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On the subject of gearing, i work at a dealer that sells ktm and triumph. The 390 duke sprockets fit the speed and scrambler, so we've been putting a lot of 16t fronts from ktm on them to sort out the gearing misstep
This was my beginner bike I got this past spring. I've put a few thousand miles on it (almost entirely back roads with no real highway time), and I absolutely adore it. The break in period is rough, but once its woken up it's a fantastic little machine.
@@rileystanekthe ecu tuning isn't proper, there is a lot of vibration when cruising at 50 to 60 mph. The engine isn't hard limited to 6k rpm but yes it does not push a lot past 7 to 8k. Once the break in is over the smoothness is evident I have the scrambler though which is comfortable to sit and ride done a few long highway tours and its pretty comfortable, done 450kms in 7 hours
@@jeremygillespie4203 Yes. There are a fucking LOT of options at or under the $5k mark that are completely reliable and reasonable to ride every day. Look at the market for 400-class bikes right now and compare it to the low displacement market ten or twenty years ago. Hell, at one time the entire low displacement market was basically just a Ninja 250 then it jumped straight to 600's. The only better time to be a new rider was probably in the 70's when minimum wage was the equivalent of double what it is now and purchasing power was better overall. Even then you were getting a relatively crap 70's motorcycling experience and nothing like a modern machine that won't break down every few hundred miles.
I like to think that India is the saviour of the cheap motorcycle - without India and Indian-manufactured motorcycles to keep prices down the Japanese manufacturers would jack up their prices.
Own one and really like it. It’s a fun scoot for around town. A few teething issues early, but good warranty and it fits in the back of my pickup with the gate up for trips.
Yes!! Finally thank you! Was good to hear your thoughts on the speed and it’s small flaws. I don’t think many of them would matter to me as a new rider because I wouldn’t really know the difference but it’s still good to hear and be aware of!
For the Indian roads a bike in 400cc/40 bhp to 600cc/75-90 bhp with low down torque are the most ideal bikes. In terms of fuel economy, there was a time in the 80’s and 90’s, where 50-80 kms/ liter was the selling point for those 100cc commuter bikes (think Honda Cub like power & reliability). One of the slogans from a pre-eminent motorcycles makers used to be - ‘Fill it, shut-it, and forget it’.
I've got the 400x and at 60 years of age have owned bikes from all over the spectrum. Make take on it is that it's a great bike for sub 60mph around town, back road kind of stuff. With it's lack of wind protection it's far down the list of what I'd choose were I looking to do big highway miles. I picked up the x because it looks great, reminded me of my 1st street bike (Honda 350) and my need for speed ran away a good 20 years ago. If you are looking for a cheap, good looking bike that will lump along for sedate back road exploring you won't be disappointed.
I bought one of these as a returning rider bike after 20 years. It was/is absolutely a wonderful machines. I traded it after four months for a Royal Enfield INT650 because I ride a lot of interstate for work, and the Speed 400 felt dicey at 75mph around traffic, especially large trucks. 10/10 I would buy one again, if only for back roads and running errands around town.
That's the issue with all of these 350-400cc bikes. Small frames Steep Steering rakes, combined with engines that aren't developed to run at realistic freeway speeds, which tend to be anywhere from 75-85 MPH.
Yeah, I got the scrambler 400x, and the speedo shows 5 miles higher than the GPS on my phone, so 70 mph is actually 65 mph for me. And totally agree that the bike needs to be geared up.
I'm stepping down to a 400 scrambler. I took it for a test ride and loved it. It's small, "cheap," and fun. I can practice on it and then ride some dirt roads and not care too much if it gets dinged up and dirty. My dealer in Mass said that the 400s have been flying off the showroom floor. It looks like Triumph slammed it out of the park with these bikes.
First one I saw at my Triumph dealer really had to look twice to see it was a 400. It blended in to the other bikes. Which to me is a tip of the cap to Triumph. The fit and finish and quality at its price point is commendable.
I test rode a Speed 400 and loved it. A good bit spunkier than you'd anticipate, and hilarious to toss side-to-side. I could scrape pegs just going left-right within a single lane. Heavily considering one to toss in the truck and haul to the mountains for weekend rips.
I would love it if you guys could include service intervals in your stats when reviewing bikes. I bought an interceptor (INT650) based on these reviews and then found out it was 5000kms only….so I sold it and bought a T100 (16,000kms).
I'd say you forgot the $1800 price difference between SCL500 and Speed 400. If both in garage you'd take 500, but if both are next to each other at dealer, I'd bet you'd take the 400. Another great video👍
I agree. I had a Speed 400 for 6 months, loved the looks and the handling but was never completely happy with it. I tried a 2024 CB500X and felt the Honda had more presence, more comfort, much better transmission and felt more complete but the Triumph is a brilliant first iteration.
