[lazyrev]

Okay, I have ridden this bike for 160 km in about 48 hours and I dont know what people were thinking when they said that the bike does not have "presence" or "character". The gold suspension, the red tank, the badging all over, does actually make it stand out. Of course, not as much as someone on a GT650 with a slip on high decibel exhaust, but it does.

People were bending over backward at signals trying to check out the bike. The exhaust not is so bassy that even if they dont hear it, they can feel it and they look at it. A group of 3 guys who were sitting in front of an RE showroom were having an animated conversation looking at my parked bike there. There was even a youngster who rolled down the windows of his Wagon R, to get a better look, while we were on a highway at 70 km/h .

Also, the horn is perfect for someone like me who ONLY uses it to sound an alarm at the last possible moment. Had to use it thrice in the past 2 days and it never failed to pass the message.

[shailinder]

Originally Posted by sk_cheek13

Yes was referring to 2024 Duke. And it's released in India today. Looks like a hell lot of valune for money. And bookings have started with the delivery timelines claimed to be within next month.

Ya, I also heard and saw their Instagram page. Nah, Duke is not my type of bike. In fact, after your post, I ventured and found a few sites referring to ADV 390 2024, but chances are that it might come pretty late in 2024 or maybe in 2025. I understand age is just a number, but for reference, I am 47. I may like a little faster bike, not that I ride fast, but I want to feel that I can actually go more quickly.

[ritwiknagappa]

Keerthi Triumph - Speed 400 Delivery (Update)

I finally got my bike! But the overall experience was absolutely stressful and frustrating.


TL;DR: Keerthi Triumph messed up the timelines of delivery. They also messed up the bike allocation.
They ALSO messed up my number plate and address on the RC. But at least I have the bike now so yaaaay?


Pre Delivery:

Screw up#1:

Last week on the 4th of September, I got a call saying that my bike should be available and ready for delivery by the 8th. I take a day off from work and travel a fair bit only to find out that the SA's messed up the timeline and the bike was still in the yard. I found this out after being made to wait for more than an hour without anybody attending to me or addressing my concerns. I had to corner another SA and he had to find out what the deal was.
The registration and documentation was all complete, so why the heck were these guys delaying the delivery?

(Bangalore folks - if you're reading this, please avoid SA Ravi at any cost. He's the worst. He promised he'd be right with me, then he pulled a Houdini and never bothered to show up.)


D(elivery) - DAY:

I get a call at around 4:30pm on the 11th from the showroom, and they inform that the bike is ready for delivery and that i should be there by 6pm as showroom closes at 7pm.
11th September was a Bandh in Bangalore. No autos, no cabs, nothing. I somehow booked a rapido after multiple attempts across many apps, and ended up at the showroom by 6pm. Having reached on time, I make my way to the first floor and see my bike sitting there, all nice and pretty and polished.
This is where it all starts to go downhill.


Screw up #2:

Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the Chassis Number allocated in my RC did not match the chassis on the bike with the registered number plate. My chassis number is xxx51, and the bike presented to me had the chassis number xxx57.
In their defence, 1 and 7 did look a lot alike but that's no excuse for this. Had I not inspected carefully, i would have been in a major pickle once I took that vehicle on the road.


THANK GOD I NOTICED THIS. THIS IS WHY PDI IS IMPORTANT!!!!


Screw up #3:

I immediately pointed out to the showroom folks that there's a mismatch, and they get working on swapping the number plates with my actual bike. Just a minor effort right? HELL NO. The person working on replacing the number plate had butter fingers, and his hand slipped while unscrewing the plate. This resulted in a long deep gash on my back number plate. The bike hasn't even been delivered yet and there's already damage. Great!
I was obviously miffed and showed this to the reps. They took a picture of it and said they'd try to get a new number plate. Let's see.


Screw up #4????

This one's not that big a deal but I also noticed that the pin code on my RC and other documents is incorrect. It's supposed to be 560070, but the agents messed up and registered it as 560085. I'm not sure how big of a boo boo this is, but I'm going to try to get this corrected everywhere. I'm not even angry anymore, I'm just disappointed.


Finally after dealing with a wide spectrum of emotions, and seeing 3-4 people get their new bikes and blissfully ride away into the traffic, it was time for me to do one final inspection and sign the documents. Everything looked acceptable, and I signed the forms and made my way back home.


