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300 km & 5 days with my Triumph Scrambler 400X: 5 likes & 3 dislikes

3rd January 2024, 12:08 by Ananth Iyer

Experience with Keerthi Triumph Bangalore residency road, the less I say the better it is. I had tempered my expectations, so no harm done.

BHPian aston_martyr recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Preface:

The last time i had a two wheeler of my own was almost a decade ago. I am in my mid 30’s and without a bike for almost a decade now. I got my Ford Aspire 7 years ago and it has kept me content all these years. As with most of the folks my age, the urge to try something new was haunting me for the past year. Very early on in 2023 I was considering buying the Vstrom 250 or the Highness. I had even reached out to a couple of our forum members to get some personal feedback as I was in advanced stage of finalizing between the two of them.

Spy shots, leaks and launches:

Then came the launch rumors and then some spy shots for the Triumph twins and the X440. And so the wait began.

To summarize the experience,

HD X440 - Bike looks good, price was okayish considering the variants. However did not love the bike during the TR visit along with a friend at Tusker Bangalore, my memory went back to my father’s good old bullet when I sat on it. It was a great bike but not for me. Just out of curiosity i had rented the X440 for a day through royal brothers just to get a feel for it and make sure I am not missing out on something. Its good fun with the torque low down but somehow did not connect with it.

Couple of days after the launch of X440 the triumph launch was on.

Bikes looked great, good launch price for the speed 400. I for one liked the scrambler and booked the matt khaki green on the launch day. Something about the Speed’s paint scheme did not resonate with me. To each their own I suppose.

Now begins the long wait

Since i had booked only the 400X and wanted to wait and actually see the vehicle person it was a really long wait.

In the mean time, Speed 400 deliveries started. I did take a TR albeit a small one courtesy of Keerthi Triumph bangalore. Power was good in the first 3 gears, although i did not like the weight on my palms cuz the riding position is a bit forward leaning. Was happy to be riding something new and exciting after a while, i had nothing to compare this to apart from the Vstrom 250 and highness up until that point.

While the wait continued in came the spy shots and leaks of the new Himalayan. Since i was in for a long wait till October end which was when the 400X was expected to announce the pricing i was in an open mind. Not going through all the specs, since it has been reviewed by many already. I did like the looks of the vehicle, the in dash navigation, the possibility of having tubeless spoke rims. I liked what i saw and booked the slate poppy blue. A week later came the launch price which was quite reasonable. Had to wait for a couple of days for a TR. Spoke to HSR Rajajinagar and got a TR for about 20 mins and was planning to visit Keerthi Triumph the same day for Scrambler TR.

TR Observations:

Himalayan TR:

I did like the Himalayan, everything about the bike was good if not great.

Adjustable Seat Height
The way it picks up speed in the mid range.
The Hanle Black with gold rims, need I say more?
Tripper dash was excellent and looked bigger in real life.
There were vibes, there was throttle lag early on. But the heat was something else.

I took the TR twice - Once on a Wednesday afternoon, where my jeans were ready to give up and immolate itself. And then on an early morning Sunday where I was the second to TR, this was a long one and I rode the bike for about 20 mins in traffic and some open stretches. Still the heat was something that my mind went back to.

Maybe I’ll get used to it. Parked that thought and moved on to Scrambler TR. Overall TR and showroom experience was good and nothing jumped out to me as a negative at the time.

400X TR:

Much better throttle response, not so choppy like speed.
Vibes are definitely there, but kinda not so apparent like the Himalayan low down the revs I believe this is quite common with the singles and have to live with it.
400X was very nimble when compared to the Himalayan. Himalayan feels huge, like you are actually sitting inside the bike rather on it
Spongy brakes, but this was explained in some review videos of the need for it in off road situations
Seat height was not an issue for me due to the slim waist of the bike.

This was a short test drive as expected from Keerthi Triumph. Could not guage much else from it. So both TR's went fine, now what?

I did have a friend who took delivery of the 400X albeit the black one on launch. So I did meet up with him, rode solo and pillion for about an hour to get an extensive feeling for the city riding since that is where the bike will be most of the time.

At this point i have bookings for both the 400X and the Himalayan.

Decisions:

Family

Mom - Don’t know, but whatever you get ride within the speed limit and with the helmet on.

Wife - Liked the Himalayan pillion seat and was mega comfortable for her. She even pointed out to the Tank guards and said that I can carry some groceries tied to it. I did not like where this was going. Just nodded and moved on.

Dad – Why don’t you buy a splendor? I just walked out of my dad’s room and into my brothers after that statement.

Elder Brother 1 – “Nope, Bullet CI for life I am never gonna like any other bike any time soon.” This was my fathers and he inherited it cuz none of us wanted it during our college days.

Elder Brother 2 – "I’ll buy the 400X after you." Always the safe one.

With further discussions had on WhatsApp groups and friends a decision was to be made.