Great review! I own a Speed 400 and have put almost 3,000 miles on it since June. I live in Palos Verdes, near where you shoot your daily rider reviews and I've found I get blown around a lot on the 47 bridge. Did you find that when you went over for this video? I actually take Anaheim now to avoid the 47 bridge.
Interesting to hear Zak say it was lighter on it's feet than the Scrambler 400. I had a deposit down on a scrambler but when i tried it found the front end stodgy and overly firm and it put me right off. Perhaps i need to give the Speed 400 a try...
I tested both this bike and the new Vitpilen 401, and ultimately ended up with the Husky. They were both very nice bikes, but the Vitpilen was a bit sportier and the ergos suited me better.
For country roads and emerging riders, a good choice. It's worth pointing out that the cost of this bike is roughly what I paid BMW to install a new ABS module in my RT.
Over here (Uk), it's 2nd in sales to a 125 Honda scooter. Flying out of show rooms. It's great that we have such choice in the 400cc (ish) lower priced end of the market. For a time I think manufactures forgot about that section.
I was looking at the Scrambler 400 a couple weeks ago. and then a used 2019 1200xe came up for basically the same price. i got the xe lol but the lil scrambler is still super nice. A Nice retro step up from the Speed 400 would be the Kawasaki Z650rs looks great the Ptwin 650 is a pretty good motor not super spicy at the top but it does the trick. also Kawasaki's paint on the retros is always looks premium.
I dont understand why they started using Trident 660 Instrument on everything. It shouldnt even be on the Trident and now it's on well all 660 class, Street Triple R, Scrambler 1200X and now on the speed 1200....
@@getty6974 I own a trident and tbh the speedo is one of the best with little to no lag, and I would say it's better on trident compared to any other tft, it's really aesthetically pleasing and looks premium. But I would agree, the speed twim 1200 is getting it now and it looks way off there a dual round tft would've looked better there, if they wanted to go modern but ah well
@@AAKEngine Idk, no personal experience what this but from how i've seen the new himalayans Instrument. That thing looks way more premium on what a 7k€ bike compared to well Trident 10k€, Street triple R 13k€, scrambler X 20k€ bike. In that sense the Instrument looks really budget for what way more budget brands use as their instruments. And well you can add CFmoto Instruments aswell. Edit: Also have to say, i kinda live in the past, i think Triumph kinda had it perfect with their old Daytona/street triple instrument Analog RPM needle and digital speedo. Also it had a shift lamp LEDs at the top of the Instrument.
@@getty6974 I know, the other brands are provided better equipment but I must say it does feel way premium irl for some reason. It will never lag, won't get outdated colours as it's simple. It has its charm. But I would expect better from Triumph in future for sure
15:00 probably worth mentioning re: heat and the bike not making much power - it's A LOT for a 400cc single. There's a ton of 650cc singles out there with 48hp more or less, and this is a lot more power vs capacity, especially for a single. A Honda CB500 is 47hp from a twin, and it's only 78cc more. Again, I think this is impressive power for a single and I'm not surprised that it gets hot. Would be interesting to compare it to the new Royal Enfield naked (that shares the engine with the Himalayan).
There's something to be said for a simple bike with just enough power to get the job done, that old "it's more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow" thing.
Bikes like this are so very good at chill riding on roads with lower speed limits. I do a lot of this style of riding and I'm guessing that the Triumph is better at it than most. If I need to run errands or just enjoy a sunny day, a bike like this is so much better than a 200 hp hyperbike, an 800 pound cruiser or a 550 pound luxury adventure bike. Perhaps I would favour a Vespa GTS over the Speed but only slightly. The Daily Rider reviews are done in the Los Angeles area. I have a brother who lives in the South Bay area and when I visit I find the California freeways very intimidating. Those of who never have to use such roads evaluate a bikes character through a different lens.
I love the show, but I am a little dismayed this year especially by the three Uber-bikes at the top of the list of the current Daily Rider leaderboard. They are all phenomenal bikes and you are an excellent rider able to wring all of their performance out of them, but are they not literally overkill for what the Daily Ride really entails? Perhaps this little 400 in fact IS a far better daily rider for 90% of the population. To put it into car terms, sure, a BMW M5 or a Porsche Macan Turbo or whatever is likely a VERY good and capable way to get to work and use for everything else, but the reality is that something like a Toyota Camry Hybrid (or even a RAV4) would provide all of the necessary stuff, be reliable, inexpensive to own and maintain, and most everyone can reap most of the benefits of most of them every single day for most everything they do. I'm at the point where I'm just sort of ignoring the top 6 or so this year and looking where new bikes fall starting around the midpoint of the chart. I'm not really sure if this comment makes a lot of sense, but that's where I'm at with this....And I FULLY understand it's YOU reviewing these bikes (and appreciate that) , I wouldn't change a thing about the actual reviews, just how the leaderboard is set up...Maybe it needs to be segmented more somehow.
