Rennie Scaysbrook | February 28, 2024
It’s a question almost as old as the motorcycle itself: how do we get new riders on board? New riders mean new money, new enthusiasm, and, yep, more new money.
Triumph’s been hard on the new-bike trail in 2024 with the—take a big breath—Stealth Edition Modern Classics, Speed 400, Scrambler 400 X, Thruxton Final Edition, Tiger 900 GT, GT Pro, and Rally Pro, Scrambler 1200 X, Scrambler 1200 XE, Daytona 660, and the TF 250-X motocross bike.
By Rennie Scaysbrook | Photography by Gareth Hartford
Aside from the admittedly very important 250 motocross weapon that made a promising debut in Detroit a few weeks ago, the ones that’ll garner the most attention and, I promise, sell the most units worldwide for the brand will be the $4995 Speed 400 and the $5595 Scrambler 400 X range.
The reason for this is that it allows Triumph firm access to the biggest motorcycle market in the world in the Indian subcontinent, an area where little bikes rule and anything above 600cc is pure overkill. Every other market will come second to this, regardless of what the Triumph honchos tell you.
However, just because a motorcycle is made in and for India (yes, the Speed and Scrambler range will be made in India, Thailand and Brazil) doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t get in on the fun.
It’s a good time to be in the small-capacity game and not just if you’re a new rider. KTM has proven this with their 390 range that has been created with Bajaj, who are, coincidentally, also in collaboration with Triumph and are also responsible for the creation of the Speed and Scrambler 400s, Kawasaki’s Ninja/Z400, Honda’s CB300R, Yamaha MT-03, Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, the list goes on. Little bikes are now good things—well made, reliable, and, most of all, enjoyable to use even if you’ve got years of miles under the wheels already.
The Street and Scrambler 400 X models are essentially the same things but with obvious changes like the Scrambler’s 19-inch front wheel wrapped in a Metzeler Karoo Street tire, off-road mode on the traction control and ABS to allow you to lock the rear brake on the dirt, a touch more suspension travel, different exhaust muffler and a taller handlebar for, you know, scrambling.
Under the hood of both bikes sits a new 398cc liquid-cooled single-cylinder pumping out 39 horsepower and 27 lb-ft of torque, which isn’t going to stretch anyone’s arms out of their sockets but still provides plenty of power for most applications you find yourself in. There are no riding modes, which is fair enough, just the single throttle map that’s been tuned so the hit of torque from opening the throttle is nice and smooth so as not to scare off new riders.
Despite the price tag, the new Triumphs have a quality look and feel to the finish. The paint, fittings, hose routings, and little nit-picky things that drive bike journalists nuts are all thankfully well-catered. But seeing as we’re talking two different bikes, we’ll split them off now and test them on their own.
2024 Triumph Speed 400
The Speed 400, more so than the Scrambler 400 X, fills the void Triumph’s been trying to fill for a very, very long time. I suspect they’ll probably sell two Speed to every Scrambler simply because this bike will appeal to a broader range of riders.
Funnily enough, while I was testing the Speed, I couldn’t help but think it fitted me better than the much larger capacity Speed 900. A quick look at the specs of the two bikes confirmed that the 400 has a one-inch taller seat height at 31 inches—it may not seem a lot, but it made a world of difference.
The Speed 400 is not just a bike for beginner riders who want to look cool. Triumph themselves were surprised by the reaction to the bike’s birth, with many customers saying that for the price, they’d pick one up just for quick runs to the shops.
Like its Scrambler brother, the Speed runs non-adjustable 43mm inverted Showa Big Piston Forks (BPF) but gets slightly less wheel travel at 5.5 inches up front and 5.1 inches at the rear via a shock that comes with preload adjustment only.
The ride quality is surprisingly good for such basic suspension. The Speed turns quickly and sharply at low speed in the city but will also play footsies under the table when you get moving in the twisties.
The trick to making a Speed 400 really go with its admittedly soft suspension is to be especially gentle with your steering inputs, at which point the little 400 will surprise you with its overall pace.
