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00:00Hey alright, daily riders, Zach here with RevZilla and welcome to another episode.
00:11Our guest for the ride today is the Triumph Speed 400.
00:16That is a liquid cooled single cylinder engine with retro styling and modern features along
00:21the lines of what has come to define Triumph over the past 10 to 20 years.
00:26There's lots to talk about here, I think we can agree.
00:28Not least of which, this machine adds to a growing constellation of bikes that are
00:32built by European brands in India.
00:34So it'll be interesting to see how it stacks up against KTMs and BMWs, etc.
00:39But also, I mean, what's it like to ride to work?
00:42How does it feel on the road?
00:43Does it feel like a Triumph?
00:45Does it feel like a good bike?
00:47All that and more, coming up.
00:56Okie dokie everybody, before we get going here on the Speed 400 daily rider, a quick
01:01reminder that this episode is brought to you by RevZilla.
01:04Not just a YouTube channel, but also an e-commerce platform that sells accessories and apparel
01:08for you, and parts for your motorcycle.
01:11It's also more than that.
01:13It's a community.
01:14That's the way we like to think about it anyway.
01:16That's why we make this show, the Shop Manual with Larry Henning, the High Side Low Side
01:19Podcast.
01:20Sometimes we even give stuff away, like this Speed 400, actually, depending on when you're
01:24watching this video.
01:25We do live sweepstakes where you could win a Triumph Speed 400 or a Scrambler 400X to
01:30commemorate the one year anniversary of Spurge and I riding these two Triumph 400s to the
01:34tallest motorville road in the world.
01:37So next time you watch a daily rider or a Shop Manual or High Side Low Side Podcast
01:42or a CTXP adventure, just keep that in mind.
01:45We hope that you enjoy all this content and you'll shop with us when you can.
01:50In the meantime, thanks for watching.
01:52Okay, everybody, let's start with the engine as we often do.
01:57This is a 398cc TR series single cylinder liquid cooled engine.
02:03It is, of course, breaking from much of the recent tradition of Triumph, which historically
02:09makes twin and three cylinder motorcycles.
02:12Of course, Triumph made singles way back when.
02:14It's a breaking tradition, but of course you can see the resemblance that they're going
02:17for the style and shape of the case, the contrast cut in the cylinder head.
02:21It's an understandable sort of homage to the larger siblings.
02:26And of course, we'll talk more about how it works as we ride.
02:28A couple other things to call out here, the typical Triumph styling, which I call that
02:32when I did the Scrambler 400X daily rider as well.
02:35This nice sweep to the pipe here, when you stand back, it looks like a nice, simple exhaust
02:40system.
02:41Of course, if you look closer, you can see this little bread box and all this sort of
02:43hardware and stuff underneath here to meet emission standards and blah, blah, blah.
02:48Steel tube frame, pretty basic.
02:49It does have a removable subframe, which I think is kind of nice.
02:52If for no other reason than, you know, tips over gets bent or it's damaged, somehow you
02:55can replace that instead of the bike perhaps getting totaled.
02:59Other than that, pretty basic hardware, it's cast aluminum swingarm, I believe, which is
03:02something that Triumph is rather proud of because some of the other motorcycles in the
03:07class have historically not had a part that's quite as high quality as that.
03:12So that's sort of fair to call out.
03:14And aside from that, you got your 17 inch wheels with Metzeler rubber, pretty basic
03:20motorcycle.
03:21Other than that, right?
03:22It's a gas tank.
03:23It's a seat, foot pegs, handlebar.
03:24I don't know what else we need to call out right now, really.
03:27Upside down fork, basic single shock.
03:29That's one way that it differentiates itself actually from some of the other modern classics
03:33in Triumph's lineup, which many of them have twin shocks because of the aesthetic and whatnot.
03:38This is slightly more modern design with the shock tucked up here underneath the seat.
03:42And it has preload adjustment, I believe, but I don't think there's any damping adjustment.
03:47If I'm wrong about that, I apologize, Triumph, but I think it's just preload.
03:52Anyway, the point is pretty basic motorcycle in general, kind of sharp, I think.
03:59Let's take it for a ride, shall we?
04:01That's really, that's why you're here.
04:02I know, I get it.
04:03We'll fire up this analog digital hybrid dash here and fire this sucker up.
04:12And you're going to hear a little single cylinder patter, patter, vroom, vroom.
04:19Okay, we've got 398 cc's of Triumph single cylinder power.
04:25We've got retro looks.
