It’s been little over a year since Triumph’s first single-cylinder models of the modern era, including the Speed 400 and Scrambler 400 X, hit the market, and they’ve been a runaway success for the company. So it’s no surprise to see spy shots that confirm further spinoff models are being prepped for launch.
Depending on where you live, the Triumph 400cc range is made of either two or three models at the moment. In most of the world you have a simple choice: the Speed 400, which fits its 39.5 hp, 398cc DOHC single into a roadster package, or the Scrambler 400 X that uses the same engine and frame but with a retro off-road appeal. In some markets, notably India where all these bikes are manufactured on Triumph’s behalf by Bajaj, there’s also a third variant, the Speed T4, which is a cheaper, simpler variant of the Speed 400 with less power (30.6 hp) along with a conventional fork and axial-mount brakes instead of the Speed 400′s upside-down front suspension and radial-mount caliper.
The new spy pictures show the range is about to gain two additions in the form of a partly faired Speed 400 RR and a high-specification Scrambler 400 that’s likely to carry the “XE” suffix, already used on the bigger Scrambler 1200 XE, to distinguish it from the standard X version.
Let’s start with the Speed 400 RR, as it’s likely to be named if Triumph sticks with the same branding policy used higher in its range on the Speed Triple 1200 RR. At first glance it appears to be a straightforward proposition—a Speed 400 with a chassis-mounted half-fairing that shares the Speed Triple 1200 RR’s semi-retro style—but the closer you look, the more changes you’ll spot. The engine, frame, fork, brakes, and swingarm are straight from the Speed 400, but the components bolted to those bones are substantially new. As well as the nose fairing, it looks like Triumph has redesigned the fuel tank, allowing the bodywork to merge into it, and behind that there’s a new seat, redesigned side panels, and a pillion seat cowl, as well as a redesigned rear fender and taillight.
The changes are more than just cosmetic though. The footpegs are positioned farther back, with appropriate changes to the rear brake and gear linkages, and the bars are much lower than the standard Speed 400. No doubt Triumph has also tweaked the suspension settings to suit, and the presence of conspicuous green wiring leading from the engine to a datalogger in a bag strapped to the rear seat suggests there could be changes afoot in terms of the engine electronics, perhaps indicating new riding modes or extra equipment (possibly a quickshifter?).
The changes to the Scrambler 400 XE are less extreme and largely come from raiding the existing options list to create a higher-spec bike. Add-ons include an engine guard and lower engine-protection bars, plus a high-mounted front fender and a screen at the front. All those parts can already be optioned on the Scrambler 400 X though. The big addition that isn’t on the existing options list is the new wheels. Although they retain the same sizes as before (19 inches at the front and 17 at the rear) the “XE” model is getting tubeless wire-spoke wheels with outboard spokes instead of the cast alloys of the standard X version.
Once again, the prototype on test has some very obvious additional wiring draped over its engine, this time running to a box mounted on the tank ahead of the rider, suggesting there are additional electronics changes planned here as well.
Both bikes are very clearly close to production-ready, and since they’re based on existing models there’s a good chance Triumph won’t be waiting until the 2026 model year to launch them, instead getting them into dealers as soon as possible once the final spec is nailed down and the new components are ready to be fed onto the production line.