The engine is good for 98 mph with my fat arse on board, although some of the more whippet testers on the Spanish launch swear they saw 105 mph. Whatever. It’s fast enough. Midrange torque is plentiful for a small-bore single of this nature, so you can keep the revs around 6000 rpm and know you’ve got plenty of go-ready in your right wrist.
My only real gripe was the single disc/four-piston brakes don’t give much feel or bite at the lever. On the plus side, you really must hammer them to get the ABS working, but I’d like better and stronger brakes from Triumph for this range.
2024 Triumph Scrambler 400 X
The Scrambler 400 X is a physically large motorcycle. Where the Speed feels compact and tight, the Scrambler could be mistaken for an 800 instead of a 400. Indeed, looking at the specs of this 400 versus the hefty Triumph Scrambler 1200, the 400 has the same seat height as the 1200 at 32.9 inches and is just a touch shorter in overall height without the mirrors at 46 inches compared to the 1200’s 46.6 inches. So, calling it a full-size bike despite its engine size is not far off the mark.
The Scrambler runs a couple of extra links in the chain and thus has a slightly longer wheelbase than the Speed 400 at 55.8 inches compared to the Speed’s 54.2 inches. The longer wheelbase is matched to slightly steeper steering geometry, with the Scrambler running a 23.2° rake compared to the Speed’s 24.6°.
All this adds up to a bike that turns sharply in slow-speed dirt tracks but still has plenty of stability when it comes to the blacktop. The Scrambler’s longer travel suspension helps it off-road as well, navigating the dirt backroads of our photo location easily enough, but you’re not going to take this bike to proper hard-core dirt, just so we’re clear.
The same brake problems I found with the Speed persist on the Scrambler, but this isn’t as much of a problem off-road as you need to be a little defter in how you apply the brakes on dirt to stop it all washing away. The fact that you can disengage the rear ABS in off-road mode is certainly a plus for those more dirt-minded riders out there.
To that end, the 39 horsepower is near perfect for off-road situations. The lovely smooth throttle response really shines through on the dirt, and given the motor has such good bottom-end torque delivery, it makes for a very enjoyable engine when the road gets dirty.
The Scrambler also runs a black muffler compared to the Speed for a bit of individuality, and it’s a very smart-looking machine. However, given its overall size, I would suspect the Scrambler will play second fiddle to the Speed in terms of sales numbers. CN
VIDEO | 2024 Triumph Scrambler 400 X & Speed 400 Review
2024 Triumph Speed 400 / Triumph Scrambler 400 X Specifications
MSRP: |
$4995 / $5595 |
Engine: |
Single-cylinder, 4-stroke |
Valvetrain: |
DOHC, 4-valve |
Cooling system: |
Liquid |
Displacement: |
398cc |
Bore x stroke: |
89 x 64mm |
Compression ratio: |
12:1 |
Fuel system: |
Bosch electronic fuel injection system |
Exhaust: |
1-1 |
Transmission: |
6-speed |
Front suspension: |
43mm Showa Big Piston Fork, non-adjustable |
Rear suspension: |
Monoshock with preload adjustment only |
Front-wheel travel: |
5.5 in. / 5.9 in. |
Rear-wheel travel: |
5.1 in. / 5.9 in. |
Front brake: |
4-piston, radially mounted caliper, single 300mm disc, ABS |
Rear brake: |
Single-piston floating caliper, 230mm disc, ABS |
Front tire: |
110/70 R17 in. / 100/90-19 in. |
Rear tire: |
150/60 R17 in. / 140/80-17 in. |
Rake: |
24.6° / 23.2° |
Trail: |
4.02 in. / 4.25 in. |
Wheelbase: |
54.21 in. / 55.83 in. |
Seat height: |
31.1 in. / 32.87 in. |
Fuel capacity: |
3.43 gal. |
Weight (curb, claimed): |
375 lbs. / 395 lbs. |