2024 Triumph Speed 400

The Speed 400 isn’t the fastest, most powerful, or most technologically advanced machine in the company’s range but it’s arguably the most important. The most affordable bike to wear the badge in the 40 years since builder-turned-billionaire John Bloor rescued Triumph from oblivion promising to elevate the company into a new league—bringing it into competition with much larger brands and ushering in new levels of mass production as it does so. What does that mean to you and me? It’s going to be easier than ever to add a Triumph to the garage in future.

Triumph can’t be accused of rushing into it when it comes to the decision to create a range of single-cylinder, low-capacity bikes to add a new layer of mass-market appeal. It’s a project that’s been underway in one form or another for well over a decade, with the goal of spreading beyond the relatively upper-echelon model range that the company has traditionally offered.

Originally Triumph intended to go it alone with a line of 250cc singles, which it intended to build in a purpose-made factory in India. It got as far as officially announcing the project in 2012, by which time development of the planned “Street Single” roadster and “Daytona 250″ sportbike was largely complete, before performing a U-turn and dropping the idea. But the temptation of building bikes that could appeal to the huge Indian and Asian markets as well as providing an entry-level tier to the range in other markets didn’t go away, and in 2017 Triumph inked a deal with India’s Bajaj to work together on a completely new project to achieve that goal.

The Speed 400 is the result, following more than five years of development work, and it’s the basic building block of a whole new range of models. It will be manufactured both in Triumph’s existing factories in Thailand and Brazil (the British plant in Hinckley, Leicestershire, is reserved for manufacturing relatively small numbers of exclusive models these days) as well as in Bajaj’s facilities in India.

The Speed 400 is entirely new, from the single-cylinder 398cc engine to the hybrid spine/perimeter frame and the retro-inspired styling. Triumph is angling the bike as a junior variant to sit alongside the Speed Twin 900 and Speed Twin 1200, part of its Modern Classics range of retro models, rather than as a baby brother to the more modernistic Speed Triple 1200, but beneath the traditional looks there’s a thoroughly modern bike that can be considered a direct rival to the likes of BMW’s G 310 R and KTM’s 390 Duke.

Just one version of the Speed 400 is in the lineup, with a choice of three colors—Carnival Red, Phantom Black, and Caspian Blue—all sharing an oversized Triumph logo on the tank. The Triumph is competitively priced with European rivals like the BMW G 310 R, Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, and KTM 390 Duke, which all sit between $5,000 and $6,000.

As well as battling the $4,995 BMW G 310 R, $5,899 Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, and $5,899 KTM 390 Duke, the Speed 400 will be fighting more out-and-out retro machines including the much cheaper $3,999 Royal Enfield Hunter 350. It sits well above the 20 hp Enfield in terms of performance, with 39.5 hp on tap. That’s also enough to beat the 34 hp BMW, but not quite up there with KTM and Husqvarna, which both use the same 43 hp engine.

One thing the Speed 400 does share with all those rivals is a deep connection with India’s motorcycle industry. Bajaj will handle much of the Speed 400′s production, but also owns a big share in the parent company of KTM and Husqvarna and manufactures the Duke and Vitpilen singles. Meanwhile, BMW’s singles are manufactured in India by TVS, and Royal Enfield has long been an Indian operation, owned by the vast Eicher group.

Outside the US, the Speed 400 also faces competition from not one but two new Harley-Davidson models. In Asian markets, the Chinese-built H-D X350—made by Qianjiang and based on the Benelli 302S and QJMotor SRK350—will be a key rival, with 36 hp from a 354cc twin-cylinder engine. In India, meanwhile, the H-D X440 uses a 440cc air-cooled single and developed and manufactured by Hero MotoCorp. Like Triumph, Harley-Davidson finds the appeal of the vast Indian and Asian markets for bikes in the 400cc class irresistible.

The new Triumph engine, dubbed the TR-Series to echo bikes from the company’s past, might have an old-school look with its finned cylinder and the Bonneville-style triangular cover on the right-hand side, but that’s a bit of visual sleight of hand as it’s a genuinely modern motor underneath the traditional exterior.

Clocking in at 398cc, the engine is liquid-cooled—those fins are for style, not function—and packs a DOHC four-valve cylinder head that uses finger followers under the cam lobes to help reduce inertia and friction. That’s the same tech that’s currently in vogue in superbikes. The broad, 89mm bore is matched to a 64mm stroke for a relatively high-revving, oversquare design, reflected in peak power of 39.5 hp that arrives at a lofty 8,000 rpm. Max torque, 27.7 lb.-ft., comes at 6,500 rpm. With revs in mind, the engine gets a reverse-rotating balancer shaft to keep it smooth, while internal DLC coatings reduce friction.