A lot of people have already said this, but the bike handles traffic SO WELL. The 12-14km ride back home in the cool Bangalore weather with slight drizzling rain made me forget what a shitty experience I had overall that day. I genuinely don't have anything to add in terms of reviews of the bike. This post was intended to be more of a dealership/showroom experience.


Some F.Y.I's:

First service after 1k kms or 30 days, whichever is sooner.

Road side assistance is available.

2 years standard warranty + 3 years extended warranty.

Suspension adjustment kit and first aid kit was missing from the list of deliverables. This will be provided later.



If you're purchasing a speed 400 from Keerthi Triumph, and you have doubts w.r.t the process, please DM me and I can help you out.

Cheers and happy riding, everyone!

[silverblaze]

This is absolutely not acceptable ! Wrong number plates on a bike with no matching chassis number plus postcode mismatch on the RC. I wonder what the guys at Keerthi Triumph are smoking ! I am glad that you verified the details and were able to sort out the issue at the dealership. Hopefully the higher authority at Triumph sees this thread and ensures there are some processes set in place. I am hoping not many get to face this ordeal.

[The_Medic]

Originally Posted by JoshVRider

I got MRFs on my Speed 400. And it performs very nicely. Excellent grip during u bends on the ghats. The dealership told me that both the tyres have the same performance and Triumph has tested both extensively and came to a conclusion to use either brand. When I took delivery there were 5 more bikes with MRFs and 7 bikes with Apollos. I believe MRFs have more cuts on the edges for water dispersion I think when compared to Apollo.

I understand that the bike is built to a price and hence the tyres that are being offered by them reflect that. Everyone talking about how excellent the Apollos are don't understand they are near the bottom of the rung in their class. I have had one or the other KTMs in my garage for 7 years/ 110K kms spread amongst the three bikes and I tried multiple tyres on them. I love riding the KTMs hard and aggressively and go through tyres faster than most. Here's a list of the tyres I have tried and what i felt about them.
1. MRF revz (default on my rc200 2017). Absolutely terrible and the limit is found very very easily.
2. Pirelli diablo rosso II - very neutral in every way. A lot like the triumph 400. No single standout feature
3. Metzeler M5 H rated (standard on my used D390 2018) which was rGrippy when dry. Not so when wet. Rear tyre gets chewed off pretty fast. Very puncture prone during the last one third part of its life.
4. Metzeler M5 W rated. Tyre is made of glue. Absolutely sticky but has the least life. Same puncture problems.
5. Apollo H1 alpha. Extremely overrated tyres. Grip is fine in the dry but absolutely terrible in the wet. As bad as the MRFs. And not a fan of the v shaped tyre profile either. I don't want the bike to tip in for me. I want to judge how much lean I achieve . But that's my own subjective liking. What's objectively scary is the wet grip and ours being a monsoon country, I truly don't understand why many call it superb in its class. It's not even close. The only use case I see for them where they shine are long distance gentle tourers who don't ride in the rain. .
6. Michelin road 5 (I bought them simultaneously with my RC 390 2021 and swapped it for the mrf that it came shipped with as standard before i took delivery of the bike) Simply outstanding. The dry grip is really good. The bike is telepathic. Has a very good life range as well. Will exceed the Apollos unless you are being a hooligan. But that's not it's party trick. That would be it's wet weather grip. I was told it is exceptional but I was not expecting it to be nearly as good as the dry weather grip. With the exception of the first rain after a dry spell , I never had to modulate my riding pattern significantly when things got wet. It just gripped and gripped from cruising on highways to knee down lean angles. It unlocked the potential of the rc390 that I never knew was missing. My brother who now has the d390, rode it once and immediately ordered the Michelin road 5 and threw away the Apollos. They are terrible even at their price point. A friend has tvs eurogrip protorq extreme on his d390 and it's far better than the Apollos.

I do see why a lot of people default to Apollos in this segment. It's the most advertised and most easily available and masks itself as good tyres during the dry spells and the w rating on them (which I find to be useless for this segment. None of our bikes will get close to 270kph). What totally dismantles the Apollos is the rain. We have been trained to think riding in the rain should be like walking on eggshells. No one must have told the Michelin road 5 this because it does not give two hoots above this.
Seriously, ride any bike equipped with a road 5 and your perspective will absolutely change.
Thanks and cheers.