04:26I got my leather jacket on, looking cool, I hope.
04:29Let's take it for a spin, ride to work, shall we?
04:35Off we go.
04:42All righty, now that we're rolling, we can talk about some specs.
04:51And by gosh, I realized right off the bat, I forgot to talk about the price, $5,000.
04:56$49.95, I believe, is the asking price for the Speed 400.
05:03For specs, you will find a 31.1 inch seat height, which as I get this green light, you
05:09can see a little bit of bend in my leg, maybe a little taller than you were expecting.
05:14We'll talk more about that later.
05:15With the 3.4 gallon tank, I believe, all the way full on the daily rider scales, it weighed
05:21in at 384 pounds.
05:25And that 398 cc single makes 40 horsepower, just about on the nose, claimed from Triumph.
05:32Is that all the specs?
05:34I think that might be all of them.
05:36Well, I hope it's all of them, because I'm done talking about specs for now.
05:42But a couple things I did want to call out, one, in my daily ride, my deli ride, excuse
05:47me, in India, where I rode the Scrambler 400X across Delhi, India, I said something like,
05:54I thought the claimed weight from Triumph seemed very low.
05:58I thought that it would weigh in closer to 400 pounds, especially the Scrambler.
06:04I have not put the Scrambler on the scales here, but this is quite a bit lighter.
06:07And someone pointed out, quite astutely, that the bikes we rode in India do have some extra
06:12gear on there, like they had some crash guards, they had a sorry guard for the passenger,
06:16and all that probably weighed up to, ah, you know, who knows, what, 6 pounds, 10 pounds,
06:21something like that.
06:22So that might have contributed to me feeling like that bike was a little bit heavier.
06:27I do think, in general, that the Speed 400 feels lighter than the Scrambler anyway, both
06:34from a sort of steering touch standpoint, which we'll talk about later, and just like
06:37coming off the kickstand, it's a little lower, it's got a smaller front wheel, it just is
06:42a little bit daintier.
06:43And I don't say that in a disparaging way, it's just, it's a little bit more trim.
06:47It also, I should say, feels a lot more upright than I remember Spurgeo's bike being in India
06:54when I rode it.
06:55The handlebar has more rise than I remember, and you sort of sit more upright, the foot
06:58pegs are a little bit farther forward than I remember.
07:02I think, in general, that's a good thing.
07:03If you're expecting it to feel, you know, um, particularly sporty because of the name,
07:09because of the suggestion, um, it's not, I don't think.
07:12I think a more accurate description of it might have been to call it a Bonneville 400,
07:17and that's sort of how it feels, even if that's not exactly how it looks.
07:21It's super neutral, and I think the position that the rider's placed in in the saddle is
07:26really quite agreeable.
07:30As for the seat itself, I'd like to address that as we're on the highway now, that's a
07:34good time to talk about it, because I think it's wider and softer and cushier, more comfortable
07:39than I thought it was going to be, or remembered it from riding it in India.
07:44Though I think it might be too soft, as we're on the freeway here, I will tell you that
07:48after an hour, two hours, probably two hours in the saddle, for me, I got a little tired
07:54of the seat.
07:55And I think it might be because I weigh 200 pounds, and I'm just sort of blowing through
07:57the foam.
07:58If you're a smaller, lighter rider, you might find it to be a little better, but as usual,
08:02seats are very subjective.
08:05Another thing I commented on when I rode the Scrambler 400X in India was that I thought
08:08that at 55, 60 miles an hour, the bike was very comfortable, and if you tried to ride
08:12it at 70 or 80 miles an hour, it might feel kind of strained.
08:18And as I've been riding this bike around in Southern California here, I can confirm that
08:2380 miles an hour does feel a little strained.
08:25In the same way that I made comments about the Duke 390 sweating a little bit, I feel
08:28the same way about BMW G310 models, you get a single cylinder engine, even if it's modern
08:33and liquid cooled, three, 400 CC single that's spinning six, 8,000 RPM on the freeway, sometimes
08:40more than that, it's going to get a little vibey and like, not really chaotic, but like,
08:45it's going to tingle with some energy that is not always flattering.
08:48And this is kind of the cusp for me right here, we're showing 70 miles an hour, which
08:52I think is a little generous.
08:53I think we're probably going more like 60 or 65.
08:56I think this Speedo is a little optimistic, but yeah, 65, 70 is sort of the upper edge
09:01of where I feel like the bike is happy, if you will.
09:06Now we're going 55, 60.
