Triumph Thruxton 400 Spotted Testing: Our Top 5 Observations

It’ll be powered by the same 398cc liquid-cooled engine that we’ve seen on the Speed 400

• It makes a solid 40PS and 37.5Nm
• In terms of ergonomics, the Thruxton 400 doesn’t look as committed as an average cafe racer
• It’ll be a fantastic, more affordable alternative to the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650

Now, it’s been a couple of months since Triumph gave us the wonderfully priced Speed 400 and shortly after that, we also got the lovely Scrambler 400 X as well. And Triumph did promise us that this very new platform will spawn multiple new, very exciting bikes. And of course, the first thing that a lot of Triumph lovers thought about was the possibility of a Tiger 400. 

And truly, we did manage to see a render of what a Tiger 400 could look like. But what we true enthusiasts were really, really excited about, was the possibility of a Thruxton 400. The Thruxton 1200 was a beautiful, charming bike so having that very package at a much more affordable price is very exciting. So now that a Thruxton 400 has actually been spied testing, here are five things you must know about it! 

Triumph Thruxton 400: Design & Features 

In terms of sheer design, the Thruxton 400 nails the authentic cafe racer look given its clip-on handlebars, rear set footpegs, and the fairing around the LED headlight. Now while the LED headlight is the same as the Speed 400, it has been given some proper fairing. That said, the quality of the fairing doesn’t seem to be the best so we expect Triumph to sort that out by the time the bike makes it to production. 

As for its features, expect it to have the same list as the Speed 400. It’ll have all-LED lighting, bar-end mirrors, switchable traction control, and dual-channel ABS. The semi-digital instrument cluster provides useful information, including a gear position indicator, distance-to-empty readout, and tell-tale lights. Smartphone connectivity or navigation, though, is unlikely to find its way onto the bike. That said, it does have a handy USB-C port for charging devices on the handlebar. 

Triumph Thruxton 400: Engine

As for the engine, we expect Triumph to use the same 398cc liquid-cooled mill that we’ve seen on the Speed 400. Even its state of tune will likely be the same. The engine makes a solid 40PS and 37.5Nm, figures that are pretty impressive for what is at the end of the day just a 400cc bike, for they’re almost on par with the mad 2024 KTM 390 Duke. 

That said, the Speed 400’s engine is very different from the Duke’s. This one makes a lot of power lower down the revs and has plenty of torque to take care of your city duties. But it also has good top-end grunt so when you feel like really revving the sporty cafe racer out on a twisty road, the bike definitely will comply. Now the caveat is that the bike does get a bit vibey higher up the revs, but it’s nothing you should worry about. 

Triumph Thruxton 400: Suspension, Tyres & Brakes

In terms of underpinnings, the Thruxton 400 will be built on the same platform as the Speed 400 and the Scrambler 400 X, so expect the underpinnings to be unchanged as well. There will be an inverted fork at the front along with a gas-charged monoshock that also has preload adjustability. There will be 140mm of suspension travel at the front and 130mm of wheel travel at the rear. 

Given that the platform is the same, we don’t expect Triumph to tune it differently. One can hence expect the same plush ride quality that we’ve come to love on the Speed 400. It absorbed everything that our city potholes had to offer wonderfully and we faced absolutely no issues at all, with riders of all shapes and sizes. So if comfort is your priority, the Thruxton 400 will likely score high there. 

Triumph Thruxton 400: Ergonomics 

Talking about comfort, cafe racers are known to have low clip-on handlebars which usually result in very committed riding postures. The Thruxton 400, though, makes things a lot better (at least as seen on the test mule). The clip-ons are a bit low but not as much as to cause the rider discomfort. The rider looks fairly upright and even the rear set footpegs don’t seem too extreme, meaning the overall riding posture should be fairly comfortable

Triumph Thruxton 400: Launch Timeline & Price

These things said, it’s likely that the test mule is still not even in the final production form. Triumph did tell us that the upcoming bikes will not be here until around a year after the Speed 400’s launch. We expect the Thruxton 400 to be unveiled sometime around the end of next year, maybe in November 2024 in EICMA. 

As for its pricing, Triumph has been known in recent times to have killer prices. So we expect this one to carry a premium of around Rs 30,000 over the Triumph Speed 400.