
Triumph Speed 400 First Ride Review: India’s Best 400cc Naked?
- Jul 14, 2023
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We at ZigWheels recently got a chance to go and witness the Royal Enfield Slide School Cup. During the event we got to witness some really thrilling moments of the race and also ride a bit on the flat track ourselves. Here’s a brief overview of the race, and what we got to learn from this experience.
The Royal Enfield Slide School is conducted at Autologue Ranch in Pune, and the flat track there is a 250m one. It was slightly longer than the ones that I have rode in before, and the longer size really makes a difference. The longer straight gives more distance to speed up into the turns, and makes sliding all the more fun.
The weapon to take on this track was, of course, the modified Himalayan 411 Flat Tracker or FT 411. The bike has undergone a lot of the same changes we can expect from a flat tracker build. It includes the removal of the headlight, crash guards and the front disc brake along with a shorter rear section.
The seat is a single piece of foam, which is not exactly the most comfortable but still gets the job done. Lastly, the bike features a modified exhaust end-can from S&S Cycle, which gives it a a really strong note, and makes the bike feel like a serious flat tracker.
Along with the FT 411, we also got to see another flat tracker build from Royal Enfield. A modified Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 also known as FT 450. The bike has got the same modifications as the FT 411. Along with this, Royal Enfield has added in a PowerTRONIC FuelX Pro fuel injection system as well. Which has improved the bike’s performance overall.
For beginner riders, the FT 411 is the better bike according to the instructors there. It offers linear acceleration and is a lot easier to handle. The FT 450, on the other hand, might be a bit intimidating and is reserved for more advanced riders. For the Slide School Cup, everyone was racing on the FT 411, and the FT 450 was used as the safety bike.
After the instructors took us through a small briefing on the track and the race format we were allowed to go out for a practice run. The racers were divided into groups of 2 and given 10 minutes each to ride and familiarize themselves with the track.
After the racers were done with their practice, I got my chance to have a practice run. This time, I got a lot more time on the track than before so I was able to put everything I learnt so far into practice. During my first time on the flat track, I was able to work on vision, body positioning and most importantly throttle control.
This really did translate well both on the flat track and also when riding on road. During my second time, which was at the Harley-Davidson X440 Flat Track Race at India Bike Week 2024, I got a clearer understanding of racing lines.
Here I was able to put everything together and get some really good slides, but most importantly have some fun. There were still a few things here and there that needed some fine tuning, and the instructors gave me some solid tips. The practice run overall was quite a good experience and I really got some uninterrupted time on the track. This gave me an opportunity to experience a bit more and also to try out a few things which I had learned before.
After the practice run, we all went for a quick lunch and after that the race began. The racers were divided into groups of two, and by the end, only four were selected for the finals. There was definitely an air of tension as only three people out of the four would qualify for the next level, which will be held in Jaipur.
So far we had only seen two people racing on the track at a time. While it was exciting enough, it was more fun to see four riders out there at the same time since the stakes were quite high.
The finals had 3 rounds, and the winner would be the one with the highest number of points. During the race, we saw some crashes but this was not unexpected. When riders really push themselves to the limit, these things happen. The crashes didn’t interfere with the race that much. The crew was able to get the bikes fixed up pretty quick after one.
In the end, the race was quite an exciting event and getting to see different riders put different strategies into practice was quite interesting. Some choose to tackle the flat track as a combination of two straights and two turns, whereas the others decide to tackle it as a large oval, adjusting their strategies accordingly.
There wasn’t any right or wrong way to tackle the flat track in the end, and everything came down to what most riders were comfortable with. Another lesson I learnt was that the fastest or shortest line wasn’t always the best line. Being able to make adjustments in the middle of chaos was what separated the best from the rest.
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