Triumph brought the new Speed 400 and Scram 400 to the Seattle area. I had the chance to sit on them and take a few pics. The build quality seems crazy good considering the Speed 400 is $5,000 USD and the Scram $5,500. Triumph is getting 40HP out of the motor and the bikes are grownup sized. They are very light although they had no fluids so obviously they are heavier on the road. The Speed has the “wet look” paint that the Rocket and Street Triple have. So glossy!
The suspension seemed very soft. I’m not a big guy and it flexed a lot from simply sitting on the bike. USD forks and radial brakes, though? Nice aluminum castings at the headlight shell instead of stamped metal? The quality level makes it obvious that we’ve never been able to build stuff so well and so cheaply. My first bike was a 1983 Suzuki 650 that cost the equivalent of $6,100 in 2023 US dollars, so 20% more than the Speed. It was not built as well as the Speed 400, though.
Yes fully agree the immediate impression of the suspension was it was far too softly damped, bearing in mind it was a simple sit on and bounce in the showroom. Salesman tried telling me it had a soft spring rate to allow for off road use I carefully pointed out that we weren't discussing spring rates for personal weight preload but damping rates..... I think the salesperson was at the limit of their knowledge.
All bikes seem to be undersprung for what has become the normal weight of modern riders. 13 ~16 stone - 180 ~ 210 pounds. That's the problem with getting a racing snake to test ride them. And with suspension being a bit of a dark art, most sales people haven't a clue and I have to say nor has Triumph judging by the Scram1200XC I bought recently. That tank paint looks lush..
I saw them a couple of weeks ago. The Scambler did seem a bit soft. I don't know if these are production units or pre-production, or how much adjustment is available. Suspension seems to be one thing that gets sacrificed when keeping prices low. I still look forward to riding them. Overall, they are impressive looking. I don't know how much appetite there is in US for smaller bikes, but I'll bet these will sell well in many markets.
Yeah, I hope that they do well in the US. It will be interesting to see what the press thinks of them. If they ride as well as they look they deserve to sell. The 400s are made in India (but to Triumph specifications). This is not a criticism; two of my three Triumphs were made in Thailand and the build quality is excellent. I'm not sure that manufacturers can make a people's bike like the 400 and be competitive without manufacturing somewhere like India or Thailand.
Might be good springs for me, then! I have NEVER had a bike which stock suspension that would work because of the focus on the "normal weight of modern riders". FYI, I weigh 115--probably 125 all geared up. On more than one occasion I've had riding buddies suggest I ride around with a backpack full of rocks. I'll have to see if our local Triumph dealer has either or both of these bikes and check them out!
Everything I have seen or heard on-line about these bikes has changed my opinion of my next ride. So I put a deposit down on a Speed 400 in Caspian Blue today for early spring delivery and will be getting the deposit back tomorrow on the new Honda that I had ordered. Now the hard part - waiting 4 months for winter to disappear!
