The British bikemaker Triumph has officially launched the new Bonneville T40 in India with a starting price tag of Rs 2.55 lakh (ex-showroom). The new motorcycle is the smallest member of the Bonneville family and has been introduced in two versions, T40 and T40 Black. Now, unlike the Speed 400, Scrambler 400 X and other motorcycles in Triumph’s India-made range, the Bonneville T40 gets a completely different design and chassis setup inspired by the larger Bonneville models.
First off, let’s start with the pricing. The Triumph Bonneville T40 has been priced at Rs 2.55 lakh (ex-showroom), while the T40 Black is priced at Rs 2.80 lakh. This makes the new motorcycle considerably more expensive than the Royal Enfield Classic 350, which is priced from around Rs 1.89 lakh to Rs 2.26 lakh. Other rivals of the Bonneville T40 include the Honda CB350, Jawa 350 and Harley-Davidson X440.
The Bonneville T40 has been designed to look like a smaller version of the larger Bonneville T100 and T120. It gets a sculpted teardrop-shaped fuel tank with rubber knee pads, the iconic three-bar Triumph badge, long mudguards and a round LED headlamp.
The motorcycle also gets a ribbed bench-style seat, twin rear shock absorbers, wire-spoke wheels and a peashooter-style exhaust. Triumph has also paid attention to smaller details. These include a hand-painted coach lining on the fuel tank, brushed aluminium engine covers, chrome-finished mirrors and a rear grab rail on the standard T40.
The T40 is available in three dual-tone colour options, including Aegean Blue and Fusion White, Meriden Blue and Tangerine Orange, and New England White and Jet Black. The T40 Black gets a darker treatment with Matt Pewter Grey and Matt Phantom Black paintwork. It also gets blacked-out engine components and gloss-black wheel rims.
The Bonneville T40 does not share its complete chassis with the other Triumph 400cc motorcycles. Although the front section of the frame is related to the existing platform, the rear section has been heavily revised.
The motorcycle gets a new tubular steel swingarm and twin rear shock absorbers. Meanwhile, the subframe is welded to the main frame instead of being bolted on like the other single-cylinder Triumph models. The suspension setup consists of 43mm conventional telescopic forks with gaiters at the front and twin shocks at the rear.
Both ends offer 130mm of suspension travel. As for the braking, it will be handled by a 310mm front disc with a twin-piston axial calliper and a 255mm rear disc with a single-piston calliper. The motorcycle also gets lean-sensitive ABS.
The Bonneville T40 has a ready-to-ride weight of 191 kg. This makes it the heaviest motorcycle in Triumph’s India-made single-cylinder range. It also has the largest fuel tank in this family, with a capacity of 14.5 litres.
The seat height stands at 790mm, and Triumph will offer an optional low seat that reduces it to 770mm. Despite the low seat height, the motorcycle gets 165mm of ground clearance, which will make it suitable for Indian road conditions.
The Bonneville T40 also gets a centre stand as standard. It rides on 18-inch front and 17-inch rear wire-spoke wheels with tubed tyres, with tyre sizes of 100/90-18 at the front and 150/70 R17 at the rear.
Powering the Triumph Bonneville T40 is a dedicated version of the company’s 349cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine. It produces 29 PS and 31.2 Nm of peak torque. The engine shares its basic architecture with the other single-cylinder Triumph motorcycles, but Triumph has changed it for the Bonneville.
These include a revised cylinder head, dedicated camshafts, smaller throttle bodies, a different engine tune and a new peashooter-style exhaust. Triumph has also focused on low- and mid-range performance rather than outright power.
Despite its classic styling, the Bonneville T40 gets a modern electronics package. It features a new circular 4-inch full-colour TFT display, which has been designed to retain the traditional appearance of the motorcycle. The display gets a dedicated Heritage Mode that gives it an analogue-style appearance.
It also supports smartphone connectivity, music and call controls, widgets and full-map navigation through the Triumph Navigation App. The motorcycle also gets five riding modes, including Road, Rain and Eco, along with two customisable modes.
These modes adjust the throttle response, traction control and ABS settings. Cruise control is also being offered as standard. Other features include lean-sensitive traction control, cornering ABS, self-cancelling indicators, Emergency Deceleration Warning and a USB Type-C charging socket.