09:08And this is like, mirrors are smooth, the engine's pretty smooth, it just feels really
09:13nice at this speed, which is more like how highways work in India, in my experience.
09:19And for that reason, I think I'd probably gear this bike up, we'll experiment with leaving
09:23stop signs in second gear a little later on.
09:25But yeah, I think that the engine deserves to have slightly taller gearing, and you wouldn't
09:30have the same kind of roll-on power in sixth gear like you do right now, but it would be
09:38more comfortable at these speeds, in my opinion.
09:44As for gas mileage, I'm realizing that I forgot to do the calculation.
09:48I'm sorry, that's really annoying and dumb.
09:50I don't like it.
09:51I'm going to put my average on screen right now, so you have that data.
09:55In the meantime, I'd like to call out another thing that I found really interesting about
09:58this bike, which is that it has instant fuel economy right here.
10:01And you'll see that it's reading 60 miles per gallon flat right now.
10:04And if I roll off the throttle, it still reads 60 miles to the gallon.
10:08And that's because in this motorcycle anyway, the software has not been updated and it won't
10:13show instant fuel mileage above 60 miles to the gallon.
10:16Not really that big a deal for the motorcycle, if I'm being honest, but an odd kind of quirk
10:22or maybe flaw in the system, considering this motorcycle will often, at any moment in time,
10:27especially going downhill on the freeway like this, be getting more than 60 miles per gallon.
10:31And that's not information that you're privy to because it maxes out at 60 or a hundred
10:35kilometers an hour, I imagine.
10:37So if I get on the throttle and I ride the rear brake a little bit and I use some more
10:41gas, you can see it comes down here and starts giving us readings by 44 and 42 and so on
10:46and so forth.
10:47If I let off the back brake and just cruise along, I don't have any information.
10:52And I called it out for a couple of reasons.
10:53One, because I think it's an interesting mistake to make.
10:56And two, because when I asked Triumph about this, Triumph said that this is a software
11:00update that is available for motorcycles and has been instituted in newer models.
11:04So if your bike does this, you ought to be able to get it fixed for what it's worth.
11:09210 miles of range though, that's something else I wanted to talk about.
11:12Bike's got pretty good legs.
11:14More fuel capacity than a V-Twin 900, I believe, by a few tenths of a gallon.
11:21And yeah, it's not very thirsty.
11:23I got, I think, 190 miles out of one tank.
11:27And when Spurge and I rode them in India, we were riding them slower and getting better
11:31mileage I think.
11:32And we got well over 200 miles on a couple of tanks.
11:35Great range for a bike like this.
11:37And to finish out this conversation on the highway, I think you'd be pretty happy to
11:41try to take this on a multi-day trip or some sort of, you know, short tour or something
11:44like that.
11:45It doesn't have a ton of horsepower.
11:46It's not super fun on the highway with no wind protection and a small engine.
11:49I think it's cool that it's got pretty good range, you know.
11:53I mentioned the mirrors once before already.
11:55This is where like 70, 75 miles an hour, they start to get a little buzzy.
11:59Below that, I think they're pretty good.
12:01They're not exactly the right shape, of course, if it was a little more trapezoidal and had
12:05a little wing sticking out over here, I'd be able to see more stuff behind me.
12:09But I get it.
12:10Classic looking bike.
12:11Round mirrors.
12:12They're pretty good in general, especially for a $5,000 bike.
12:17All right, into a little neighborhood here.
12:22I feel like the Speed 400 has got potential to be pretty good at the old stop sign challenge.
12:27It's got a nice short first gear, first of all, yeah.
12:31And it's just light and small, and that always helps with controlling the weight of the motorcycle
12:37with your body.
12:38And it's also just pretty direct.
12:39It doesn't have a lot of weight up high and a nice wide handlebar.
12:43Not a lot to distract you.
12:45The levers are not adjustable, which I like to call out because some other similarly sized
12:51motorcycles have adjustable levers, and I do think that that's a nice feature.
12:56I don't tend to care that much about how long levers are, but I'm an experienced motorcyclist,
13:04that is, and I have reasonably sized hands, so I don't care much about it.
13:09Adjustable levers are nice, is the point.
13:12In general, I would say the manners of the Speed 400 are pretty good.
13:16I messed that one up too.
13:18I think I'm two for four.
13:21It's easy enough to use.
13:23The throttle control is direct and easy.
13:25There's not too much lash.
13:26Just a little bit.
13:27If you're sort of like kind of ham-fisted with on-off gas, it's as many motorcycles
13:32suffer with.
