Writer: Ziad Taha

Our 2013 Ultimate Bike may not be the most powerful, the fastest, or even the most innovative but it’s an accomplished all rounder that ticks most boxes. With its retro good looks, the Rumbler may make a McQueen out of us all.

Okay, so the Rumbler may just be a customised version of the Triumph Scrambler - it was designed for the primary purpose of competing in this year’s Tridays Rumble, one of the largest motorcycle events in Europe. But that doesn’t stop it from being possibly one of the coolest bikes ever created.

Held once a year in June in the picturesque Austrian town of Neukirchen, the all-grass 400-metre Rumble is only ever won by bikes that demonstrate superior traction, stability and robust but manageable power. And that’s the combination Jochen Schmitz-Linkweiler of LSL and Jens vom Brauck of JvB-Moto strove to achieve with this bike.
First, they fitted Öhlins suspension and Pirelli studded tyres to lift the Rumbler higher off the ground. Then they added custom triple clamps to tweak the steering geometry, a Magura Supermoto system (complete with 4-piston callipers and a radial master cylinder) to beef up its braking power and an Arrow high-performance exhaust to allow the 865cc parallel-twin engine to breathe better.

Given who they are, LSL and JvB-Moto were never going to allow this customisation just to be an exercise in purpose-driven engineering. The Rumbler had to be good looking too. In that regard, judicious changes were made to the handlebars, headlights, fenders, side panels and bench seat, with the bike’s coup de coeur delivered by its gorgeous gold front fork and matte brown paintwork.

The final result reminds you that sometimes there is some truth behind the the cliché of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.