The Triumph Tracker 400 was launched in the UK back in December last year, possibly to capitalise on the Christmas shopping spree, as the bikes were only going to reach UK dealerships in March 2026. There was, of course, speculation whether Bajaj would consider bringing such a niche offering to India, but Bajaj did bring it here in April, albeit in the 350cc form. Positioned between the Speed 400 and the Thruxton 400, the Tracker 400 occupies an interesting space in Triumph’s 400cc (now 350cc!) line-up in India. Can it justify its name, though?
Visually, it totally can, as Triumph designers have managed to capture the aggression of a street tracker motorcycle perfectly, with sharp, angular lines dominating the shape. The parallelogram-shaped number board gives it a unique silhouette, while the tank, which is exclusive to the Tracker, has deeper knee recesses. The rear seat panel is removable, for when you want to carry a pillion, but it is not a simple job and requires an Allen key and some fiddling around under the seat to accomplish. The small tail lamp works in its favour, having been nicked from the Thruxton. Also, side note, while it is illegal to ride without mirrors and we do not condone it in any way, we also can’t help but feel the lines of the Tracker 400 were designed to be viewed without the mirrors!
The main difference between the Tracker and the Speed/Thruxton is the handlebar—the Tracker comes with a wide, low set of handlebars as compared to the Speed, but is decidedly more forgiving than the Thruxton’s clip-ons. The Tracker thus splits the difference between the Speed and Thruxton, with its footpegs too, as those are more rearward compared to the Speed, but ahead of the position they can be found in, on the Thruxton. The console is the familiar unit with an analogue speedo, a tiny digital tacho, and a multi-info display. However, the Tracker seems to have a higher speedometer error as compared to even the rest of Triumph’s 350cc line-up, as indicated by our phone’s GPS.
That being said, on the Tracker, you won’t get much chance to look at the speedo, as the engine is highly strung, requiring you to rev it out properly, and when you do that, it goes down the road with the alacrity of a cat that has heard the chime from the automatic feeder. It gets the newly-developed 350cc mill, and as it has a very short stroke, it loves to rev, which matches the character of the Tracker, and I hit the limiter multiple times in different gears, so quickly it revs. The exhaust note is also very well-suited to the attitude of the motorcycle, and encourages mildly anti-social behaviour.
The handlebars being wider and lower, with the aggressively rearset footpegs, create a riding position that is extremely committed, and thus puts you in the kind of mood to act on your intrusive thoughts, along with that exhaust note. At low speeds, it is one of the easiest bikes to maneuver, thanks to the ultra-wide handlebars. These handlebars also made the Tracker change direction extremely quickly, and I laughed out loud inside my helmet as the agility caught me off guard. I feel the wide bar is the reason it doesn’t have bar-end mirrors, as then squeezing through gaps in traffic would have been well nigh impossible, which is something the Tracker is very capable of.
Triumph is clear on the fact that this one has no off-road aspiration of any kind, and is in fact optimised for street riding. The block tread pattern tyres do a great job of providing traction on smooth tarmac as well as broken ones, though, as I found out during our ride. The brakes are the same radial callipers found on the rest of the range, but the Tracker, owing to its aggressive nature, gets sintered brake pads at the front (organic at the rear), which means extremely late braking on your weekend highway/canyon run can be achieved with ease.
The Tracker 400 is a specialized motorcycle, but I feel it has a definite place in the line-up. As it splits the ergonomic difference between the Speed and the Thruxton, it does the same, in terms of moolah required to park one in your garage (or living room, we won’t judge, it is a good-looking machine). Priced at ₹2.46 lakh ex-showroom, it is ₹12,000 more than the Speed (₹2.34 lakh ex-showroom), while being ₹24,000 less than Thruxton (₹2.70 lakh ex-showroom). This makes it the hooligan’s choice among the Triumph 400 range, and gets our seal of approval!
Words Sayantan De
Photography Alex Toppo