13:34But basic cable clutch, and I feel like it's all pretty direct.
13:39One thing I would like to call out is gearing, which as I get this full stop in here, I'm
13:43just going to let the clutch out.
13:44We got a pickup truck behind us, so I'm going to pull over for just a second, and then I'm
13:48going to let the clutch out in first gear and let it idle, and we are going, I mean,
13:54a little bit above walking speed.
13:57Like we're probably in the way in the bike lane, and this is sort of just an illustration
14:02of how low the bike is geared.
14:05Really geared for a parking lot, kind of.
14:07If you upshift to second gear, and you go to merge into traffic, I think it's a perfectly
14:15reasonable first gear, where second is.
14:20So, just a quick illustration of my opinion of the gear ratios.
14:24I think you could probably go with a one-tooth larger sprocket on the front, if it'll fit,
14:30that is, and be pretty happy with that.
14:35As I sit at this traffic light here, I'm reminded that I do get a bit of heat on my
14:39legs from this engine, maybe a little bit more than I would have expected.
14:42It's not a particularly warm day today, and I did notice a little bit of heat, especially
14:49when the cooling fan kicks on.
14:50I don't think it's anything to really worry about, but it surprised me a little bit, because
14:56a bike this size, it's fairly under stress, it doesn't make a ton of power, noticing the
15:01heat at all, something that surprised me a little bit.
15:06So overall score for the Speed 400 in an urban, suburban environment, it's got to be high.
15:14It's good.
15:15It's a good motorcycle.
15:16It's small, it's light, and it's direct, and doesn't have a lot of stuff hanging off it.
15:22It's a nice motorcycle, and I think that if you're going to ride it in situations like
15:27this, you're going to be really happy.
15:29One thing I meant to circle back to was the seat height, which in these stop sign environments,
15:33if you're a shorter rider, a low seat height is handy, and 31.1 inches is not especially
15:38low for a bike of this engine size and price point.
15:43I noticed actually that it is an inch taller than the Speed Twin 900, its big sibling.
15:50And I think that's an interesting thing to call out.
15:51I think, if I had to guess, if I were a Triumph engineer, I might have said, well, a Speed
15:58Twin 900 weighs something like 100 pounds more than this bike.
16:03And so we really should try to make the seat height low, because it weighs 480 pounds instead
16:08of 380 pounds, something like that.
16:11And if that's the case, I think that's fair.
16:13And ultimately, my point here is that if it feels a little bit tall to sit on, and it
16:17looks a little tall on paper, I would encourage you to let yourself get used to it, maybe,
16:23because it is such a small, light motorcycle, even if the seat is taller than you were expecting.
16:28And just like that, we're halfway through Lover's Lane.
16:30I got to get my passenger report in quickly here.
16:33I think the seat is, again, surprisingly plush and thick back in the passenger perch there.
16:39I think it's much more Bonneville than Speed, kind of, if that makes sense.
16:44It's in between the bigger bike's demeanor.
16:46So I think a passenger will be pretty happy, probably tired of the seat after a couple
16:51hours.
16:52But if you're doing couple hour stints with a passenger on your Speed 400, then something
16:57tells me your buns are tougher than most.
17:00All right, into the twisty roads, where the old Speed 400 ought to show its speed roots,
17:09theoretically, right?
17:10I think it's really fun on roads like this.
17:13The big thing is suspension refinement.
17:17There's not a lot of that.
17:19And ultimately, you don't need your suspension to be ultra fully adjustable, Ohlins everything,
17:25to enjoy a road like this, in my opinion.
17:27The suspension is budget for pretty obvious reasons.
17:30I just think the bike is really fun.
17:32The profile and attitude that it has when it changes direction is really nice.
17:35And as long as you're sort of smooth with your inputs, and the road is fairly smooth,
17:40you'll have a blast.
17:42When you start hitting bumps in the middle of corners, especially sort of like long,
17:46slow undulations, where you sort of would like to have a more refined damping schedule,
17:50like if you get kind of this thing going on for some reason, not that the bike does that
17:55by itself, but that's when you'll feel the suspension be a little soggy and a little
17:58loose.
18:00And at the same time, if you hit sharp stuff like a manhole cover like that, the fork can
18:05feel a little bit harsh.
18:07So the suspension is a weak point to a certain extent, but I really think only in part because
18:11the rest of the bike is kind of so enjoyable and good.
18:16All right, back onto surface streets here.
