Triumph SPEED 400 AND SCRAMBLER 400 X break ground

[Tev62]

Here's some of the 300-400 class competitors. If that Honda 350 Highness were available here, I'd have one. It and the Royal Enfield are the only air-cooled engines in the group, and likely the slowest ones. The Triumph has the classic look, but is liquid-cooled, and 4-valve.

Yes, and Royal Enfield will go liquid cooled in the end, their new 450cc thumper (not released yet) is reported to be liquid cooled. Emissions will necessitate it. I like the Enfield 350 engine but I would rather have a DOHC 40HP liquid cooled 400cc (of any brand) than a 20HP 350cc Enfield engine.

I like that 400 a lot.

Indian built power plant? hard pass.

What's wrong with India? Indian people have an incredibly resourceful nature and many traditional crafting skills remain in the country. The mom & pop manufacturing base is huge and very adept.
Any chance admin can correct my spelling mistake in the title please, thanks!

[GoldOxide_imp]

Here's a shot of the left side.

That blue colour is quite striking. Interesting.

[pekingduck]

Looking at the exaggerated slant of the gas tank makes me wonder where the fuel pump pickup is. If it's at the back, lots of fuel will be unreachable down in front. If at the front, which side of the tanks saddle? Either left or right would leave the other unreachable.

[pdedse]

my take:
being in engineering/manufacturing/qc control (for 25 years now) has formed my opinion years ago on what comes out of India, particularly in metallurgy and castings. I still see it regularly. Its way too hit and miss for my liking. I owned a ktm390 built in india, the 1st year us model duke. the ONLY reason i bought it was because i knew ktm was carefully watching the 1st year on qc, and they still had issues. Looking at what the RE owners accept as 'ok' also is interesting. (im actually on the owners group page as i was considering it, I like the idea of a 650 INT). Nope, not for me. They aren't there yet IMHO and nothing anybody on here says is going to change that. Its a purely mechanical/quality issue for me, nothing else.

I was a bit sceptical about the INT650 I purchased last Nov. A test ride and then finding one second hand at a great price convinced me to try one out, a '22. So far, so good, at 4k miles (3300 of that me), but you do read a fair share of issues on the forums. Parts seem very inexpensive, tho'. But this is a "ride-for-a-year" bike, so hopefully it will last. : )

At least that's what I keep telling myself, it's such a fun bike to ride!

[Gone in 60]

I'm with Pdedse, naturally, as I have the same RE he has. Definitely rough around the edges, and yeah, go on Amazon and spend twenty bucks on relays to abort most of the problems that will pop up with the bike. Not for everyone, and it would not be my only bike, like Pdedse, I use mine as a fun little alternative to my others. Yeah, M in SC, hard to describe, but it is the character. I was on your side until I rode one for a day, and found out that used ones are plentiful and cheap, as are the parts.

Got a chuckle out of the promo video for the new little Triumphs, as they did their obligatory, sexy slow-ride over the new Sixth Street bridge in L.A. which just about every new car and bike has to do now. That means that the bikes are in the U.S., at least for promotion. Maybe they'll sell them here.

As cool as they are, I learned my lesson with my little CB300R that a little single just isn't practical for my riding, where being able to maintain freeway speeds is mandatory. Other than Z400s and Duke 390s, you don't see any of those other little bikes bombing down the fast lane anywhere I ride. But, if it hits the local showroom, I'll show it to Mrs. G, and it might become her next "If I ever learn to ride, and it will be someday, just not today, because there's so much going on... taking care of Mom, the new job, and everything else" bike.

[Gone in 60]

The KTM 390 can boogie for sure. A guy in the office next door rides a 390, and we regularly see each other on the freeway.

[DaSwami_imp]

my take:
being in engineering/manufacturing/qc control (for 25 years now) has formed my opinion years ago on what comes out of India, particularly in metallurgy and castings. I still see it regularly. Its way too hit and miss for my liking. I owned a ktm390 built in india, the 1st year us model duke. the ONLY reason i bought it was because i knew ktm was carefully watching the 1st year on qc, and they still had issues. Looking at what the RE owners accept as 'ok' also is interesting. (im actually on the owners group page as i was considering it, I like the idea of a 650 INT). Nope, not for me. They aren't there yet IMHO and nothing anybody on here says is going to change that. Its a purely mechanical/quality issue for me, nothing else.

As a former owner of a RE Classic 350 I feel this!

[Gone in 60]

I would think maybe a rebadged Bajaj... isn't that who's building them for Triumph?

[Gone in 60]

That is a pretty impressive figure for a single.

[pdedse]

if i ever find a used one too cheap to pass up i'll get one, but i'm not going to spend real money on something they cant even get the relays right on, lol. One will pop up eventually and i'll probably bite. I know some people have zero issues w them. With a garage full of 50+ year old bikes that are actually fairly reliable i have a hard time justifying an RE at this time w the issues that seem to plague them, overall. (how is it justified usually.... its the 'character'? lol).

But i like the idea of a sub 500cc bike in this ilk, overall. If they come to the states i'll def check one out.

That's probably a healthy attitude. I was actually trying to sell my '22 INT650 w/ 4k miles for $4,700, just in case I wanted to buy the blue W800. I had a few low offers, but one guy is/was interested, but I just pulled the plug on the sale because he couldn't make up his mind, and...neither could I, I guess.