Not going through much details here is a plain and simple reason. Considering that I would mostly drive within the city 70% of the times and maybe breakfast rides and touring maybe once in a while it made sense to go with the 400X. The Himalayan is also a good proposition but i am not sure how good it would be to navigate through traffic everyday. This is something that we as riders get used to over time. But i felt 400X made better sense to me and my riding habits.

And so here we are with my Carnival red scrambler penning down my 1st ownership on the Forum.

Things I liked :

Styling – This is again personal and one of the strong points for me, looks simple and classy. The scrambler stance, headlight design along with the DRL and the headlamp grill gives it a distinctive appearance. Neatly tucked in saree guard and contrary to some I do like the tail section of the bike.
Power and Torque - Power is more than sufficient for my use case and the torque low down is quite simply put addictive. Friendly beginner bike they say, but its not all for beginners it does have something for the lazy times that some of us might go through sometimes. Easy shifts, does not scream to downshift every time, it just goes.
Ergonomics - riding position, not so forward set like the Speed and much more comfortable for my shoulders. I need to experiment and workout the best position for me as time passes.
Throttle response – this is where the difference is between the Speed and Scrambler, I felt the speed’s throttle response was a bit choppy. Himalayan on the other hand had a tiny bit lag which was felt during U turns especially for me. 400X feels much better low down and controlled.
Suspension - I think this is something good across the contenders Speed, scrambler and exceptional on the Himalayan.

Things that could be better:

Brakes – Nothing to write home about here but it is not quite as bad as some folks would say, I much prefer the brakes on the CB350 which has a similar feel but a bit more bite to it. Thinking of changing it to the sintered pads from the Speed, although not in a hurry to do that.
Headlight – This could have been a bit better, the highbeam just scatters everywhere. Lights is just about enough for city usage. I do not plan to tour overnight, but for folks who do this might be a sour point and calls for aux light upgrade.
Brand Experience – This is something apparent, atleast for us folks in Bangalore who were stuck with Keerthi Triumph. Its just nowhere near RE or Honda Bigwing for that matter. You might say there are other showrooms opening up soon, but this would definitely take time to catch up. Something to bare in mind during service visits atleast for a couple of years atleast.

Delivery Experience:

Now onto the important bits where everyone is expected to navigate through, the showroom experience.

To summarize:

Booked on 5th of July
Made payment on 5th of December
Promised 15 days delivery
Vaahan formalities done on 14th Dec
Took delivery on 21st December [There were about 20+ deliveries scheduled on the day] Formalities took longer than expected due to shortage of people in Keerthi.

Experience with Keerthi Triumph Bangalore residency road, the less I say the better it is. I had tempered my expectations, so no harm done. I made it a point to followup every 3 days, just to ensure that they have not forgotten about my booking.

Just to iterate an instance of how poorly managed they are. I had been to the showroom the previous day on the 20th Dec and my SA was on leave. However, the manager there informed me that I could only get delivery of the vehicle next week post Christmas as the vehicles have not arrived yet from the yard[Hosur]. Like i said tempering my expectations, i got the details and walked out.
And there I am the next morning going about my work and at 10 AM I receive a call from the same manager I spoke to yesterday stating that the bike is ready for delivery.

When i walked in, had to figure out where my vehicle was parked. Either in the first floor or ground floor, was running around with the VIN number. Absolutely nobody cared to check and some vehicles including mine had a lot of muddy dirt on them. And to make matters worse when i found the vehicle it was right next to the front desk where all the folks coming in for TR or Delivery were crowded around and some of you who have been to Keerthi can relate to this people just fiddle around with the bikes parked there unknowingly assuming that its a demo vehicle. Nobody to man the delivery station and i had to stand guard until my turn came up. Pictures below for reference.

Pro Tip: If your booking is stuck with them and you intend to buy the vehicle, temper your expectations and walk into the showroom once a week atleast, most of the times they do not answer calls.

Pre delivery walkthrough, only the non- repeated bits from the forum. This was handled by the showroom's senior person who bunched all 8 of us who were waiting for delivery to walk us through the workings of the machine.

Use both keys alternatively on a monthly basis cuz the ECU has a chance of forgetting the unused key over 6 month duration. I had never heard of this before, please let me know if anybody has heard any different.
If the vehicle is not used for a few days, switch the ignition on and off 3 times before trying to start the vehicle. Again not sure how this helps. Something to do with the fuel pump? unsure at this point and did not get an answer for the question when asked.
Fuel cap usage – Asked us to turn the key for both open and closure, the fuel cap does have the usual press in and lock functionality for closure however we were advised to do this as a good practice to avoid some rusting issues in the long run.
RPM is locked at 6k until 1000KM and then its auto unlocked. I thought this had to be done during 1st service.
Advised to exercise caution on wet roads as the tires are not so grippy especially in the first few hundred kms of running
Breaks are a bit spongy. Asked if we can swap the brake pads from the Speed? I was asked to check during first service.
Complaints about vehicles stalling/ switching off during full clutch operation etc was brought by a fellow owner, however the manager said that it is a matter of getting used to the bike. He did give a long explanation but I kinda tuned out cuz I was of the same opinion that one needs to get used to the clutch operation.
We were asked to be careful when washing the vehicle, advise was to not pressure wash the radiator. The speedo my see some condensation however this is bound to clear up eventually.
Asked to observe caution when installing loops etc to the frame below the rear seat due to the smaller space available and electronics as well.
Also were were asked to be careful during the run in atleast as they have had a handful of cases where people have taken delivery and on the same day visited the service center as they crashed/ dropped the bikes.
Spare lockset was provided, 2 of them. These are to be used in case we decide to buy panniers/ top box etc.. from Triumph. It uses the same key as of the bike, so no extra keys required.
Was advised not to keep the spare key under the seat, something along the lines of battery drain? I might be wrong on this as I had to step away for a call when this was being explained. I never leave it under the seat anyhow so no issues there.
Spare fuses 5A , 20A and 30A respectively. I plan to buy another set during the first service .
Lastly owner’s manual – Soft copy, gotta scan the QR code underneath the pillion seat.

