Triumph Speed 400 review: Bharatiya-British brilliance

The shock in the room was palpable as the price tag rolled out of Nick Bloor’s mouth, and with good reason. The awesome Rs 2.33 lakh (ex-showroom) price tag revealed by Triumph’s CEO was a good Rs 20,000 lower than most people’s optimistic estimates. And that was before his father followed it up with a video revealing the Rs 2.23 lakh introductory price for the first 10,000 buyers. These figures are the biggest talking point and perhaps the biggest strength of the new Triumph Speed 400. It isn’t a flawless bike – no bike is. But it is an extremely capable and well-rounded motorcycle. And what it offers in exchange for its asking price is rather unparalleled, harking back to the disruptive value for money that the KTM 390 Duke brought in when it was first launched.

Triumph Speed 400: build quality and finish

One of the big factors that inflated people’s price expectations before the launch was just how premium and well-built the new Speed 400 looks. Materials, finishes and build quality across the bike are absolutely top notch, and the little Speed feels completely worthy of the prestigious badge it wears. What’s also impressive is the lengths that Triumph has gone to to make sure this bike isn’t some sort of budget outcast, but rather fits in well with the rest of its line-up. Be it in the way the chain drive is unconventionally on the right side, the fuel-filler is off-centre on the tank, the shape of the engine covers, the appearance of the cooling fins and even the design of the hand grips – there are a lot of elements here that have been carried over from the larger Speed Twin 900 and 1200.

Particularly impressive is how Triumph has managed to make the exhaust pipe look like one clean sweep from start to finish, even though it actually routes inboard to a catalytic converter in the belly and then comes back out before the muffler. This is once again something that Triumph does to great effect on its larger twins, and the execution here is very nearly as magnificent.

That said, Triumph has successfully managed to breathe fresh life into the retro design. All-LED lighting does a good job of modernising the look, and there’s a nice commanding stance, great road presence and a very cohesive look all around. Perhaps my one gripe here is the golden upside-down fork – some may like the flair it adds, but to my eyes, it doesn’t gel very well with the rest of the design theme, and I’d rather have a silver one.

The Speed does come across as a compact and tightly packaged motorcycle, but it stops just short of being a small bike. This applies to the visuals as well as once you’re in the saddle. There’s a generous amount of room on offer and this is an accommodating motorcycle. Rishaad (6’1”) was in no way cramped, and at the same time, my 5’8” self could get my feet down quite comfortably from the 790mm tall seat. Pegs are slightly rearset, but the handlebar is placed high enough that your upper body is quite upright, and your arms are relaxed. Overall, there is no strain on any part of the body, but you’re sat just sportily enough to keep you engaged and entertained. The seat is quite spacious, even with a pillion on-board, and though cushioning is on the softer side, it manages to remain comfortable even over moderately long durations.

Triumph Speed 400: engine

Once you’re done drinking in all the specialness and finally thumb that starter button (switchgear is actually one of the less special areas on this bike, though still certainly not something to complain about), you bring to life an all-new 398cc single-cylinder engine. And truth be told, it’s not the most evocative-sounding motor in the world. Yes, it sounds quite nice when you’re revving it through the range on the go, but at idle, it’s nothing to write home about, and it can’t quite fill your ears with lovely sound in the way that say a Classic 350 or a Harley X440 can.

But it is smooth. And tractable and flexible. It makes a very good first impression as you pull away from a standstill and begin to wade through city traffic. Clutch pull is fairly light, and it takes very little effort to get around. Small throttle openings do the trick, you don’t need a lot of revs – very often, in the first three gears, simply smoothly releasing the clutch will do the trick, with zero or very little throttle required. Gear ratios have been fantastically chosen to maximise the tractable nature of the motor, and if you’re smooth with the throttle pickup, you can even get on the gas from under 20kph in 3rd gear without needing the clutch. At the same time, the bike remains buzz-free up to nearly 120kph in top gear, and if you find the space, you’ll see almost 170kph on the speedo before hitting the limiter. So while it is geared a little on the short side, it certainly doesn’t feel hamstrung by this, and there is a lot of flexibility on offer.

Getting up to those highway speeds means revving the motor through its mid-range and that’s where it really shines. From about 4000rpm onwards, there’s real gusto in the way it charges forwards, and there is a very entertaining level of performance on offer. It doesn’t have the high-rpm rush of something like a KTM 390, but the more accessible powerband on the Triumph means you can enjoy more of the performance, more of the time, with far less effort. This was borne out in our testing figures as well, with the VBox telling us that the Speed 400 is quicker in terms of in-gear acceleration than a KTM 390 and the RE 650s.

