Brand new Triumph 400’s swingarm breaks into 2 after ‘minor slip’, claims owner: Bajaj responds

After the images of the broken swingarm surfaced online, the brand looked into the matter and released an official statement.

Update: The incident concerning said customer has been brought to our attention by our service centre. Upon our internal investigation, it has been noticed that there has been damage to the bike that seems to have been caused a severe accident upon not observing black ice, resulting in extensive damage to 10+ parts. Safety of riders is ensured & is paramount at Triumph. The service centre has further confirmed that the necessary spare parts are being dispatched urgently to ensure the vehicle is fit to ride at the earliest. All necessary support required is being offered to the customer. Any claim of non-availability of parts is untrue.

Triumph Motorcycles recently launched their most affordable single-cylinder motorcycles in India: the Speed 400 and Scrambler 400X. These motorcycles have started reaching dealerships across the country, and deliveries have also commenced. A few months after the launch, an incident emerged where the swingarm of a brand new Triumph Speed 400 motorcycle broke into two after a minor slip. Images of the cracked swingarm have already surfaced online and gone viral on the internet.

The images were posted by Abhinav Sood, who operates a bike rental company. He shared the image of his motorcycle along with the broken swingarm, captioning it, “A minor slip… Swing arm split into 2 … Replacement to take over a month! What’s the point of selling bikes when there’s hardly any stock of parts throughout India? I have a list of 15-20 needed items, and all I can get is 2. I have 8 Triumphs used for commercial purposes. It took 2 months to get a handlebar for Speed! With over 130 bikes and 10 years’ experience, this is the first time I’ve seen this. Wondering how it will perform on actual offroads… surely it’s going to split into multiple pieces! Please, Triumph Motorcycles India, enlighten us on what shall be done?”

The customer is evidently dissatisfied with the bike’s performance. Making matters worse, the bike was only 4 days old and had covered approximately 593 km on the odometer. The Triumph Speed 400, a new motorcycle, is facing reported quality issues—a problem compounded by the unavailability of spare parts. To repair the swingarm, the customer will have to wait for a month.

The post specifically mentions the bike rental business, highlighting how waiting for parts for a month would impact operations. This incident also raises concerns about the motorcycle’s build quality. While many were excited about the launch of the Triumph 400 twins, the reported quality issues may deter potential customers. It’s crucial for Bajaj and Triumph India to investigate and resolve this matter promptly. The swingarm is a crucial part of a motorcycle and if this was break when the bike was in motion, it could have easily injured the rider or even other road users.

This marks the first product launched under the Bajaj-Triumph partnership. The Triumph Speed 400 is a naked street motorcycle, while its Scrambler version, called the Scrambler 400X, is built at Bajaj’s Maharashtra plant. Future launches are expected under this partnership. The Speed 400 employs a 398cc single-cylinder engine developed by Triumph. This liquid-cooled DOHC engine generates 40 Ps and 37.5 Nm of peak torque. The Triumph Speed 400 is priced at Rs 2.33 lakh, ex-showroom and it competes with bikes like Harley Davidson 440X in the segment. Bajaj-Triumph partnership is also planning utilise this platform and engine to maximum and launch a Thruxton 400 in the market. Test mules have already been spotted on the road and the motorcycle is expected to be launched next year.

Similar to sales, after-sales service is a pivotal factor for many customers. Issues with service networks and parts availability can drive away potential customers. Other than the broken swingarm, there are customers who have reported other issues in the motorcycle. There was a case where the bike stopped and the engine was not starting. In another case, the charging port on the Speed 400 motorcycle stopped working and fried the data/charging cable that the rider had inserted to charge his device.