THERE has been a lot of speculation in recent years since Triumph first presented its plans to get into the lightweight single-cylinder motorcycle sector.
The partnership with motorcycle manufacturing giant Bajaj was announced in 2021, although until today, the final form of the bike the two would produce together was unknown.
As expected, Triumph is sticking to what it does best with the first of its small capacity machines, with a bike that echoes the modern classic range in both the styling and detailing of its mechanical parts. It looks, if you squint a bit, exactly like a downsized Scrambler 1200 in the images we have been sent. And that’s really no bad thing in our eyes! There was a rumour that Triumph would run with the idea of a mini Speed Triple, that for now at least seems not to be the case.
What we can see is that the bike is being closely developed with the help of Bajaj, with some of the parts on the test mule looking eerily similar to those found on the Bajaj developed and built KTM 390 Duke. The dash is lifted straight from the Duke, and while that’ll likely change for the production bike, it shows how closely the development of the two really is.
The test mule also shares the same Bybre radially mounted front brake as the 125 and 390 Duke, while the wheel sizes look to be a perfect match as well. Sadly the finer details of the machine’s engine are unknown, as a DVLA check on the registration plate features redacted elements for the type and size. We can though tell you it is definitely Euro5 certified and 100% a single-cylinder liquid-cooled machine.
What bikes will the new Triumph single-cylinder motorcycle be rivalling?
The first small capacity Triumph motorcycle for a generation will be diving headfirst into one of the most hotly contested segments outside of the large capacity adventure bike class. It’ll be going toe-to-toe with a smorgasbord of small capacity single-cylinder machines, like the already mentioned KTM Duke 390, the BMW G310, the newly announced Honda CB300R, and the Royal Enfield Meteor 350.
Pictures courtesy of Motobob