18:20Let's spin up this engine here for a second.
18:22And gear.
18:23I hit the rev limiter already.
18:27Oh, hey-o, are we going to catch this green light?
18:30We never catch this green light.
18:31Oh, no, of course not.
18:32Okay, chance to test this Bybree caliper front brake here.
18:37Let's hoss on it.
18:39Yeah, jumped into the ABS.
18:41So good, good strong brakes, I think.
18:43I think it's, as far as I can tell, it's basically the same setup.
18:46I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same part number as the caliper on the KTM 390 Duke
18:54and Aprilia RS 457 that we tested recently.
18:57And yeah, braided lines and radial caliper, and I think it's got plenty of power.
19:02And also, again, no adjustable lever.
19:06It's sort of like that feels like the weak link, right?
19:08Like I wouldn't be mad about a non-adjustable front brake lever on a $5,000 bike until all
19:14the other componentry is sort of like seems pretty good and then you're like, oh, I wish
19:17I had that.
19:18So, you know.
19:19Should we talk about the dash?
19:20No, I don't think so.
19:21I don't think we're going to talk about the dash because it's almost our turn.
19:25Here we go.
19:26We're going to talk about the dash later, promise.
19:28Alley-oop.
19:29All right, another stoplight just in time to talk about the dash like I promised you.
19:39It won't take very long.
19:41It's got a big analog speedo here.
19:44That takes up most of the real estate.
19:45And then over on the right-hand side here, a little two-color LCD situation with the
19:49gear position indicator, a little tiny vertical bar tack there.
19:54And then a few pieces of data here that you can cycle through with this button on the
19:57left switch gear.
19:59So you can do two different trips, miles per gallon, range, traction control, controls
20:04here, which we'll talk about a little bit more later.
20:06And then a settings menu you can jump into with this single button, which just gets a
20:08little clunky and cumbersome.
20:11It's very simple.
20:13I like that it's elemental.
20:15That's kind of part of the aura and mantra and vibe, if you will, of, you know, these
20:22Triumph modern classics.
20:23I think it suits the 400cc class pretty well, especially dressed up like this.
20:28I think it's nice.
20:29All right, off we go.
20:36At this point, you might be thinking that I've heaped quite a bit of praise on the Speed
20:40400, but not a lot on the engine.
20:43And I would say that's true.
20:44You know, if someone said, should I buy a 400cc Triumph just for the engine?
20:47I think I would say no.
20:49I like the engine.
20:50I think that it feels a little more stately and a higher quality than the BMW G310.
20:56I think it feels more calm and lopey than the KTM 400s, 390s, 400s, whatever.
21:04And I think that's kind of a good thing because if you remember my 390 Duke review, I just
21:07felt like that engine was a little bit chaotic and kind of flighty and it is, it does a high
21:12performance feel certainly, but I didn't love it.
21:14I like this engine a little bit better.
21:16Still ultimately, Triumph has some ad copy on its website about how like an unmistakable
21:22sound of ba-ba-ba-ba-ba, whatever.
21:25And like, no, it's just a 400cc single.
21:29There's nothing special and creative or even particularly interesting about this engine.
21:35And I don't love that Triumph is trying to beat that drum because it just isn't that.
21:40Sorry.
21:41I think it's pretty good, especially for the class, but unmistakable, I don't know.
21:52Okay we're winding down on the main part of the ride here, which means we should address
21:56some of the questions that were brought up in the beginning.
22:00Like, does this feel like a Triumph?
22:03Hmm.
22:04Hmm.
22:05Hmm.
22:06Hmm.
22:07No.
22:08I don't think so.
22:09Not really.
22:10I mean, if you were figuratively blindfolded and asked to ride this bike and said, what
22:13brand is it?
22:14I would be really surprised if someone said, ah, that's got a Triumph kind of feel.
22:18I just don't think it does.
22:19And I think that anyone who says that it does is closing their eyes too much or they're
22:24too caught up in the way that it looks because it does look like a Triumph, a hundred percent.
22:30And that's worth something, but not the same as it feeling like a Triumph.
22:35Does it feel like a good motorcycle to get to work?
22:37Yeah.
22:38You know, I think it does.
22:39It doesn't feel as high quality as a European motorcycle that's made in Europe.
22:46And I know that sounds predictable or lazy for me to comment on it like that, but that's
22:50kind of how I feel.
22:51One of the things that Indian companies like Bajaj and others benefit from is the standard
22:58to which they are held by their European partners in making those motorcycles.