This is a motor that you don’t need to rev all the way to the redline to get the most out of, and that’s just as well. Because it’s at the top of the rev range where the engine loses its smoothness and becomes a little buzzy at the touch points. It begins at around 7,000rpm and gets progressively worse up to the 9,200rpm redline. Nevertheless, for most everyday riding, this engine will come across as rather smooth, and you will never cease to be impressed by its capability.

Triumph Speed 400: ride and handling

Just as impressive is how usable the Speed 400 makes that performance by virtue of its stellar ride quality. Even though Triumph says it has firmed up the settings for India, the Speed 400 is still set up on the softer side, and the only adjustability is for rear preload. What this means is that it manages to greatly soften the blow from our less-than-perfect roads, but what’s impressive is how despite this, it manages to retain composure at all times. It’s only when you start pushing the bike hard through some corners up a twisty road or at a racetrack that you’ll feel the softness of the suspension telling you that the bike is being made to do something it wasn’t meant for.

For most of the time, though, you’ll appreciate how well it rides on our roads, and how it keeps you comfortable over the rough stuff. If there is one complaint in this area, it’s that the bike tossed me up off the seat a few times when coming off a big bump at speeds upwards of 80kph. That said, the Speed ships with the preload set to a minimum and I kept it there for my 58kg frame. Dialling in some more preload should stop the spring from compressing so far and then releasing all that stored-up energy which was tossing me off the seat.

We were also fortunate enough to get a few laps on track with the Speed, and it proved to be a reasonably entertaining and capable bike in this environment. Handling is very predictable and neutral – it’s a quick steering and agile bike, but never to the point of being twitchy or unnerving. At the end of the day, it certainly won’t trouble an out-and-out sport naked like a KTM 390 on track, but this is an environment that only an infinitesimal number of Speed 400s will ever end up in, and it certainly doesn’t let itself down even here.

It’s a similar story with the brakes – they perform fairly well and there’s a good amount of stopping power on offer. Initial bite isn’t super sharp, and you wouldn’t want it to be on a bike that’s set up for the road and not the track. But ramp up the lever effort and it slows down quickly and confidently. That said, we’ve now spent an extended period of time with the bike, and the brakes have become noticeably squishier in this period, with more lever travel and effort required to achieve the same results.

Triumph Speed 400: features

Rounding out the package is a fairly impressive set of features that Triumph has thrown on the little Speed. Highlights are ride-by-wire and a torque-assist clutch, which facilitates traction control and a light clutch action respectively. As mentioned above, there’s also all-LED lighting (the headlight performs reasonably well), the dual-channel ABS works gently and well in most situations short of full-on panic braking, and you also get an immobiliser.

The digi-analogue instruments are a great blend of classic good looks and all the information you’d want on a 2023 motorcycle, though the small digital tachometer is quite difficult to get precise readings from. There is no Bluetooth connectivity or adjustable levers here, but obviously some compromises need to be made to achieve this incredible pricing, and these are certainly one of the more easy to accept areas where costs can be cut.

Triumph Speed 400: verdict

What I’m hoping is clear to you by this point is that the new Triumph Speed 400 is a very impressive and capable motorcycle. But there is one question that still looms large. Is it an authentic Triumph? Now, obviously, with a single-cylinder engine, it was never going to be able to replicate the character of Triumph’s larger, multi-cylinder machines. But that aside, it does pack in many signature Triumph qualities. It’s beautiful to look at, superbly finished and well put together. It then backs it up with terrific capability and it’s an excellent all-rounder – something that a lot of Triumphs tend to do. And the British brand does offer great value for money on many of its motorcycles, but in this case, it has truly knocked it out of the park when it comes to pricing.

The final piece of the puzzle will fall into place soon, as these bikes begin to reach showrooms and end up in people’s garages. Triumph dealerships are going to be operating on an unprecedented scale, and the network itself will be growing drastically, from the current 15 showrooms to 120 showrooms nationwide by the end of the financial year. Sales and service operations will be handled by Bajaj (though they will all be Triumph-branded showrooms), and the company's experience in dealing with volumes will be crucial in helping Triumph explore this uncharted new territory. One thing is for sure, it certainly has the product for the job.