News
British motorcycle maker Triumph has confirmed the development of a 250 cc sportbike at the 2013 EICMA Motorcycle Show at Milan, Italy. The motorcycle maker has even released a sketch of the 250 cc sportsbike that it's developing for markets across the globe. While the spyshots that hit the interweb over the past few days indicated a naked Triumph sportsbike, the official sketch released by Triumph depicts a full-faired sportsbike that could rival the likes of the Kawasaki Ninja 250R and the Honda CBR 250R.
The sketch shows skinny front and rear tyres, telescopic front forks, single disc brakes at the front and the rear, a non-split seat and other aggregates that firmly put the 250 cc motorcycle in the budget/beginner segment. A single cylinder engine with liquid cooling and fuel injection is likely to power the Triumph 250, with power and torque outputs comparable with that produced by the Honda CBR 250R's motor.
Taking the spyshots and the official sketch together, it seems likely that Triumph would build the new 250 cc sportsbike in various body styles. This is a common practice among motorcycle makers, who design a range of body styles around a single engine platform. For instance, KTM is using the 125 cc, 200 cc and 373 cc engines to power three different body styles: naked, full-faired and touring. Expect a similar approach from Triumph.
While 250 cc could be the starting point for Triumph's small-capacity motorcycle range, additional engines could be supported by this very platform in the times to come given the British motorcycle maker's plans of dramatically boosting sales volumes. The small capacity range of Triumph sportsbikes will be built in India, at the greenfield manufacturing facility that the British motorcycle maker plans to set up at Narsapura, off Bangalore. This facility will serve as a global sourcing and manufacturing hub for Triumph's small capacity sportsbikes. The small capacity, 250 cc Triumph will debut in 2015.