23:02I don't know very much about Bajaj, but I suspect that the motorcycles that are made
23:10for domestic markets or are made under their own terms are not quite as nice as ones that
23:17are made for KTM, for Triumph, for BMW, for Aprilia.
23:22That's my suspicion.
23:24And I think that that standard is a tide that's only going to lift all boats.
23:30So for now, I think that this does feel like a good motorcycle to get to work on.
23:35I think it's fun.
23:36I think it has a few little quirks and flaws and signs that it's made to a price point.
23:44But I like that it's not trying to be more than that or trying to be too much.
23:51It's just trying to be a simple little motorcycle that looks cool.
23:56And I think ultimately it does that.
23:59All right, dirt road shortcut time.
24:02I would be remiss if I did not say if you want to see this bike do some actual off-roading,
24:09you should watch Spurgeon ride it across India in our CTXP episode that came out last year.
24:14I think you might be surprised, but I'll do a little dirt road shortcut anyway.
24:17I'm going to leave traction control on initially and we're going to see what happens.
24:23First gear is so flippin' short.
24:24It's hard to...
24:25All right, second gear.
24:28I mean, it's pretty lenient.
24:29I'm surprised.
24:30EBS works pretty well in the dirt even.
24:33I think that you could argue that this bike benefits from traction control, but I just
24:41don't think it needs it.
24:42Let's see.
24:43Let's shut off traction control and see if...
24:45Hold, and then there we go.
24:49TTC off, and we'll punch it.
24:54I mean, even in loose sand, it's just not very unruly.
25:00I get it.
25:01It has traction control because that's what bikes are supposed to have now and whatever,
25:07but this engine, more so than other small singles, like I said, has a relatively heavy
25:14flywheel and it isn't too excitable.
25:19Traction control off, you're going to have a great time more often than you're going
25:22to have a bad time, I think.
25:24All right, we're back out on the blacktop.
25:30Let's see if we can do a wheelie.
25:32Let's use my surrogate first gear, i.e. second gear.
25:36See how that works.
25:38Oh yeah, look at that.
25:40Whoa, okay.
25:41Came up a little quicker than I thought.
25:42Let's try again.
25:43I can do better.
25:44It didn't have it in me to shift.
25:49Not a lot of power.
25:51Not a wheelie monster.
25:52If you turn traction control off, you're not going to mousetrap yourself, but with a name
25:56like speed in the name, a word like speed in the name, you like to see you can at least
26:03do a wheelie in second gear, a.k.a. first gear.
26:08Off we go.
26:13One last sprint home.
26:17All right, whether or not you can back it in, let's find out here.
26:23Non-adjustable ABS, but you can dump the clutch and get a nice little tail wag, which is kind
26:28of fun.
26:31I think shutting off rear ABS would be cool.
26:32I don't think you can do it on this bike.
26:34Again, if I'm wrong, I apologize, but the Scrambler has an off-road ABS mode.
26:39This bike does not, but you can still trick it into ... Oh, jeez, that's a little sketchy.
26:47You can practice backing in on this bike.
26:48It's not really the bike for that.
26:51I didn't really talk about the general agility or low-speed parking lot manners of this bike,
26:57but they're good.
26:58They won't come as a huge surprise.
26:59I'm going to go along this line here.
27:02We're going to crank the bars to let full lock feed up.
27:04Yeah, I mean, what is that, 1.6 maybe?
27:08Yeah, nice, as it should be with a small bike, especially a bike that you're liable to use
27:15around town.
27:16And there we have it, everybody, the old Speed 400.
27:23Dust on the tires from the dirt road shortcut.
27:25It's an awfully handsome little bike, I got to say.
27:30One more listen to the engine here, just a little bit slower to rev up and a little bit
27:37slower to come down off the revs than the 390 Duke from KTM, for example.
27:41And that's the kind of character I was talking about.
27:43All right, time for Instagram questions.
27:45First one up here is from 2wheels2relax who says, if you could rename the bike, what would
27:50you name it?
27:51Also, is the 6-speed welcome as Triumph doesn't always include 6-speed on the 900 retro classics?
27:57So a couple of questions in there.
27:59If you could rename the bike, what would you name it?
28:00I think if this had a low exhaust and a slightly more complete rear fender, you could easily
28:06just say, and maybe wire spoke wheels, which I granted, maybe all this stuff is expensive
28:10and I should be cautious suggesting that Triumph does all this because I don't understand the
28:14economics of blah, blah, blah.