890 SMT owner here. It’s certainly not a cheap motorcycle but, and this is the important part, in the context of LA I think you need at least 50+ horses to be able to comfortably keep up with traffic which can run at 85 and up on the highway. Especially with bags on which was important for me when I commuted to the office with clothes in the bags, you need some power and handling to be confident in the machine. You -can- commute with 40 horses on a smaller bike, but having a roomy saddle, cruise control, heated grips etc. all make the experience that much nicer for actual workhorse daily use. The reason a bike like the 890 is up there is because it can do almost everything well and is fun while doing it. I’m a mediocre rider and I can appreciate its performance just fine. The 1390 I sort of agree with you about.
Cali freeways, suburban mix: the Int 650 is very good. If you are doing just city-suberb, with some fwy as needed, Triumph Speed 400 is good. Of course, Honda has its own claim to fame.
The Triumph is waaaay better looking than that ugly 500 Honda and has much more character, in my opinion. Suspension is better than the bouncy Honda too.
For trading up I’d consider the Z650RS, XSR700, or even a W800. The W800 will be much like this or the Bonnie in being a mellow and simple bike. It’s supposed to be easy to maintain and fairly elemental. I think if you want something that’s a better version of the same thing but you’re willing to go older an SR400 is going to be just better. It’s not necessarily great on the highway but it’s a very exciting bike bellow that, it can handle being on the highway just fine though.
This is not the 100 year old bike I was expecting for the 100th episode 😂😂 seems a sweet little bike tho Although now I have watched all the way to the end I realise it’s actually Ep98…. The daily rider playlist did me dirty 🤣
I feel like Zack was wayyy too generous with this bike on the leaderboard. Other than aesthetic choices, I would really struggle to justify why it is any better than the 390 Duke. The 390 Duke is a bike that makes new riders want to get out and ride more, bigger smile factor IMO.
True, but the Duke 390's appeal vs this bike's appeal also depends on how old the rider is. I get it that younger folks would surely pick the Duke 390. In previous times, so would I. Now, at 50, I probably would like this Triumph better over KTM's equivalent offering.
really nice review. I live in Spain and have been thinking about getting a smaller displacement motorcycle for around town. I bought a brand new 1973 Triumph Bonneville 750 in Spain and still have it, but it is back in the U.S. I’m 6’2” so leg room is important for me.
Next step up that sticks with the style of the Speed 400 would be a XSR700 or a Z650RS. If you really like the single maybe a BSA Gold Star but I don't think that really applies for us in the US
Every time I adjusted the "adjustable levers" on my Street Triple, the Triumph mechanic would set them back and tell me off apparently "they're not for reach convenience"?! Perhaps the brakes fade on track and you can dial them back a bit? Or the main dealer lies?
The more you set the adjustable lever back, the stronger the initial bite/the less distance brakes have to travel to provide stopping power. That said they can just as easily work for reach convenience-your dealer was being a prick. I set mine to '3' because my hand was the most comfortable at that distance and I like the initial bite
My new 2013 Triumph Tiger 800XC was so bad that I swore off the brand. Do they actually honor warranties now? Is every new Triumph still chock full of "known issues"?
There is more value in the 400cc Triumph than their bigger bikes. I want to own the brand but the expense just doesn't do it for me. The smaller displacement is much more nostalgic.
Walking around the back of my old FZS I, as you did here, reflexively hold on tothe passenger grab handle and use that as a pivot point to guide my body around the machine. Weird, isn't it?
Got fed up waiting for Triumph to fix mine so I sold it after 3,000 miles and 9 months. Potentially a great little big bike ruined by poor build quality and reliability. Great shame Triumph didn't bring manufacturing in house as I suspect they're as frustrated with Bajaj as Owners are. Mine suffered poor build quality (fixings and footpegs), immobiliser fault with rogue engine management light, stalling and non starting. Triumph claimed they were waiting for a software update (after the first update caused worse problems). Personally I suspect a hardware fault they are trying to correct with software. Overall, a disappointing purchase and haven't regretted selling it at all, though if it had been sorted and the dealer had better customer service I'd have happily still had it.
You really should have some sort of mechanism to include price of the bike, coz that leader board looks crazy from top down. Like it just kind of proves more expensive is better which is kinda obvious. Maybe a tiered system of this board would be good.
