Harley Davidson X440, Honda CB350 RS, Jawa 42 FJ, Hero Mavrick 440 and Bajaj Dominar 400 are the other motorcycles included in this comparison.
BHPian Ripcord09 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
Triumph Speed T4
What you’ll like:
- Brings all the positive attributes in terms of design and build quality of the Speed 400 at an affordable price point
- Great ground clearance (gotten better) in real-world riding
- Torquey nature of the engine makes it easier to ride in the city. Power delivery is smooth and refined with hardly any vibrations
- Revised suspension setup offers a plush ride and good stability on the highway
- A non-intimidating bike that is very beginner-friendly while also being easy to recommend to older riders getting back to some easy riding after a gap
What you won’t:
- For Rs. 23,000 more, the Speed 400 comes across as a better value for money proposition
- Loses out on a fair amount of kit compared to the Speed 400 (Ride by wire, traction control and engine immobiliser)
- Manual throttle means you experience slight jerks on closing the throttle at low speeds
- Non-adjustable brake and clutch levers, although they are light and easy to operate. Adjustable levers would have been a nice touch.
- Analogue + Digital speedometer could have been better executed. Currently, the rpm meter is hard to read.
Triumph Speed 400
What you’ll like:
- Quintessential Triumph design that can stand proud next to the rest of its modern classic range
- Build quality, fit and finish are of a high order – arguably the best in the broad segment it straddles
- Stunning price proposition! Bajaj and Triumph have launched it at a price that leaves no doubt that they’re gunning for a thumping success
- 39.5 BHP engine is reasonably tractable with a strong pull. Smooth & refined power delivery at a kerb weight of ~176 kg, results in a fairly peppy performance aided further by a slick 6-speed gearbox
- Great ground clearance in real-world riding, combined with a reasonably plush ride
- Exciting but not intimidating – the bike is very beginner-friendly and will be easy to recommend to newer riders as well as older ones getting back to some easy riding after a gap
- A very generous 16,000 km / 1-year service interval. Parts and service costs are also expected to be kept competitive
What you won’t:
- Absence of some features like connected tech, riding modes etc.
- Very tall folk may find themselves gravitating towards the Scrambler 400. The Speed 400 looks just a tad small for very heavyset / very tall riders
- Non-adjustable brake and clutch levers, although they are light and easy to operate. Adjustable levers would have been a nice touch.
- Analogue + Digital speedometer doesn’t suit the bike’s character. They should’ve gone in one of these directions, either the simple round style similar to the Trident or the gorgeous twin dials of the 1200 classic
- Only single-sided saddle bag luggage is being offered by Triumph as of now. You will have to look at aftermarket solutions for double-sided saddle bags
- The entire service experience remains uncharted territory with Triumph leaving a negative perception on this front in some parts of the country. Whether one can have a positive dealership experience under Bajaj’s watch is something that remains to be seen
Royal Enfield Hunter 350
Honda CB350 RS
Java 42 FJ
Hero Mavrick 440
What you’ll like:
- Single-cylinder, 440cc engine has good low-end torque to make city riding comfortable. Fairly responsive mid and top-end keep highway cruising engaging
- Superb ride comfort; gobbles up bad roads without letting the rider, or even pillion feel them
- NVH and refinement are really good. Combined with good ergonomics, you can cruise at 80-100 km/h all day long
- Features such as standard dual-channel ABS, Bluetooth connectivity, turn-by-turn navigation etc. are standard on all variants. Top variant gets e-sim connectivity
- Hero’s sales and service network is unparalleled, even in tier 2 and 3 towns
- Well priced for what it offers. Undercuts most competitors
What you won’t:
- Very basic instrumentation cluster in terms of look, feel and functionality
- Missing features such as riding modes, traction control, upside-down suspension fork, etc.
- Built to a cost. Cost-cutting is evident in a couple of areas
- Ride gets unsettled at higher speeds
- To many people, the Hero brand doesn’t have the badge cachet of Royal Enfield, Honda or Harley-Davidson
- Long-term reliability of the new engine is unknown
Harley Davidson X440
What you’ll like:
- Single-cylinder, 440cc engine has good low-end torque to make city riding as well as highway cruising comfortable
- NVH and refinement are really good. Combined with good ergonomics, you can cruise at 80-100 km/h all day long
- Well priced. It is on par with its peers, albeit with an extra ~40-90 cc
- Built by Hero, who knows the Indian two-wheeler consumer extremely well
- Decent level of kit – standard dual-channel ABS, Bluetooth connectivity, connected features, etc.
What you won’t:
- Design and styling can be polarising. Not your typical Harley
- In a segment that has heated up with lots of new offerings, the X440 doesn’t ace any specific aspect
- No riding modes or traction control. Essentially not a lot of ways to customize your ride
- This is the first product of the Harley Davidson – Hero partnership. Sales, after-sales and service support and experience are unknown
Bajaj Dominar 400
Here’s what BHPian Nilesh5417 had to say about the matter:
Was so tempted to go Jawa 42FJ but settled for Speed 400.
Jawa has improved leaps and bounds, looks smashing in some new colors and the engine revisions make it a nice bike to ride. The fact that you can flat foot is a bonus. But CL has some way to go in terms of fit finish and A.S.S reach.
The Speed 400 on the other hand to me has redefined the 400cc segment. I like the engine, fit finish is top notch and gets decent equipment. Just that it’s a smallish bike so lacks road presence. Triumph also seems to have fixed the initial gremlins.
3rd position for me is the H440. Great bike to ride at least in the city where i took a trip. Let down by Harley in looks and fit, finish department. And not everyone understands that paper figures around bhp mean much less when you actually ride a bike. Wish Harley had upped the power into 30s.
For some reason, I never ever warmed up to the Hunter 350. I myself don’t know why but the exhaust note just sounds very funny and somehow it again feels like a very dainty bike unlike what RE is used to churning out. Good that it’s setting sales charts on fire for RE but I just couldn’t get myself to like it inspite of a few rides.
Here’s what BHPian ostrish had to say about the matter:
Rode the Speed 400 in Himachal for a few days. It was an unlikely choice, after days of riding the H411 and later the H450.
Found it delightful. Small and light, very confidence inspiring. Great fit and finish. Enjoyed it in cities and on the twisties, which means it is good at commuting and enthusiastic riding.
It was a little boring on the wide highways, buzzed a bit much. But IMO highway riding is the most boring riding there is, I would much rather take smaller roads and Speed is great at that. This bike made me question why I am keeping my 650 when it is not good at anything.
In absolute contrast to the 650, this bike is very uninteresting and lacks any engine character, yet is so much fun to ride and good at so many things. Some times motorcycles try too hard to be the end, instead of the means to an end. Where you are going is at least as important as how you are going (if not more), and I found the Speed 400 takes you where you want to go with minimum fuss.
Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