Although the 89mm bore is identical to that of KTM’s 373cc “390″ single—which Bajaj also manufactures alongside the new Triumph—that’s likely to be the result of logical engine development rather than any shared roots. The two engines have quite different designs elsewhere, and the KTM uses a shorter, 60mm stroke. Its compression ratio is also higher than the modest 12:1 selected by Triumph.

The intake features a ride-by-wire throttle and Bosch fuel injection, while spent gases exit from a cleverly designed exhaust that takes a leaf from the Bonneville’s book, hiding its catalytic converter and main muffler under the engine and using a dummy pipe to give the impression that its routed straight from the cylinder head to the end can.

Power goes through an assist-and-slipper clutch to a conventional six-speed box, and while there’s switchable traction control as standard there’s no quickshifter or multiple riding modes.

The engine slots into what Triumph describes as a hybrid spine/perimeter frame made of steel tube, with a bolt-on subframe that makes it easier to create multiple different models around the same main elements.

While the bike is aligned with the Speed Twin 900 and Speed Twin 1200 in the Modern Classics range, the Speed 400 is a more contemporary design. There’s a rear monoshock rather than the twin-shock layout of the bigger bikes, for instance, along with a cast alloy swingarm and inverted big-piston 43mm fork. That’s a spec that’s aligned closely with more modern-looking rivals like the 390 Duke.

The bike’s entry-level positioning is reflected in the lack of suspension adjustment on offer: You can tweak the rear preload, but that’s all. The fork offers a respectable 5.5 inches of travel, allied to 5.1 inches of movement at the rear wheel.

Key chassis dimensions include a 24.6-degree rake and 4 inches of trail, along with a wheelbase of 54.2 inches. Both wheels are 17 inches, with a 110/70R-17 front and 150/60R-17 rear tire. Metzeler Sportec M9RR rubber is standard.

Weight is a key consideration in this part of the market, and at 375 pounds with the 3.4-gallon tank filled to 90 percent of its capacity, the Speed 400 performs well. BMW’s G 310 R undercuts it a fraction at 362 pounds in the same state but the Triumph packs an extra 85cc of capacity and 6 hp, which should more than make up the deficit.

Pretty simple stuff here, with a four-piston radial-mount front caliper from Brembo’s ByBre sub-brand acting on a single 300 rotor. It’s aided by a floating rear caliper on a 230mm disc at the back. ABS is standard, but it’s the conventional type that works best in a straight line, not the sort of IMU-assisted cornering ABS that’s becoming increasingly widespread on more expensive bikes.

Triumph has yet to certify the Speed 400, so there’s no official fuel consumption claim yet.

With the focus firmly on new riders, Triumph has aimed for a neutral, comfortable riding position with a low seat and broad, roadster-style bars. That seat is just 31.1 inches high, and Triumph claims to have put work into making the engine particularly narrow around the clutch area to make the whole bike as slim as possible so it’s even easier to get both feet flat on the ground.

Allied to the slender weight and moderate power of the engine, it’s a recipe that should be unintimidating for young riders but it also needs to appeal to more experienced motorcyclists, as in the Indian and Asian markets that will be key to its success, the 400cc class is considered relatively large.

Triumph has already announced a wide range of options to tailor the Speed 400, including luggage—both soft and hard—as well as screens, engine bars, and plug-and-play heated grips, with wiring already present as standard.

There aren’t many of the latest rider-assist gadgets on the Speed 400, although the presence of a ride-by-wire throttle means Triumph has been able to include traction control as standard. It can be switched off if you prefer to ride without it. ABS is also standard equipment.

On board, the dash is a straightforward setup with an analog speedometer and LCD secondary panel for revs, trip, gear position, and other functions. There’s a USB-C charging socket, but no phone connectivity.

As usual for Triumph, there’s a two-year, unlimited-mileage warranty, plus two years of roadside assistance. Service intervals are 10,000 miles or 12 months, whichever comes first.

Triumph is regarded as one the best in the business when it comes to fit and finish, and it has continued that trend with even its lowest-price model. The Speed 400 has bright and well-finished paintwork, quality fasteners, and overall you would not assume it cost less than $5,000 by looking at it.