[The_Medic]

Originally Posted by sankarx2

Thankfully, this will not impress the chhapris. If this ends up enticing the chhapris and become a machine to show off cheap stunts Triumph brand will lose its sheen.

Give it some time. Let the dust settle and the enthusiasts leave the showrooms. The KTMs are kinda expensive now. If you think the tik tok gang will not want to make shorts or whatever it is called on a triumph, a famous international brand, boy are you in for a surprise. And the way you look at a brand is upto you and your perspective as well. Most on this forum think less of KTM as ******* own it. In fact there was this post about a guy not buying a KTM d390 despite loving it because he was afraid of being called a ******. Or you could change your perspective and see that so many motorcycle enthusiasts including the best journos and riders (including this forum) own or have owned a KTM because of how fantastic it is at what it is meant to do.

And to be honest, I see far more ******* on r15s and RE 350. Just as an experiment, if you have an Instagram account you don't use, try surfing through it for Indian bike shorts that are ****** like. Once the algorithm is settled , you will see far more yamahas and RE in the hands of *******. ******* are like a swarm of locusts that will move onto the next cool thing. Yesterday it was karizmas and pulsar 220Fs. Today it is KTMs. Tomorrow it might just be the triumphs . If someone's purchasing decision is decided by what everyone thinks, being a motorcyclist already becomes an irony.

[davelok]

@the_medic I don't think anyone here is going to base their purchase decision on what any specific (unprofessional) segment of the market thinks or does.

It's just lighthearted banter we're having here about the bikes not attracting as much attention on the road as many of us expected of them.

[Sebring]

Now that a few bikes are delivered it will be interesting to hear service stories (Which they're not known for). Or do you plan to take it to Khivraj? Please keep us posted. Also, the costs involved

Originally Posted by ritwiknagappa

Keerthi Triumph messed up the timelines of delivery. They also messed up the bike allocation. They ALSO messed up my number plate and address on the RC. But at least I have the bike now so yaaaay? (Bangalore folks - if you're reading this, please avoid SA Ravi at any cost. He's the worst. He promised he'd be right with me, then he pulled a Houdini and never bothered to show up.)

[TopSpeeder]

Getting the bike on this Thursday from Keerthi Triumph, Please share list of things needs to be checked(Apart from Chassis #), Pointers for that.

[Darkcloud]

Originally Posted by davelok

@the_medic I don't think anyone here is going to base their purchase decision on what any specific (unprofessional) segment of the market thinks or does.

It's just lighthearted banter we're having here about the bikes not attracting as much attention on the road as many of us expected of them.

I think it’s the other way round. Quite a lot of people base their decisions on what the brand signifies. Even if you look at this thread you can see a lot of posts on how many looks the bike receives in public. And road presence does mean ‘look at how big my bike is, it’s expensive’.

As for the segment of the public that reduces the brand value (as it did for the fantastic KTMs) I tend to agree with @the_medic in that you never know what that type of crowd will pounce upon next and destroy.

Even the venerable RE Classic hasn’t been spared. Here in Mumbai, it’s common to see so many of the I’m a macho man types, gold chain wearing, helmet less, aggressive attitude types riding one as if sitting on a ‘Bullet’ makes them invincible.

Just a matter of time until another sub type appears on the scene that will resort to dumb tricks to show off their ‘Triumph’ bike!

[sk_cheek13]

Originally Posted by shailinder

Ya, I also heard and saw their Instagram page. Nah, Duke is not my type of bike. I understand age is just a number, but for reference, I am 47. I may like a little faster bike, not that I ride fast, but I want to feel that I can actually go more quickly.

Very true. And the new Duke is absolutely bonkers can understand what you are saying. Was one of the reason I wanted to go for speed. Can safely say the Duke is not for me. I hope you find a good and suitable ride soon.
Cheers.

[ritwiknagappa]

Originally Posted by TopSpeeder

Getting the bike on this Thursday from Keerthi Triumph, Please share list of things needs to be checked(Apart from Chassis #), Pointers for that.

