Looks pretty god sitting next to Trixie, my 2010 Triumh Thruxton…doesn’t it?

I’d have liked to test the Thruxton 400, but beggers can’t be choosers. While my V7 was in for its 18786 mile service (damn metric system…) I borrowed a Tracker to get around for the evening and following morning.

I already did a first impressions post on the Speed 400, which I only got to test ride for a few minutes. It’s the same motor as the Speed 400 — a 398cc single with 12:1 compression that gives it a hair more power than the Speed, 41.4 hp to the 39.5 hp of the Speed…about 5%, and it has about 27.5 ft-lbs. of torque (4 more ft-lbs than the Speed). It’s a small bump, but it’s a noticeable one. The motor hit the ton with the dashboard flashing at me. There’s definitely more pick up, but it was much more buzzy than the Speed when romping on it. As soon as you were in the 6000rpm range, the mirrors were pretty much useless. One thing I did note — while it’s supposed to be the same mill, the engine (to me) sounded more tinny than the Speed; cheaper.

Like the Speed, it’s light and feels lighter than it is. The wheelbase is short and handling with the wider bars is very, very quick. The bike is seriously responsive at speed. The suspension is pretty rudimentary but is soaks light bumps pretty well. Mild dirt parking lots were easy, and I had to ride it in a torrential downpour at one point — the mild knobbies on it and the balance made light work of the rain.

The saddle is flat and wide — something my wife and daughter both found a bit uncomfortable, but once the feet are on the pegs, it’s not an issue. Seat height is about 31 inches and my 5’6” wife with a 30 inch inseam had no problem reaching the ground.

The styling is nice — the color palette on these is black, yellow, or silver with striping on the tank and cowling, and the 400 number plate on the sides. Not my favorite — the Speed 400 definitely wins on the livery, but the way the tail pokes out under the cowling looks good, though the DOT mandated stalk for the license plate is annoying (but easy to remove, it looked like.)

It’s got the usual stuff for a modern bike: switchable traction control, a torque-assist clutch, ABS. The instrument panel has a nice big speedo to the left, then an inset LED display for the usual stuff to the right. There’s a gear indicator and fuel gauge — the only two things I care about on an LED display.

So is it worth it? The Tracker and Thruxton both run $500-1000ish more than the stock Speed 400 at about $6500, but the slight bump in power is immediately noticeable and welcome. If it’s a tune thing, I’d love to see it on the Speed 400. Gas mileage is about the same — in the 90mpg range. The styling is nice, and the bars make this much more manageable than the Speed, in my opinion. 

It would be a perfect first bike, or small commuter for the economy savvy. The scrambler style raised pipes and tires on it are good for dirt driveways and fire roads. so yes — it’s worth it.