Triumph Speed 400 Now at ₹1.99 Lakh : Usually, People do not appreciate great things but when they are priced in a manner it becomes rare. One such product is the Triumph Speed T4 which has been a renowned product for its availability in the market. It was introduced at a sticker of Rs 2.17 lakh (ex-showroom) and they had a massive discount on it for a long while and now Triumph has reduced the base sticker to Rs 1.99 lakh (ex-showroom).
Now T4 is much more affordable and can clearly give a run to many motorcycles in this segment especially a few Royal Enfield bikes which have been dominating this segment. Whether this is enough to dethrone the RE’s is untold, as RE’s comes with a brand name which the consumer seems more pretentious with hope in the Indian market, but the T4 this much price is definitely one of the best commuters in the dealership.
The T4 is a brilliant motorcycle, it is superbly built and while several elements are shared, most will say that the T4 is simply the budget cut variant of the Speed 400 but the motorcycle has been worked upon to become a more appropriate everyday commuter with comfort and price in mind. Apart from that, the suspensions were updated to front telescopic forks while a steel exhaust was used along with different tyres and only two colour variants.
In terms of mechanics, it shares the same 398cc single cylinder liquid cooled engine as the Speed 400, albeit with lower power. It makes 30.6 bhp at 7,000 rpms and 36 Nm of torque at 5,000 rpms. Not that it matters because the power is lower down the range and that works in lower speed riding conditions.
The new pricing is clever but whether that will be enough to compete with its rivals is a question mark. The Royal Enfield market is a well defined set of niche buyers who would not look at anything else but maybe its time to see the T4 in a different light, that frames it as significantly more premium and daily-able machine compared to just a retro competitor.