Triumph’s Bajaj deal to bring A2 bikes to the UK

SINCE the news that Triumph and Bajaj had joined forces to make a range of small capacity motorcycles, the industry has been awash with rumours of how the new bikes could look. We even posted a speculative look at how the new machines could shake up a couple of weeks ago.

And it seems we weren’t far from the mark, as reports out of France confirm that the two companies are planning a range of six A2 licence friendly machines in the coming years. The reports also state that the bikes will all be around the 400cc range and that they will be coming to the UK, Europe and Asia.

More than that we don’t have much to go on in terms of names of bikes or any clues as to what they could look like, although the capacity confirmation does mean we can take a look at the bikes they’ll be competing against.

The mainstream competitors will be bikes like the KTM range of A2 licence adventure and street machines, the Yamaha MT-03 a Kawasaki’s naked A2 licence machines. With a smattering of sportsbikes also inhabiting the sub-47bhp sector, could we see the previously shelved small capacity Daytona sportsbike make an appearance via this tie-up?

What could the six bikes be?

If all the bikes do turn out to be 47bhp machines, then the range should be fairly easy to predict. For mass-market appeal, it’d seem sensible to have a naked in there, something along the lines of a Street Triple with a single-cylinder engine. Next, we’d expect Triumph to lean on their heritage and release something like a baby Bonneville and maybe a miniature Thruxton to help entice younger or newer riders into the brand. Those two bikes alone could help create a few options, as Triumph already does with the Street range of modern classics. With Adventure bikes bolstering a large portion of the UK sales charts, it’d be a missed opportunity not to release a lightweight adventure machine. They already have a very strong brand in that market in the form of the Tigers anyway. If Triumph were ever going to rekindle the now shelved Daytona 250 project, now would be the time. It’s just tricky to tell if that’s the kind of machine that punters would

Speaking of the deal when the partnership was announced, Triumph CEO, Nick Bloor, said:

“This is an important partnership for Triumph and I am delighted that it has now formally commenced.  As well as taking our brand into crucial new territories, the products that will come out of the partnership will also help attract a younger, but still discerning, customer audience and is another step in our ambitions to expand globally, particularly in the fast-growing markets of South East Asia, but also driving growth in more mature territories like Europe.”