New Triumph cafe racer spy shots revealed

A new Triumph has been spied during road testing, thought to be a Triumph Speed 400 RR.

The Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RR is clearly the visual base for what is thought to be a new Speed 400 RR, with the 400 wearing an almost identical face to the neo-retro, cafe racer-style 1200. In Indian media, there are references to this bike with the name ‘Thruxton’ attached. The Triumph Thruxton Final Edition was announced earlier this year, which suggests ‘Speed’ is a perhaps more likely name, but the suggestions of the Indian media should not be discounted entirely at this stage - a ‘Thruxton 400’ is a possibility. For the remainder of this article, we will push ahead with the ‘Speed’ name.

Technically, the 400 is likely to mark a significant diversion from the Speed Triple 1200 RR’s specs. In fact, the two are likely to be about as far apart from each other, in technical terms, as two motorcycles from the same brand and in the same range are likely to be.

For a start, the engine of the 400 will be the same as used in the Triumph Speed 400 and Scrambler 400 that launched earlier this year, which have both been born through Triumph’s industrial relationship with the Indian manufacturer, Bajaj. In both of those bikes, the 398cc single-cylinder motor produces 40bhp and 28lb ft. Numbers for what we will continue to call the Speed 400 RR are not available yet, of course, but similar or identical outputs should be expected.

On the chassis side, the 400 RR retains the steel double cradle frame of Triumph’s aforementioned existing 400s, and the suspension makes use of a central rear monoshock and a telescopic front fork. A single brake disc is used at the front, and just a bit further up from there you will find one of the significant differences between this bike and those which share its engine, that being clip-on bars - an enhancer of the bike’s sportier philosophy.

Of course, with nothing official yet from Triumph, there is no information regarding pricing or availability, but the relatively final-looking bike seen in the photos suggests it might not be more than a few months away from launch.