I was thinking the same thing. For me and my commute the smaller, cheaper bikes would be easier and funner and less stress. But there’s no freeway riding on my commute.
Tubskid has this bike and his entire ignition broke on the first offroad spill. Triumph charged him $1800 to fix it. That's the reality of these modern adventure powers.
I have a 2024 Scrambler 400x and love it, but would happily pay extra for the same bike, same engine, but with premium components that match the rest of Triumph's lineup. Just buy a T100 you might say. Yes, of course, but I actually love this little bike and love the weight. Too bad they resorted to building in India just to meet a low price-point.
@@chrishart8548 Yeah, it might be close, and then not very marketable, except for crazies like me that would love to have such a thing. Anyway, I love this bike.
It looks like the daytime running lights/regular lights switch isn’t available on this bike in the US… I have the Australian version and left controls, next to the “i” button has a light type toggle. Is that normal?
Bajaj makes this bike . It’s a great brand in India . Triumph is lucky to have the collaboration with Bajaj. It’s much cheaper to buy in India . Btw I own a tiger 900 gt pro. Love triumph brand
I wonder if the T4 will be released in the USA and the updated versions ? Gearing form what I’ve heard should be 16T on the speed 15T on the X. I also think the T4 is more like the bonneville
You can't see how small the Triumph 400 is on Camera, I'm 6ft and it felt like a 150cc dirt bike compared to like a ninja 650, cool machine though, looks great.
For the 100th episode, how about taking the top one, two or maybe three bikes from each year you've been doing this, and ranking them against each other to get the ultimate best daily riders??
I honestly think the speed 400 is just about the best LOOKING bike on the market right now, and would love to see Triumph stick it in the Xerox at 110% and slap the 660 in it. I know they have the trident in that position, but it just is flat out not as pretty as the speed 400. Literally a 110% enlarged carbon copy of the Speed 400, with the 660 engine, and I think that would be perfect!
@@chrishart8548 Yeah, if they updated the trident to be the Speed 400's bigger brother, with the same proportions and shapes, it would really hit the mark for me.
I'm not keen that the top bikes are large cc hot machines. I generally reach for one of my 650-750cc machines for actual commuting. Even the wee little zx4rr is better than the Speed Triple 1200 for traffic as that bike can make the frame crazy hot uncomfortable. Same with the Monster SP that bike is hot running.
I forgot to ask in the instagram, so I am asking here: if someone has experience riding 125cc bikes, should they go for this one once they get their A2 license or skip it and go for a 48hp limited Speed 900?
Moving up to your next bike after the 400 you mentioned a Speed Twin 900 or a Royal Enfield 650. The Speed Twin 900 has over 50% more power at 64 bhp but weighs another 46 kg. The Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 only has another 7 bhp @ 47 bhp and it weighs another 47 kg so would be avery mediocre upgrade, possibly even a downgrade on performance stats.
Just ride the re 650 after riding this. It's a day and night difference. You get 15 nm more torque, a 270 degree crank air cooled parallel twin with oodles of character. If you are not short on budget then speed twin 900 or a moto guzzi v stone would be a no brainer.
1) At around 14:40 when talking about heat, you said "doesn't make a ton of power" may I remind you that 40 HP from 400cc, is 100 HP per liter, which is on the high range. 2) Do you know if the sprocket sizes are the same as the one you rode in India?
Zack, do you have reviews or insight on the Honda CB350 H'Ness? I know it's not in the US, at least at last check, but it's a bike that seems to be in a great position to compete domestically with the Royal Enfield 350s offered, as well the aforementioned KTM, BMW, this Triumph, and the Chinese offerings of QJ, CFMoto, etc. @34:52..."Kickstand Presence"??? Wha???
Looks a nice bike, but the "is it a triumph" naval fluff forensics got me thinking. So - nope - I imagine a triumph to have two pipes coming out of each cylinder in that talismanic arc, pipes alongside engine, under pegs, out the way in the best way. Too heavy and clunky? So I go back to historical referents - the CL250 and 350 of yore. Much lighter, long stroke, economical, can do a ton. Still riunning 60 years on. Need I say more? A modernised cl350 with fuel injection, better suspenders, better brakes, non-intrusive electronics, maybe a hybrid, same seat height and weight, with a trumpy badge would be the bees knees as far as I am concerned.
I’m confused… Because it’s ‘budget-priced’ it can’t compare with a 1300GS or an 890SMT as a top 3 daily rider? I would think that if it’s handsome, capable on the highway, has great fuel economy and is considered great value for money, then it should be right at the top as a daily ride…
