The Bajaj Triumph partnership has successfully established a range of new smaller and more affordable motorcycles for the British brand. What started with Speed 400, has spawned 6 single-cylinder motorcycles (including Tracker 400). Now, there is a 7th motorcycle in the works and is spied testing for the very first time.
We’re talking about the recently spied Bonneville 400 (name not confirmed) which is likely to be manufactured by Bajaj in India. Even though this is its first-ever appearance, upcoming Bonneville 400 already looks production ready and was seen without any camouflage on it. Let’s take a closer look.
Triumph Bonneville 400 Spied
For the first time, a new Triumph 400 family of motorcycles has been spied, which is more befitting to rival the vastly successful Royal Enfield Classic 350. Speed 400 came close, but could not shed its neo retro appeal against the vastly retro Classic 350. In India, Royal Enfield Classic 350 is a sales phenomenon and is challenged by many.
Triumph Bonneville 400 might be the most worthy challenger to RE Classic 350. Where design is concerned, Bonneville 400 has a retro vibe to it, more so than Speed 400. To further accentuate the retro aesthetics, Triumph Bonneville 400 gets wire-spoke wheels (tube-type tyres likely) and a revised radiator grille and belly pan.
Fuel tank is more of a teardrop than Speed 400’s and then classic traits like circular headlights are present too. Notably, there seems to be a new instrument cluster with Bonneville 400, which is fully circular, instead of Speed 400’s circular + rectangular hybrid housing. USD forks of Speed 400 are replaced with RSU units with fork gaiters.
Rear suspension is new as well, with a twin-shocker setup when compared to Speed 400’s rear mono-shock setup. Both wheels get a disc brake and there will be dual-channel ABS. Interestingly, front disc brake on Bonneville is on the right side, while Speed 400 has it on the left side.
What to expect?
To incorporate rear twin shock absorbers, bike’s subframe and swingarm might be heavily modified or completely new units. Same could be said about bike’s main frame as well. All these changes over Speed 400 are likely to offer a unique riding experience over Speed 400 and Speed T4 with an overall retro riding experience.
Where powertrain is concerned, there is no confirmation whether Triumph Bonneville 400 will get the newer 350cc TR Series engine or the older 400cc unit. Considering all these equipment, one might speculate that Bonneville 400 could be the most affordable single-cylinder offering from Triumph, positioned below Speed T4. Exact launch date is yet to be revealed too.
Source
Source: Bike - rushlane.com
