Blissful holidays from the wBW household! This week, we’re taking a look at a big shift from 300ccc to 400cc for a number of manufacturers, amongst different to-dos:
- Triumph is releasing a flat-track-inspired Tracker 400 and cafe racer-inspired Thruxton 400 to markets for his or her 2026 and 2027 mannequin years
- BMW is retiring its 310 GS in favour of a higher-capacity bike with much less freeway buzz.
- Kawasaki is increasing on their hybrid household with a brand new hybrid mission t that rethinks a much bigger scooter designed to compete towards Honda’s massively widespread X-ADV.
- Ducati’s engaged on what may be very doubtless an unique run of 100 “Formulation ‘73” bikes, designed to be a light-weight, air-cooled different to the corporate’s extra aggressive Panigale V2
Let’s start with Triumph, lets?
New Bikes: The Tracker 400 / Thruxton 400 are Lastly Right here!
…and Accessible as of March and April of 2026
Due to the Scrambler 400/x sibling launch, Triumph’s 400cc powertrain has been well-received – and now, now we have a brand new pair of middleweight siblings for the driving neighborhood: The flat-track-inspired Tracker 400 and the cafe racer-inspired Thruxton 400.
For these of you questioning, 400cc bikes could also be thought-about newbie bikes right here within the Western Hemisphere (significantly in America and Canada), however elsewhere on the earth, 400cc is a giant bike that does all of the commuting wants of a neighborhood with additional yank below the proverbial hood to spare. Triumph’s Velocity 400/Scrambler 400X had been each nice examples of this area of interest, and, due to the bike duo’s usefulness and flexibility in several areas of the world, had been marked as a “international hit.”
Triumph’s 400cc powertrain was additionally purportedly chargeable for bringing document numbers of youthful riders and girls to Triumph; that is all the time an thrilling factor for a bike model, and diversifying demographics sometimes results in a “snowball impact” of thrilling new merchandise and calls for on future fashions, as we see right here with Triumph.
However again to the Tracker 400 and Thruxton 400. These two new fashions signify Triumph’s strongest model of the TR-Collection engine but, due to a revised camshaft profile and a contemporary tune, rendering a really good 41.4 horsepower. The residuals additionally imply a +5% energy improve over the Velocity and Scrambler variants, with a better rev restrict and a extra substantial high finish besides.
On to every mannequin’s character: Whereas we haven’t but been capable of sit on the factor, we’re instructed the Tracker 400 provides off a “hooligan” street-tracker vibe with a boxy gas tank, a decrease and wider stance, quantity boards, and blocky Pirelli MT60 RS tires; in the meantime, the Thruxton 400 brings a contemporary edge to the cafe racer legacy, that includes a smooth entrance fairing, clip-on handlebars, and rear-set footpegs for a dedicated, sporty tuck (versus the Tracker 400’s “elbows out” ergonomics alternative.)
For those who’re eager on getting one among these beauties, we’re instructed that the MY2026 Thruxton 400 will hit dealerships first in March of 2026; one month later, in April, the MY2027 Tracker 400 will make its look. When initially tackling this information replace, we famous the 2 totally different mannequin years and hadn’t the foggiest as to why Triumph delineated every bike to totally different mannequin years; now that we’ve completed some digging, right here’s the gist of Triumph’s technique:
- Having been on the highway in India since mid-2025, the Thruxton 400 is “Previous Information” in India. Because the Thruxton was already a manufacturing actuality elsewhere, Triumph is bringing the Thruxton 400 to North America as a 2026 mannequin to align with its present international manufacturing cycle and to “stagger” the lineup within the eyes of shoppers. That is significantly useful since Triumph remains to be chipping away at that “33 new or up to date fashions for the 2026 season” aim, and making the 400cc household really feel prefer it has steady, multi-year progress moderately than only a single-year dump of recent bikes provides area to every launch.
- Not like the Thruxton, the Tracker 400 is a brand-new international debut; ergo, regardless that it technically arrives in April 2026 (just one month after the Thruxton), Triumph desires to name the Tracker 400 an “Early Launch” to provide the brand new machine a “longer” first 12 months on the showroom flooring with out it feeling “dated” by the point the precise 2027 calendar 12 months rolls round – frequent sufficient motion for a motorbike model, although it nonetheless appears like dishonest. 😅
Listed below are the MSRP’s of every mannequin, respectively:
- 2026 Triumph Thruxton 400 MSRP: $6,295 USD
- 2027 Triumph Avenue Tracker 400 MSRP: $5,995 USD
To see the total specs and colour choices for Triumph’s latest middleweights, head over to the official release on Roadracing World.
