The Cafe Racer Triumph Didn't Tell Anyone About

Three days before this ride, Chase didn't know this bike existed. He thought Triumph's 400 line stopped at the Speed 400 and the Scrambler 400. Then a Thruxton 400 showed up at the dealership wearing clip-ons, bar-end mirrors, and the full cafe racer costume, and suddenly the week got a lot more interesting.

Here's the thing about the old Thruxton. It looked incredible and it rode like a punishment. Seriously sporty body position, big price tag, the kind of bike you admire from across the parking lot and then buy something else. This one costs $6,300.

So the question isn't whether it looks the part. It obviously does. The question is whether a 398cc single with 41 horsepower can carry the most famous cafe racer name in the business without embarrassing it. Short answer: in town, absolutely. On the highway, bring patience.

Performance Highlights

The single is the star. It's peppy, it's torquey down low with almost 28 lb-ft, and the ride-by-wire throttle is light and smooth with zero snatch. Around town it has ample power to shove you through traffic, and because the whole bike weighs 388 lb, every green light feels like an event. Chase went in expecting the city to be this bike's weak spot. Instead it turned out to be the whole point. His words: there's some kind of perfect amalgamation going on between the weight, the body position, and the styling.

Then the highway happens. The 40-80 pull took 8.4 seconds, and that was in third gear with the engine screaming its heart out. Past 80 the single is openly fighting you, and at 90 it simply doesn't want to go. That's not a flaw so much as physics. Nobody buys a 400 single to tour on.

The suspension is comfort-tuned and non-adjustable, which cuts both ways. In town it soaks up everything and makes the bike genuinely pleasant. Thrown into a corner, it wiggles and takes a moment to plant instead of locking in the way the looks promise. The brakes slow the bike down well for the class, better than most low-cc bikes Chase has ridden lately, but there's serious front-end dive and the lever feel is squishy where it should be firm.

Shifting is constant. You'll hit sixth gear by 55 mph, so you live in the gearbox. Fortunately it's a light, accurate transmission that never missed a shift all day.

Rider Experience & Tech

The shock of this bike is the ergonomics. It has the real cafe layout, bars barely higher than the seat, legs swept back, and somehow it doesn't hurt. Chase is 5'10" with a 32-inch inseam and expected a tall, torturous perch. Instead he got bent knees, an easy reach to the ground, and a thin, firm seat that lets your legs grip the bike and gives you room to scoot back into a tuck. It's sportier than a naked bike and far friendlier than the old Thruxton. The catch shows up at highway speed, where micro vibrations through the pegs and bars put a ceiling of about an hour on your ride.

Tech is where the budget shows. No ride modes, no cruise control despite the ride-by-wire throttle that makes it technically possible, non-adjustable levers, and the same basic switchgear as the Speed and Scrambler 400. You get switchable traction control and ABS, and that's the list. But the old-school needle dash, which should count against it, is one of Chase's favorite things on the bike. A TFT screen would ruin the look. The needle fits. So do the stock bar-end mirrors, which actually work and actually look right, a combination most manufacturers treat as impossible.

The Chase Score & Final Thoughts

With a Chase Score of 58/100, the Thruxton 400 lands in Meh Tier, and that number undersells how much fun the right buyer will have. It's a city bike with a famous silhouette, not a sport bike with a heritage problem.

Buy it if you've always wanted Triumph's cafe racer look but could never justify Thruxton money, or if you're a new rider who's in love with this aesthetic and willing to accept a slightly committed riding position to get it. Skip it if your life involves long highway stretches, because the vibration and the breathless top end will wear you down. For $6,300, it's one of the coolest looking low-cc bikes on sale. Anyway. In town, it's a riot.