The entry-level motorcycle market is starting to grow, and British bike builder Triumph is looking to get in on it. It’s doing so with the 2024 Speed 400 and Scrambler 400 X, a pair of retro-styled bikes with the smallest engines and likely smallest price tags in the motorcycle company’s line-up, and they’ll be hitting the U.S. market next year.
The basics of each are the same. Each has a double-overhead cam, 398-cc, fuel-injected and liquid-cooled single-cylinder engine. It makes 39 horsepower and 28 pound-feet of torque, which puts it right in range of many 300 to 500-cc entry-level bikes. The engine is paired with a six-speed manual that comes with an assist and slip clutch for easier use and smoothing out rough downshifts. It all sits in a tubular steel frame and is suspended by 43-mm inverted front forks and a rear monoshock with external reservoir. Alloy wheels are fitted to both along with braided brake lines, ABS and switchable traction control.
From there, each model starts to differentiate. The Speed 400 is more street-oriented with 17-inch wheels front and rear, and it’s the lightest of the two at 375 pounds. The Scrambler 400 X, with its mild off-road pretensions, gets some performance changes with a larger 19-inch front wheel, more suspension travel (0.4 inch up front, 0.79 inch rear), and a bigger front brake rotor (0.79 inches).
There are styling and riding position differences, too. The Speed 400 is the lower bike since it’s not trying to clear off-road obstacles, and it has a seat height of 31.1 inches. That will make it easier to hop on for more people. The Scrambler 400 X has a seat height 1.77 inches greater. It also has lower foot pegs. The Speed has a fairly clean look, accentuated by bar-end mirrors and single-tip exhaust. The Scrambler gets a bunch of off-road accoutrements such as a handlebar brace and guards, headlight guard, protection for the radiator and oil pan, a bigger front fender and twin-tip exhaust tips as a callback to the bigger Scrambler models. Each model also gets unique graphics and slightly different color options.
The Triumph 400s go on sale in January. Pricing hasn’t been announced, but they should be available for a fair bit less than Triumph’s current cheapest model the Trident 660 at $8,595.
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