28:16I think really, like I said, it feels more like a Bonneville 400 from the character of
28:21the engine to the ergonomics of the ride position.
28:23The line between Bonneville and speed is up for debate.
28:27And if anyone gets to control that, it's Triumph.
28:29So I kind of like the upswept muffler and the stubby rear fender, and maybe the cast
28:33wheels fit better with that sort of style of bike.
28:36If I was going to rename it, I think I might suggest that it was a little more relaxed
28:40and a little less sporty, but maybe that's not what they want.
28:42I don't know.
28:43As for the six-speed gearbox, that is a good call out.
28:46I think the Speed Twin 900, I'm not sure which bike's exactly, but yeah, some of the 900cc
28:51parallel twins from Triumph only have five-speed gearboxes.
28:54However, I would like to call out that those five-speed gearboxes, in my opinion, are spaced
28:58beautifully.
28:59Really, really nice.
29:00Like, you don't even want a sixth gear because the setup of the transmission is so good.
29:04This transmission, I think, is a typical modern six-speed box in so much as the gear ratios
29:08are kind of close together, and I don't think it leans on the dynamism of the engine as
29:12much as it could, considering I think this bike could get away with slightly taller gearing
29:16or slightly wider gear spacing.
29:19So yeah, is the six-speed gearbox a nice feature to have?
29:21Sure.
29:22But if a five-speed gearbox is done right, it's enough.
29:26Next question is from BellaB711, who asks, I'd love to hear your thoughts on what you
29:29think the next step up in power that rides and feels like this bike.
29:33Sometimes it seems to lack power on the highway travel.
29:35I love everything else about it.
29:37Interesting question.
29:38So, do you like the single-cylinder engine?
29:40If that's what you like, then, you know, something else that feels like this bike,
29:44you're going to be hemmed in a little bit.
29:47Getting single-cylinder engines that are bigger and more powerful, but also, you know, kind
29:51of like as comfortable and share this style.
29:53I think more likely what you're going to want to do is upgrade to a parallel twin.
29:57You could do that via a, you know, a Honda CB500F if you wanted to.
30:02My guess is that you're going to look at a CB500F and think, no, no, that looks like
30:05an alien trying to invade Earth.
30:07I want the classic round headlight and the teardrop tank and the style of this bike.
30:12And in that case, a pretty obvious step up would be a Triumph 900.
30:16And that's like not an accident, right?
30:18That's why Triumph is trying to build a gateway motorcycle.
30:20Another option I think would be a Royal Enfield parallel twin, INT650.
30:26I thought that bike was a hoot.
30:27Not very refined suspension, similar, but also kind of handsome.
30:31And I think that engine is a big upgrade from this one and it's going to be heavier and
30:36bigger, but it's also going to be more powerful and share that same kind of style.
30:39So that's sort of where my mind would go.
30:41There are also, you know, lots of other options out there.
30:43I'm sure the YouTube audience will chime in and help me out with some suggestions.
30:47Those would be my three most obvious upgrades.
30:51Last question here is from Lanky the Danky who asks, as someone who's casually looking
30:55for a first bike, is this a good one to lust after?
30:59Okay.
31:00Interesting.
31:01Interesting.
31:02Yeah, I think so.
31:03You know, this is my opinion.
31:04This is how I feel.
31:05This is not based on reliability records.
31:07It's not based on any data.
31:10Some of the other motorcycles made by European brands in India, specifically single cylinder
31:15ones like KTM and BMW, this bike feels like a half step toward a single cylinder Honda
31:22that's built in Thailand.
31:23And I'm not saying that Thai built Hondas are the gold standard.
31:29But if you did have that opinion, you might not be wrong.
31:32Those bikes have been shown to be very reliable.
31:34I do think they feel like Hondas.
31:36And I think that they've carried forth a little bit more of the company tone.
31:41The point is, I think this bike is a half step in the right direction.
31:44And I think it is a good first bike to lust after.
31:47I think there's a lot to lust after from the looks of it, to the simplicity of it, to the
31:50feel of it.
31:51And I'm still not all the way sold on building down in this sort of global way that brands
31:59have started doing or have continued doing in the past few years.
32:03But it kind of is what it is.
32:04And I hope the good ones rise to the top because that's ultimately what we need to create ongoing
32:09quality in the motorcycling world.
32:11So I hope you do lust after this bike.
32:13I hope you get one.
32:14And I hope you join us in the two wheeled world.
32:17In the meantime, let's put the sucker on the Daily Rider leaderboard.
