2024 Triumph Speed 400 & Scrambler 400 X - New Beginner Motorcycles!

Big news out of Triumph Motorcycles with the announcement of two new beginner models, in the form of the Speed 400 and a Scrambler 400 X. The question is, how competitive will these new models be, both in performance, specs and of course price…

From what I can tell, these are the new Triumph models being produced by Bajaj in India at their Chakan factory we’d heard rumours about, with India receiving these bikes next month, and the rest of the world likely to see them very early in 2024.

So what are we getting? A 398 cc liquid-cooled single, with slipper clutch, six-speed gearbox, ride-by-wire and traction control.

Power is just shy of 30 kW or 40 hp, and torque hits 37.5 Nm, so not far off the Ninja 400 for power, but edging it out on torque, at lower rpm too. Those exhausts look decent too, with the collector well hidden away, with the Speed 400 being my preference of the two in that regard.

Chassis-wise, it’s a new perimeter/spine frame in steel, with bolt-on subframe. The swingarm is aluminium alloy which saves weight and is nice to see.

Both bikes run 10-spoke wheels, alloys, however they are different designs, different sizes and run different tyres. 17 inchers on the Speed 400, a 3 inch front and 4 inch rear, with Metzeler Sportec M9RR tyres. The Scrambler 400 X runs Metzeler Karoo Streets, and a 19 inch by 2.5 front, with 3.5 by 17 inch rear.

Suspension is the same between the two models, both running 43 mm Big Piston Forks, however the Speed only gets 140 mm travel to the Scramblers 150 mm. It’s a similar story with the monoshock, with preload adjustment and external reservoir. 130 mm on the Speed and 150 mm on the Scrambler.

The cost of the Scramblers extra travel is a higher seat, significantly so, at 835 mm or 32.9 inch, to the nice and low 790 mm or 31.3 inch seat height on the Speed 400, which will make it one of the most inviting non-cruiser beginner motorcycles, as far as seat height anyway.

The Speed 400 is also lighter at 170 kg wet, the Scrambler 400 X weighing in at a heftier 179 kg, on account of all the little extras it runs for the off-road riding. I’ll mention those shortly.

There’s a few differences between the brake setups, both run ABS but the Scrambler gets it in a switchable form, so you can turn it off, for the off-roading I would assume. No mention of an off-road mode, and that may just switch off the rear, which is more the norm these days.

There’s a single front disc with four-piston caliper, however the Speed runs a 300 mm rotor, to the 320 mm unit on the Scrambler.

Both run the 230 mm rear rotor with floating caliper.

The dash is also shared, with an analogue speedo next to an integrated digital display, in a pretty elegant solution. I like it anyway, and a TFT would seem a bit silly on these machines, particularly with the shape limitations.

There’s a USB-C port somewhere for bar mounted devices too, which is nice to see. Both run a 13 litre tank, and there’s no fuel consumption figures at this stage.

Images/Footage courtesy of Triumph Motorcycles Australia.

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