Triumph Built the Same Bike Twice. This Is the One to Buy.

Chase didn't know the Tracker 400 existed. He found out the same way he found out about the Thruxton 400 a couple of weeks earlier, which is that he messaged Triumph and they casually mentioned they'd built a whole family of 400s while nobody was paying attention.

Here's the situation. The Tracker and the Thruxton share an engine, a frame, a price, and a spec sheet you could photocopy. Same 398cc single, same 41 horsepower, same 381 pounds, same sub-$6,000 sticker. On paper they are the same motorcycle wearing different clothes.

They are not the same motorcycle. And the difference isn't the number boards or the fly screen. It's where Triumph put the handlebars. Chase's verdict after riding both back to back: "If I was gonna compare the Thruxton to this Tracker, I like the Tracker so much more body position-wise."

Performance Highlights

The engine is the least interesting thing here, and Triumph knows it. All of the power lives down low and through the middle, and chasing the redline finds nothing waiting. Shift early, shift often, and it's a good time. Rev it out and it runs out of ideas.

Which sounds like a complaint, and it isn't. Down in the city, working up through the gears at every light, that little single is genuinely entertaining. There's enough grunt to blink the traction control light on, so this isn't a bike with no power. It's a bike with all of its power in one place.

The highway is a different story. Chase ran it from 40 to 80 in third and got 8.02 seconds, quicker than the Thruxton's 8.4, and he felt the difference from the saddle. But hold 80 in sixth and the engine starts asking politely to stop. Vibrations come up through the pegs, a few more through the bars, and 45 minutes of that would have you hunting for an exit.

Where it earns its money is the handling. 381 pounds and a set of bars wide enough that they don't fit in frame means this thing takes no effort to move around. You get so much leverage over the front that flicking it through traffic feels less like riding and more like pointing.

The brakes are fine. A little spongy, not much feel through the lever, and the front dives under a hard pull because the suspension is soft. But it stops, it stops with ABS, and at this price nobody was expecting Brembos. The suspension is the weak link. Lean it over and it wiggles, takes its time settling, and never quite convinces you it's got you. Push it and it's out of its depth. Ride it around town and it's exactly right.

Rider Experience & Tech

This is the part that matters, and it's the reason the Tracker exists. The bars are wider and lower than the Speed 400's, the pegs sit further back, and the effect is that the bike rotates you. Upper body tipped forward, legs swept back with actual room to breathe. It's a hard position to describe and an easy one to like. If you sat on a Thruxton 400 and felt folded up, this is the fix.

The seat is on the firm side but it's wide, and the coverage is good. Chase is 5'10" with a 32-inch inseam and had both feet flat with a bend in the knee, in normal riding shoes. Shorter riders are going to feel very confident here. New riders too, and the constant shifting is part of that. You're rowing through six gears at city speeds, and being that engaged with the bike is a feature, not a chore.

The mirrors are the one genuine annoyance. They sit low, and because you're leaned forward you have to deliberately drop your head to use them. They work well once you're looking at them. You just shouldn't have to go looking.

There are no ride modes, no TFT, no connectivity, and none of that is a problem. You get an analogue needle with an LCD panel beside it, and it suits the bike completely. Not every motorcycle needs a screen.

The Chase Score & Final Thoughts

With a Chase Score of 63/100, the Tracker 400 lands in Good Tier, five points clear of its own Thruxton sibling and ahead of every other 400 Chase has scored.

Buy it if you're a taller rider who found the Thruxton cramped, if you're new and want something light that won't intimidate you, or if you've already got a big bike in the garage and want something easy to throw around town. Triumph Roswell told Chase that last group is most of who's buying these.

Skip it if you live on the highway. This bike is happiest below 60, and it makes no secret of it.