Please cross verify the chassis number in your document against what is on the bike. There was a mismatch in my case and had i not pointed it out I would have been in trouble.

Also check if your address on the documents is correct. There is a mismatch in my case : the pin code is wrong. I'll be going today or tomorrow to rectify it.

Other things you need to check:
1. Get both the Keys. Check if both keys work with the bike.
2. Check if all accessories you paid for are present.
3. Verify the date in your insurance document. First year is First Party, next four years is third party. Insurance must be valid for 5 years.
4. Check for any damages on the bike.
5. Check oil level, coolant level, brake fluid level. You will get a triumph handbook which will have all the details mentioned in it. While taking delivery, look at that handbook and cross verify these things.

[lazyrev]

Originally Posted by The_Medic

Give it some time. Let the dust settle and the enthusiasts leave the showrooms. The KTMs are kinda expensive now.

I'd totally agree with if it wasnt for the hype on the new KTMs. The new duke 250 has already overtaken the rtr 310 (imo a better bike) in most social media polls and the overall excitement for the it is insanely high. It is strange to see considering it costs 15k more than even the speed 400 (ex-showroom), while having significantly lower performance.

Let's not even go into the duke 390, which is going to cost a total of 1 lakh more than the speed 400, probably.
I personally know youngsters in the neighbourhood that buy dukes simply because of the word-of-mouth factor. They dont care about the power figures, the overall electronics package or even the cost factor. They basically say that their friend says it is very fast and looks "cool" so they get one too. All that has happened is that the duke 390 is out of reach so they get the duke 250 instead, without even considering the other 300s and 400s in the segment (rtr310, g310, d400, speed 400 etc).

I wont get into the ****** argument that much. It is unfortunate that an overall solidly built bike has such distinct riders on opposite ends of the spectrum. I still respect the bike but there are options that somehow cant beat the hype KTM has created.

[The_Medic]

Originally Posted by lazyrev

I'd totally agree with if it wasnt for the hype on the new KTMs. The new duke 250 has already overtaken the rtr 310 (imo a better bike) in most social media polls and the overall excitement for the it is insanely high. It is strange to see considering it costs 15k more than even the speed 400 (ex-showroom), while having significantly lower performance.

Let's not even go into the duke 390, which is going to cost a total of 1 lakh more than the speed 400, probably.
I personally know youngsters in the neighbourhood that buy dukes simply because of the word-of-mouth factor.
.

And that is precisely my point. For now the KTM has the spotlight for these guys. Because it is perceived as cool. But it has been cool for quite a while now. And the fleeting mind of these young ones will soon get bored of KTMs and find new avenues. And KTMs will always generate a lot of interest despite sales figures never matching it because they are not exactly value for money in terms of everything else. But for every single rupee you spend, you won't find any bike in the class that makes you giggle and laugh inside your helmet more. More comfort, more pleasant, more features, more this, more that, sure.. but more potent fun? Nope. And that's why these ******* will come and go. But enthusiasts will always stay.

Another perspective that I very recently noticed first hand. A friend of mine has the trident 660 and his friend a speed 900. We were at a stop light and a young dude in his Kia something rolled down his window and asked if these are the new triumph 400s that were recently launched. And I burst out laughing. They bantered continuously over how their entire triumph experience has been brought down by the triumph 400s. Such a mega-dilution of the brand value. And now they see triumph 400 owners the same way many see the KTM ******* on this thread. That was also when my faith in just riding your own ride got bolstered even more. People avoiding KTMs to not be labelled as ******* are missing the point and a superb motorcycle experience. BMW drivers and Gixxer Bros of the USA are examples of how the fad comes and goes. BMWs still have great driving experience and gsxr1000 is still a superb superbike for daily use. In India, it's the KTM.

[anilp]

Does any of you who has dealt with Shaman Triumph Andheri, Mumbai have a number other than the official one (9619333033) to reach them? So I've received a message from Triumph that I should contact them regarding my booking, but I just can't get past the Shaman Andheri IVR menu on this number. I've been trying to call on this number mentioned on the advance receipt slip and elsewhere on public forums for a few days.

Calling on this number is like reaching Dante's eighth circle of hell. It just keeps on getting transferred in a loop for quite a few loops. If any of you can share another direct number where I can talk to an actual human, it will be quite helpful.