The riding position was pretty much similar to my Pulsar 220.
BHPian antz.bin recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Finally did the test ride today.
The bike is truly very impressive. It is absolutely stunning and at par in quality to its stablemates that are much much more expensive. Effortless to ride around town and the ride quality is just excellent. Acceleration is strong across the rev range and there is hardly any need to downshift even during quick overtakes within the city.
The Fan was on during my TR, probably due to the constant ripping from back to back test rides. I could feel some heat at standstill but not something that was worrisome. Jeans definitely helped.
The bike is compact in size but I could manage to ride confidently with my wife and toddler on board without much discomfort till about 60 within the short distance that I did the TR with them. This will not be a very frequent occurrence but it is a use case the bike must be able to manage.
The riding position was pretty much similar to my Pulsar 220. I was looking for something more aggressive this time around but the Duke is pretty similar as well and the ADV is even more relaxed.
The space available was less than my Pulsar 220 but still manageable. Maybe the single (non split) seat is helping here. The pillion seat was not scary under acceleration by any stretch of the imagination. The most powerful motorcycle I have personally sat pillion on is the Ninja 250R and that was the most scared I was ever on a motorcycle, this is more powerful but is nowhere close to the Ninja in terms of scariness.
At the cost of repetition, the ride was truly magical. Bumps and potholes just disappear under it without a sound. This part is especially important to me specifically because the township I live in has the worst speed breakers I could find from here to Ladakh and back. And I encounter 35 such speed breakers here in the 3km round trip of me going to my daughter’s school and back. I doubt any competitor can do this any better.
There were definitely some vibration in the higher revs but not something you couldn’t live with. I will be riding the KTM 390 and the RE 650 trios tomorrow to make my final pick. From what I remember, the KTM 390 bottom end was definitely weaker than this one. One could easily sacrifice some of that bottom end by sprocketing and fix the high speed vibration issue for very cheap on the Speed 400 if that is what you desire.
Regarding deliveries, the Pune dealer mentioned that I am #319 on the list and they have 400 bikes to deliver this month. So I could get delivery before the end of this month. Standard fare of making a payment of ₹23k (+ 2k booking amount already paid) to freeze the booking needs to be paid ASAP. Last date for payment for August delivery is the 15th of August.
Regarding standard accessories, everything on the bike inside the showroom is standard equipment. This includes:
- Side stand
- Upper crash guard
- Bar end mirrors
- Basic radiator guard
- Plastic bash plate
The cost of all of the above is included within the Ex Showroom price in typical Bajaj fashion. No Honda business of charging extra even for accessories that are mandatory by law (like mirrors and side stand).
Here’s what BHPian ManthanK had to say on the matter:
Today I have done 30min test ride of this wonderful machine & covered about 7-8km which includes bumper to bumper traffic & a short open stretch, my observations are below. For everyones reference, currently I own a Yamaha FZ250 2019 model with less 7000KM on the odo, mostly used for very short city runs. I have done only 3 long rides during my entire ownership covering not more than 400KM round trip.
Positives:
- It looked awesome
- Got an excellent power, felt like riding RE interceptor during my entire ride
- Fit & Finish is excellent, all components are made out of good quality materials
- Compact Machine, short riders will really appreciate
- Seat is very comfortable
- Got good amount of space for Pillion rider & it can be a good family bike
- Ergonomics are spot on, it can be your daily ride
- Clutch action is light
- Breaks are excellent & predictable
- Got comfortable with the bike in no time
- Exhaust note was likable
Negatives:
- Heat management could have been definitely much better. I felt the heat during my entire ride, mainly while waiting at the signals, a proper footwear is must
- Looked very compact than what I expected
- Sensitive to throttle inputs, I felt bit aggressive
- Gear shifting was not very smooth although it never missed the gear, the test ride bike had less than 200km on the odo, I believe gear shifting might get better over the time
- Horn is mediocre
Overall had a wonderful experience, definitely it can be a very good option for people who wants to upgrade from 150-200cc segment. I’m in a dilemma now whether to replace my sparingly used FZ250 with this bike or use my current ride for few more years before looking for replacement, I may get this bike in next 2 weeks if I hold my current pre-booking.
Here’s what BHPian bharath79 had to say on the matter:
I am just coming back from a test ride of 6 kms or so:
- Solid feeling holding the handlebar.
- Terrific sounding exhaust through out the ride, with the helmet on, gives you the big bike feeling. Really inspires confidence listening to it.
- Slightly weird but loud enough horn.
- Terrifically nimble, I enjoyed my ride on a relatively empty Sunday morning traffic. It will set all the caged middle aged gentlemen a little free
- Reasonablly good low end torque is available. 5th gear at 20kmph is a bit of a struggle, 4th gear at 20kmph is doable, 3rd gear at more or less all speeds is easily doable. It also means clutch less riding needing very little gear change.
- A great city bike at a good price point. Bajaj and/or partners are truly innovators and disruptors, for the indian market, right from KB125 to Pulsars to Dukes to now this.i look forward to a multi cylinder offering.
Regards
Bharath
Keyword: Triumph Speed 400: A Pulsar 220 owner shares impressions post test ride