than had it been the new R6. But trail riding we did. <br /> <br />Yamaha's not pretending it's an off-road bike. In the pre-ride presentation, they described it as a "road bike adapted for a bit of off-roading". <br /> <br />The adaptations include a new sub-frame, raising the seat by 140mm to 838mm. Take off one of the side panels and you'll find a big empty space beneath the new straight, flat seat. <br /> <br />The front wheel is now a 19-inch, which also raises the ground clearance by 10mm to 145mm. And it's got Bridgestone Trail Wing dual-purpose tyres. <br /> <br />Read the full review here: http://www.visordown.com/road-tests-first-rides/first-ride-yamaha-scr950-review <br /> <br />********************************************* <br /> <br />For more exclusive bike reviews, awesome onboard footage and sneak peeks of the latest bike launches, subscribe to the Visordown YouTube Channel here - http://www.youtube.com/user/VisordownUK?sub_confirmation=1 <br /> <br />Visit us on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/visordown <br /> <br />Follow us on Twitter - http://twitter.com/visordown <br /> <br />Check out our Instagram - https://twitter.com/visordown