BMW Confirms Retirement of G 310 GS
…to Make Approach for 450 Twin
After almost a decade of sitting fairly as BMW’s entry-level portal into the GS world, the single-cylinder G 310 GS is formally being phased out in favour of a brand new addition set to resolve the 310 GS’s “freeway buzz” issues.
We’re instructed by ADVPulse that BMW is changing its 34-horsepower 310 GS powertrain with an all-new 450cc twin-cylinder platform developed in partnership with India’s TVS Motor Firm. The machine chosen to hold this platform is none aside from the F 450 GS, which – should you had been fortunate sufficient to see it when in Milan final month – debuted at EICMA 2025.
All instructed, Beemers on the lookout for entry-level energy and accessibility will doubtless discover smoother cruising and extra torque throughout the rev vary within the F 450 GS’s engine; an uprate in juice to 48 horsepower doesn’t damage, both – and naturally, the F 450 GS will even function premium tech normally reserved for BMW’s bigger bikes, together with Dynamic Traction Management, Engine Drag Torque Management, and the brand new Simple Experience Clutch (ERC), which permits for clutch-free stops and begins.
Whereas the F 450 GS provides about six kilos over the 310, BMW believes that the trade-off in efficiency and refinement creates a extra aggressive machine when contemplating our good business’s surging subject of mid-sized rivals (Triumph’s Avenue Tracker and Thruxton however).
For a full technical breakdown of the upcoming F 450 GS and the retirement of the 310 sequence, try the report at ADV Pulse.
Rumor Has It: Kawasaki is Extending their Hybrid Household
Kawasaki Patents Trace at a New Hybrid Maxi-Scooter
Hybrid energy appears to be working effectively for Kawasaki – so effectively, in actual fact, that latest filings are exhibiting Staff Inexperienced’s subsequent chapter may contain a brand new sibling for the Ninja 7 and Z7.
Based on CycleWorld, latest patent filings present hybrid expertise tweaks in a big scooter format that would very effectively rival the likes of Honda’s X-ADV. A 451cc parallel-twin hybrid powertrain reveals additional battery cooling enhancements made due to an enlarged cooling duct in entrance of the cylinder head, made doable by extending the trellis body ahead and shifting the radiator down. Due to this new invention, Kawasaki’s “E-Enhance” operate – a mechanism that at the moment delivers 1,000cc-level acceleration for five-second bursts – will last more.
Additional seems on the patent imagery present the gas tank moved beneath this specific scooter’s seat to make method for the bike’s front-heavy electrical setup; there’ll nonetheless be sufficient room for under-seat helmet storage, holding the scooter’s practicality intact and additional confirming to us that Kawasaki’s effectively on the way in which to creating this scooter for a brand new mannequin 12 months.
As cities proceed to implement zero-emission zones, a hybrid that may transfer into “Silent Mode” for quiet suburban streets and metropolis facilities whereas providing a 450-mile vary is wanting greater than ever like a “no-brainer”; the one query now could be whether or not any given city’s grids can sustain with the heavier electrical calls for of a fast-growing EV market…
To dive into the technical drawings and see how Kawasaki is evolving its hybrid structure, go to the full breakdown at Cycle World.
Quick Filings: Ducati “Formulation 73” Revealed
CARB Filings Present a Scrambler-Primarily based Tribute to the 750 SuperSport
Ducati’s A centesimal-anniversary festivities in 2026 are already beginning to leak (no shock there, the corporate doesn’t do something in halves): Due to the findings of the ever-incomparable Dennis Chung at Bike.com, California Air Assets Board (CARB) filings have confirmed a brand new mannequin for Bologna’s greatest.
A “Ducati Formulation ‘73” is seemingly on the horizons; based mostly on the above filings, this new machine will home Ducati’s 803cc V-Twin Scrambler platform and debut as a tribute to the corporate’s 1973 750 SuperSport Desmo, the primary bike to debut Ducati’s signature desmodromic valves on a manufacturing machine and likewise a reputation that harkens again to the Formulation 750 racing sequence the place Ducati famously dominated with Paul Sensible’s legendary 1972 Imola 200 victory.
Whereas we all know this incubating bike shares the Scrambler engine, the shortage of “Scrambler” branding within the submitting suggests we’re getting a distinct form of bug. Retro-sport bodywork – doubtless a cafe-style partial fairing to reflect the unique SS – will be a part of the machine’s spot in Ducati’s ranks as a light-weight, air-cooled different to the extra aggressive Panigale V2.
We’re anticipating this bike to be an unique launch (probably a limited-production run of 100 models to mark the centennial 12 months), so you’ll want to verify again for particulars as we transfer additional into the 2026 mannequin 12 months!
For Dennis Chung’s incomparable findings on this submitting, try the article at Motorcycle.com.
*Media sourced from Triumph, BMW, Cycleworld, and Ducati*
Trending Merchandise
