Every year, we take note of all of the great motorcycles that were either released or updated for the current model year and pick one of them to be our Motorcycle of the Nation. But what does it mean for a bike to win this award? Well, it’s not necessarily the most groundbreaking or expensive motorcycle on the market, but rather one that is able to bring something meaningful to a wide variety of riders. You aren’t likely to see a Ducati Panigale V4 or Kawasaki Ninja H2 being nominated here. These are going to be bikes that most people will be able to afford and ride.
This brings me to our 2024 Motorcycle of the Nation: the Triumph Speed 400. No longer is Triumph’s intro to its lineup a 660cc motorcycle with 80 horsepower. The new Speed 400 is Triumph’s first attempt at a tried-and-true beginner bike, and to put it lightly, the brand nailed it. A good beginner bike should be approachable, appealing, and affordable—three things that perfectly describe the Speed 400.
A Timeless Beginner
For a long time, the plight of the “beginner bike” was that it, well, looked like one. The Speed 400 is one of the few beginner bikes that has taken a different approach to styling. Rather than making it resemble one of the brand’s sporty models like the Street Triple or the Daytona, Triumph made the Speed 400 part of the brand’s “modern classics” lineup and went for a more retro look. There’s no angular bodywork or angry eyebrow running lights here, just an oval gas tank with a big round LED headlight up front. It’s a design that just about any rider will find palatable and appealing. Not to mention that its low seat height of 31.1 inches and 375 lb weight make it perfect for most riders to feel comfortable and in control.
The classic styling also helps make the more budget-oriented components stick out less. Oftentimes, when a small displacement bike is doing a superbike impression, it is somewhat sloppily given away by its smaller brakes and tires. The Speed 400 isn’t trying to be anything that it isn’t; it’s a bonafide standard bike with classic styling. This means that it feels much more genuine and has much more staying power in your garage than many of its competitors in the small displacement bike market that beg for an upgrade.
Everything You Need, Nothing You Don’t
Triumph made sure to make the Speed 400 fit into its lineup when it comes to features. While not lean-sensitive, the Speed 400 has both traction control and ABS as standard. It lacks any sort of drive modes, but that is probably for the best, as it really doesn’t need them, given its low power output. All ride modes would accomplish is overcomplicating the riding experience.
A simple, enjoyable riding experience is what the Speed 400 is all about, and the motor is no exception to this philosophy. It is a 398cc single-cylinder engine that puts out 39.5 hp and 27.7 lb-ft of torque. This means it has a rather robust powerband that is perfect for normal street riding. Unlike the parallel twin engines found in much of its competition, the Speed 400’s single-cylinder layout does not have to be wrung out quite as aggressively to reach normal speeds, making commuting a bit less of a white-knuckle endeavor. It has plenty of mid-range power for passing, and with a top speed of 100 mph, you’ll have no trouble keeping up on the highway. Its standard slipper clutch keeps shifts smooth, and its electronic throttle feels characteristically Triumph smooth.
The Speed 400’s underpinnings are nothing to scoff at, either. Up front, it has Showa 43mm Big Piston inverted forks adorned in the ever-important gold finish, and in the rear, it has a gas monoshock with an external reservoir and preload adjustment. The brakes are from a brand called ByBre, which is a subsidiary of Brembo. If you take some phonetic clues from the name, you might have already suspected this, as the name is literally an abbreviation of “By Brembo.” ByBre is a wing of the Brembo group that makes brakes specialized for small to medium-sized motorcycles.
The dash is a hybrid LCD and analog cluster, which fits perfectly with the retro styling of the rest of the motorcycle. It has a full fuel gauge, which is easily readable and split into eight evenly sized blocks (take notes Yamaha) and a gear indicator. The only criticism I have of the setup is that Triumph chose to have the speedometer take up the large analog part of the gauge cluster, with the tachometer banished to a small section of the LCD. This is an interesting choice, to say the least, especially when the speedometer could easily have been a small number readout on the LCD. Either way, it’s a good-looking display that is perfectly usable except for my meager nitpicks.
Upscale Styling, Downscaled Price
Coming from a marque like Triumph might make you think that the Speed 400 would be on the more premium end of the small displacement section, and you would be right—unless you’re talking about the price tag, that is. The starting price of $4,995 is firmly near the bottom of the pricing bracket for small displacement bikes. Triumph took a very clever route by offering an extremely budget-friendly option that represents great value and will work as a perfect intro to its lineup for beginners or serve as a great classic option for those who prefer smaller displacement bikes.
That affordable price tag gets you a bike that you can truly feel proud of owning and will definitely have you looking back at it after you park, which is not something that you can say of most beginner motorcycles. The Speed 400 is part of a larger movement that is making beginner bikes feel less like a compromise. Other manufacturers are beginning to do the same, and premium fit and finish is finally trickling down to the smaller displacements. The Speed 400 is a complete package that doesn’t make its owner feel like they need to upgrade as soon as possible. It really doesn’t stray far from Triumph’s build quality and just feels like a smaller Speed Twin 900 with a single-cylinder powerplant and half the price tag.
A Classic for the Masses
No longer are modern sport classic motorcycles something reserved for the higher displacement segments. Beginners whose aesthetic tastes fall outside of the brackets of cruisers, sport bikes, and Decepticon-esque naked bikes now have a perfectly viable option to start on. They are no longer forced to buy second-hand cafe racers from the 1980s as first bikes (please don’t do this; you want something you actually spend more time riding than working on for a first bike). The Speed 400 has styling that no one will find offensive and a price point that most riders will find very appealing.
A motorcycle that is this approachable and has such broad appeal can’t help but embody exactly what we’re looking for when we think of the Motorcycle of the Nation. It’s a bike that most riders can enjoy and afford while offering something unique to the market. In this case, Triumph greatly lowered the skill and price ceiling for not only its own lineup but the sport classic segment as a whole.
