Custom motorcycles and Triumph have been joined at the hip for decades, so when the British marque launched its global Originals competition last year, the concept made plenty of sense. For 2026, Triumph Originals is back, but this time everyone is playing on the same patch of dirt. The theme is ‘Time Capsule’, the motorcycle is the Scrambler, and seven teams representing China, Italy, France, Canada, the USA, Spain and the UK have been asked to take inspiration from a decade or defining moment in Scrambler history. An expert judging panel and public vote will ultimately decide the winner, but we picked out a few of our favourites, and this year’s competition is red hot.
Of all the bikes Triumph could have chosen, the Scrambler is perhaps the most appropriate because the breed was born in workshops rather than boardrooms. Riders took road-going Triumph twins, stripped away weight, fitted wider bars and dirt tyres, raised the exhaust and modified the suspension to survive Californian desert races and European competition. Bud Ekins and Steve McQueen made the look famous, but originally those modifications were about function, not fashion. Triumph eventually turned the formula into a factory model with the modern Scrambler in 2006, and today’s family stretches from the single-cylinder 400s through the Bonneville-powered 900 to the 1200 X and off-road-focused 1200 XE.
With that much history to raid, Triumph could easily have ended up with seven variations on the same high-pipe, number-board and knobby-tyre recipe, but the Time Capsule brief has produced something far broader. Italy’s South Garage, Spain’s Tamarit Motorcycles and Britain’s Stockwell Design have all taken their own approach, while the teams from China, the USA, Canada and France went in four directions that particularly caught our attention. Their inspiration stretches from vintage motocross and American forestry vehicles to Triumph’s newest competition enduro machinery, so rather than rank the entire field, we’re concentrating on the quartet that casts the widest net in design and execution.
China’s BVL Garage might have produced the biggest transformation with its BVL-VMX-900. Starting with a Scrambler 900, BVL looked to Triumph’s 1981 TR7T Tiger Trail and the VMX machinery of the period, turning the substantial modern twin into something resembling an early-’80s competition bike.
The standard bodywork has given way to a classic off-road seat, massive dirt bike guards and plenty of protection, while the pipes are simply picture-perfect. Rather than trying to disguise the modern mechanical package, BVL has changed everything around it until the 900 reads like the sort of motorcycle that just screams to be taken on an off-road adventure.
America’s Triumph Columbia River took an entirely different route with Engine 1200, its tribute to the Pacific Northwest and its remarkable natural environment. Instead of searching Triumph’s archives for a famous race bike, the Portland team drew inspiration from US Forest Service vehicles and childhood memories of exploring the region.
That explains the utilitarian treatment of the Scrambler 1200, with the stunning colour choice and cool custom components from the Crooked team. It creates a vibe of the sort of machine intended to disappear down forestry roads, rooster-tailing the whole way. It’s a clever interpretation: local, loyal to decades of inspiration that drives the crew forward, and if Smokey Bear had a bike, this would be it.
Canada’s Motos Illimitées turned the Time Capsule around and pointed it at the present, using Triumph’s new TF 250-E enduro machine as inspiration for its Scrambler 1200 XE. The big XE already supplies the right bones with its long-travel suspension and 1200cc parallel twin, but the Canadians have pushed it towards the competition bike with sharper bodywork, 17in RS Thruxton wheels, less visual bulk and a contemporary enduro silhouette.
Acerbis, Dunlop, Renthal and ProX Racing Parts hardware reinforces the connection. Rather than asking what scrambling looked like in 1965, they’re capturing Triumph’s current return to serious off-road competition, and then spinning it 180 to deliver the Brit Super Moto that no factory actually makes!
France’s FCR Original went the other way with Red Dust, taking the Scrambler 1200 XE back to the functional desert machines of the 1960s and ’70s. Their philosophy was simple: original scramblers were modified because riders needed better motorcycles for difficult terrain, so the changes to Red Dust had to serve a purpose.
Stripped bodywork, stunning fenders and sturdy rock protection sit over the XE’s already serious chassis package, while FCR combines traditional fabrication with 3D scanning, CAD and modern manufacturing techniques to bring their add-on parts to life. The metallic red finish grabs your attention, but underneath it is an exercise in ergonomics, balance and function; essentially a machine you can take anywhere and look mighty fine while doing it.
Those are our four, but that’s deliberately not a declaration of the winner. South Garage’s rally-inspired Italian Dune 400, Tamarit’s Spanish MIURA and Stockwell Design’s British entry take the same brief in completely different directions, and they’re well worth a look. Triumph has the complete field, photography, builder interviews and behind-the-scenes material on the Triumph Originals website, where you can check out all seven before choosing your favourite. For us, China, America, Canada and France kept dragging us back for another look; head over, pick the one you’d actually want in your garage, and let us know which country got the Scrambler brief right.