32:21Shall we?
32:22Stick with me.
32:23Hang on.
32:24Huggadoke everybody!
32:25Inside RevZilla West and the Daily Rider leaderboard, we've got a Triumph Speed 400 ready to go
32:32on the board.
32:33Just a quick reminder of what's at the top.
32:34BMW R1300GS, KTM 890 SMT, and KTM 1390 Super Duke.
32:40None of the top motorcycles are budget motorcycles like the Speed 400.
32:47And for that reason, I don't think we're going to see it disrupt the top of the leaderboard.
32:53But where does it fall?
32:55A more likely place to look, of course, would be down here, KTM 390 Duke.
33:00Let's start there.
33:01Triumph Speed 400 is less sophisticated in many ways.
33:06Doesn't have as many adjustments for ride modes and traction control and doesn't have
33:11as much adjustability in the suspension, the levers, stuff like that we talked about on
33:15the ride.
33:16And I think the KTM 390 Duke deserves a lot of credit for having all of those features.
33:21At the end of the day, though, I think the Speed 400 fits the part a little bit better.
33:25I like the feel of the bike a little bit better.
33:27It inspires more confidence and direction based on what the bike is supposed to be.
33:34If you want the sort of like hottest, gnarliest, kind of most aggressive, lightest, performance
33:41oriented bike in the category, then I think maybe the 390 Duke is that.
33:45But I like this bike better.
33:49I think it's a better machine, ultimately.
33:51The same kind of goes for the RS457.
33:53I think that's a pretty good bike.
33:55I like the engine a lot in that bike, the little 270 degree parallel twin that's in
34:00the Aprilia RS457 is a cool engine.
34:03I like the way it sounds, I like the way it feels.
34:05But it was flawed in some ways that the Speed 400 is not, in my opinion.
34:08So I think I'm going to go above those bikes.
34:10Now we get into the Japanese machines, the Kawasaki Ninja 500 SE, Honda SEL500.
34:15Obviously the Speed 400 matches up much more directly with the SEL500.
34:21The Honda SEL500 is more of a new age retro, if you will.
34:25It's got this sort of weird multi-eye headlight.
34:28And ultimately it's a Honda Rebel that's been adapted to be a sort of scrambler, not a cut
34:34from whole cloth iteration of a motorcycle like the Speed 400 is.
34:40So from that standpoint, I like the Speed 400 better.
34:42I think the aesthetic is more put together.
34:44I think it looks more the part.
34:46Its stature is better.
34:47It's got better kickstand presence.
34:49I was going to say that the Speed 400 just doesn't quite deliver the same way the SEL
34:55does, because the SEL's got a bigger engine that's a little bit more adept, I think.
35:01And it's so sweet.
35:02And the transmission is good.
35:04The brakes are fine on the SEL500.
35:06The sort of basic stuff is good.
35:08This is tricky.
35:09I'm throwing myself a little curveball.
35:11I thought it was going to land here, but now I'm thinking maybe it goes above the SEL500.
35:17The Speed 400 is better than the SEL500 in a lot of ways.
35:20And if you buy the Speed 400 because you think it looks better, because you like the size
35:25a little bit better, I would have to get behind you.
35:27I'd have to be like, yeah, sure, that's fine.
35:29But if they're sitting next to each other in my garage, as much as I dislike the dash
35:34on this bike and I dislike the stock seat, I might splurge the extra $68 or whatever
35:39it is for the aftermarket seat just to be a little bit more comfortable.
35:44And I think I would lean toward that Honda 500 platform.
35:47I just think it's too good.
35:48I think this bike is too solid and nicely built.
35:54Even if the Speed 400 is sexier and aesthetically a lot more pleasing, I think this is the machine
36:03that I would lean toward.
36:05In this case, if you disagree with my assessment of where the Speed 400 lands on the Daily
36:09Rider leaderboard, fair enough.
36:11Fair enough, I say.
36:13I hope that won't keep you from watching Daily Rider again in the future.
36:17Stay tuned here.
36:18We have a couple of fun episodes coming up next.
36:23Episode 99 and 100.
36:24I won't give away too much, but I've been working hard on something special for the
36:28Daily Rider audience.
36:29Thanks so much for hanging out on another ride.
36:31I appreciate it.
36:32Ride safe.
36:33See you next time.
36:43Go through this long corner.
36:57I really like...
36:58Ooh, cement truck.
36:59I really like this corner.
37:00Excellent.
37:01Just another...