Note the spare fuses on the left vertically oriented. 5A, 20A and 30A.

Tools under the seat and the QR code for the manual.

I've had the bike for all of 5 days now and completed 300KM on the odo.

Ride Day 1:

Took delivery, rode back home and to temple for the usual. 30km on the ODO – tried setting the clock time and failed. Resigned to try the next day after reading the manual. Added the SP connect phone mount successfully. I’ve got 6.3 inch display spare phone so might need to test and adjust positioning later on

Ride Day 2:

Rode approx. 32km in traffic. Stalled once at a speed breaker, was in the 2nd gear on those unscientific Mt. Everest kinda speed breakers in Bengaluru. For a moment I thought this was the common issue everyone was speaking about but no there was no throttle cut off during full clutch operation in 2nd or in 5th gear. Getting used to the gearing I suppose.

Count of people at traffic stops asking me for the price and mileage – 3.

ODO - 62 KM

Ride Day 3:

Took the weekend opportunity to ride to our farm house near big banyan tree, since it was vaikunta ekadasi family had the passes for the Srinivasa Saligrama temple in Ramohalli. Had a good early morning darshan. Since the whole family was there, all of my brothers took turns riding around the farm.

Underage nephew tried to pull a fast one on me to get a ride on his own. He got out ranked by my dad who after all of a 3 decades wanted to ride the bike and enjoyed it. He is 5ft 4in and had no trouble tip toeing. So all in all family PDI(Post delivery inspection) passed, onto longer rides from next week. Mysore? Kolar? Tumkur? Who knows.

Observations from today- Gearshifts felt smoother than the previous days, I am getting used to the clutch operation finally. Riding around on the farm in offroad mode felt pretty good albeit my skill is not even at the novice level.

Maybe I am being a little too gentle during the first few 100 kms.

ODO – 121KM

Ride Day 4:

Woke up a bit late even with the alarms on thanks to the weather in bangalore. Left home at 7 AM and completed the circuit that I have recently been following with friends or solo.
Route: Bangalore west - Hoskote – Doddaballapura – Dobbaspet – Home 165km (Also known as the upcoming satellite ring road)

I reached KR puram bridge by 7.20 with heavy traffic. Took about 15 mins to cross this junction and then came the Fog. Visibility was 100m maybe and in some places it was 50m or less. I loved the ride. Lot of people stopping for photos in dangerous places where there is not even a shoulder to park on. There was no fogging issue in the helmet however the dew was continuously forming on the outside of the visor. Not sure how to solve this one other than just use the gloves to wipe em off every few kms. But the thick fog was present all up until doddaballapura. No pictures cuz when the roads were so much fun I barely care to stop. Memories are made on the drive/ride is what I believe. Stopping ever so often just ruins the experience for me during short rides.

Observations from today- Windblast is a thing, especially since it was a foggy and windy morning. I am still having issue with setting up the mirror accurately, might need more time on the saddle to perfect this. Had some no road section on the highway due to ongoing construction of SRR, it was quite a breeze to just go over them no issues at all. Feel much more confident in the saddle after this ride.
Good fun today, need to work on my hand position with the gloves on. Might take sometime for this as I never rode with gloves ever before.

ODO – 295KM

Got the PPF done.

Seeing as this will be a commuter, I might wear jackets etc with zippers touching the tank sometimes so thought better to get it done.

Carzspa in mysore road was chosen for this after recommendation from my brother who had PPF done for his cars there. They did a decent job. Place is very well maintained and has plenty for space for multiple vehicles. And it has a paint booth as well, was surprised as I had not seen this new addition last time I was here. Need some work done on my Figo Aspire. Will probably visit them again soon.
Couple of things for people interested in applying PPF for their 400X. Thigh pads can be removed, shown below with the pictures. Otherwise, they have to cut the PPF where it meets the pad above and below which might cause problems over time is what they iterated. Also, we do not need to apply any additional adhesives to the pads once they are out as it sticks back on in place without much effort.

Bike ready for PPF after a quick wash, had to ask the person to not to point the pressure wash lance at the Radiator or indicators, have seen some cases on the forum about this going wrong.