Triumph Partnering with Bajaj to Produce Mid-Sized Motorcycles

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Triumph and Bajaj Auto announced a new partnership to develop and produce mid-sized motorcycles, likely cruisers displacing less than 700cc.

The arrangement is described as a “non-equity partnership”, meaning the two companies will be working together but there’s no financial investment going either way, nor are they forming a joint venture. The relationship will be similar to the one between BMW and TVS which led to the new G310R and G310GS.

For Triumph, the arrangement will expand its reach into high-volume emerging markets. Triumph also currently lacks any products smaller than the 765cc Street Triple. The Daytona 675 is on its last legs as it is not Euro 4 compliant and will likely be replaced with a new model using the Street Triple engine (likely coming to EICMA this fall to precede Triumph’s engine supplying deal for the Moto2 World Championship in 2019).

Triumph had been working on small-displacement models several years ago. We even saw spy photos of a sportbike and naked model, expected to displace 250cc, but the project was eventually scrapped before we saw either a concept or production model. The Bajaj partnership is explicitly for mid-sized models however, so we expect the results to displace between 400cc and 700cc.

On Bajaj’s end, the partnership will complement the company’s existing 48% ownership stake in KTM. That arrangement has already born fruit with the small-displacement KTM Duke models and the Bajaj Dominar 400, the Indian company’s version of the KTM 390 Duke.


The Bajaj Dominar 400 uses the same 373cc Single as the KTM 390 Duke.

Speaking last month at Bajaj’s annual general meeting, Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj hinted at a possible new partnership, saying: “We are very close to finalizing a very promising alliance, it’s not certain, that it will happen, but if it happens, it will open up enormous possibilities for the company.”

At the time, some pundits assumed this meant Bajaj would be entering the Ducati sweepstakes, but further comments from the managing director hinted against that speculation. KTM already provided a sporty side to the company’s portfolio, Bajaj said, and the company wanted to explore other segments.

“There is also a world of easy riding or lazy riding, it is a world of Harley-Davidson, Indian motorcycle owned by Polaris, the world of Triumph, this segment so far has been missing from our puzzle,” said Bajaj. “The only missing puzzle is the premium brand in this space.”

Parsing these comments suggests the Triumph-Bajaj partnership will produce cruisers competing against the likes of the Harley-Davidson Street, Indian Scout Sixty, Kawasaki Vulcan S and the Honda Rebel 500.

Here’s the full joint statement issued by Bajaj and Triumph:
 
Quote " Triumph also currently lacks any products smaller than the 765cc Street Triple."

Incorrect - Triumph developed the 660cc Street Triple for the Australian and New Zealand markets. Released June 2014 and remains in production.
Triumph Australia pushed Triumph UK to provide this product to access to the smaller bike market sector (under the LAMS scheme here).

Triumph Street Triple 660 review

Street Triple 660 | Triumph Motorcycles | Triumph Motorcycles

They're a great bike too - I own one.
 
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