Everything we know about the Triumph motocross bikes

Triumph has continued to drip-feed information about its all-new dirt bike range, which will see the British firm enter major competitions from next year onwards.

A video providing more detail about the chassis, and starring Ricky Carmichael, was released earlier this month, while the most recent video shows off the four-stroke engine that will power the new motocross machines.  

But despite the flurry of promotional activity, many key details are still being kept secret and we’re really no closer to knowing for sure what the bikes will look like or how they will stack up against products from existing players in the industry like the KTM Group and the big four Japanese brands.

However, a closer look at the information presented so far does reveal a few clues as to what motocross fans can expect. And looking at the current motocross market, we can make a few educated guesses about what is coming. Here is everything we currently know (and think we know) about the upcoming Triumph motocross range.

The early assumptions from many motocross fans and pundits was that the Triumph motocross bikes would simply be copies of the KTM platform. But we now know that this is almost certainly not the case. The new bikes have been developed in-house from the ground up.

Perhaps the biggest giveaway was when Triumph revealed that its chassis would be aluminium, rather than steel. KTM and its GasGas and Husqvarna counterparts use steel frames. There was talk a few years back that KTM would switch to aluminium, but it stuck with steel. As for the Japanese brands – they all use aluminium frames.

And key people involved in the project have consistently spoken about how extensive the development process has been and how everything has been built in-house. In short, it is a pretty safe bet to say these bikes will be Triumph originals.

As this stage, we don’t believe so. Everything revealed so far has pointed towards four-stroke motocross models, and there has been no hint of anything 2T-related.

And, given that two-stroke motocross bikes are relatively niche, it wouldn’t make sense for Triumph to spend time, resources, money, and effort on a whole separate development program straight off the bat. And we won’t even delve into the complexities of Europe’s tight emissions laws. Maybe we’ll see two-stroke Triumphs in the future, but we’re not expecting it anytime soon.

We know that there will be Triumph enduro models in the near future, but it seems they may still be quite a way off. Triumph confirmed the plan to build enduro models back in 2021, when enduro champion Ivan Cervantes was announced as an ambassador. But there have been crickets since then. All the information released so far has focused on the motocross machines.

Our sources indicate there will definitely still be enduro models, but it appears that development is yet to begin, or at least it is in the very early stages. Ricky Carmichael hinted at this in the most recent promo video when he said, “The engine is a great platform for other models that Triumph is going to come up with”. In short, Triumph is focusing on motocross for now, and enduro will come later.

It is safe to expect both a 250cc and 450cc four-stroke, but we don’t know much outside of that. KTM has popularised the 350cc motocrosser but, as with the two-strokes, we don’t expect Triumph to get too ambitious right from the get-go. Judging by the firm’s racing aspirations (see below), it is likely the 250cc four-stroke machine will arrive first, with the 450cc version to come soon after.

As per the above information, the first bikes will almost certainly be powered by 250cc and 450cc single-cylinder four-stroke engines. Outside of that, we don’t know much.

Triumph showed off the engine in the most recent promo video but it didn’t give too much away. But listening to the test riders and engineers in the video, it would appear the production engine will be quite forgiving and user-friendly for riders across a wide range of abilities.

“Normally, everything is give or take,” said Carmichael in the video. “You either have good low-end or good top-end, whichever you prefer. But I feel this engine gives you both of that.”

Another test rider, Ivan Tedesco, supported that claim. “I think it’s good for all levels of riding,” he said. “If you are a beginner, racing supercross, or outdoors – across the board I think it is a really good engine.”

We’ve already mentioned Ricky Carmichael (aka the GOAT), Ivan Tedesco (former AMA 125cc champion), and Ivan Cervantes (former World Enduro Champion), but you can add MXGP icon Clement Desalle to that list too. And other names involved include Bobby Hewitt, Dave Arnold, Vincent Bereni, Stephen Westfall, and Thierry Chizat-Suzzoni. Jump on Google – there is a lot of experience in that list.

If the above list of names doesn’t give it away, then we’re concerned. But yes, Triumph is indeed going racing in both the USA and Europe. At this stage, Triumph has revealed that it will contest both the AMA SuperMotocross series (which includes AMA Supercross and Pro Motocross), and also the MXGP World Championship. Racing under the banner of Triumph Racing, the firm will enter the 250cc classes of all championships in 2024, and then step up to the 450cc classes in 2025. Riders for both continents are yet to be revealed.

If we had to take a stab, we’d say there will be no kid’s bikes with combustion engines at first. But Triumph did acquire electric bike company OSET in 2022, and that could result in a range of Triumph-branded youth electric bikes. Looking longer term, it would make total sense for Triumph to enter the youth racing market, as it provides an important stepping stone for young riders to stay with the brand as they move into adulthood.

Officially, we don’t know details just yet, though we expect Triumph will reveal more about this in the near future. But looking at the recent high-tech KTM releases, we think that the British firm will at least try to match the Austrians with equally high-tech motocross machines.

To that point, we’re guessing the Triumph models will be fitted with traction control, launch control/holeshot devices, power modes, and possibly even quickshifters. And, unless the brand goes all Suzuki on us, you can expect electric start too.

There is a good chance that the bikes will be predominantly black if Triumph’s branding is anything to go by. But we’re pretty confident there will be some yellow in there too. Or is it fluro green? Kind of hard to tell. The promo videos and Triumph Racing logos feature that colour quite prominently, so expect to see it on the new bikes. And for a sneak peek at what that might look like, check out numerous recent models, including the Street Triple 765 Moto2 edition.

Too early to say for sure, but our guess is that the bikes will be designated TR 250 and TR 450 respectively. Why do we think that? Well, the letters TR featured in various shots within the promo videos, and it likely stands for ‘Triumph Racing’. And, if you go back through Triumph’s history, there are many dirt-friendly models that use the TR designation, including the TR6 Trophy ‘desert sled’ that Steve McQueen rode in the 1964 ISDT.

Okay, okay, so we’re clutching at straws here. But it makes sense, doesn’t it? Other brands regularly produce limited-edition factory-spec models celebrating various teams, riders, and events. And Triumph ambassador and test rider Ricky Carmichael is arguably the greatest motocross rider of all time; why wouldn’t the British firm cash in on that? Watch this space.

There is no public information on pricing in Europe, let alone Australia. But given Triumph has often positioned itself as something of a ‘luxury’ British brand, we can expect a high-level of build quality and specification. This means that there is a good chance that the bikes will at least be priced on a similar level to that of the Husqvarna range, which starts at $14,188 for the FC 250. But until we see the spec sheet, we are really just guessing.

Don’t get too excited just yet. While RC has confirmed that the next promo video, due for release on September 5, will feature him riding the new bike, there is a good chance that it will be a disguised version or a prototype of the final product. So far there has been two episodes in this video series, and we’re betting that Triumph will want to drag this out a little longer. Why would it reveal the bike in full when it could squeeze at least another three videos out of this?

Impossible to say just yet, but the way things are going, it looks like Triumph is gearing up to fully unveil the new motocross bikes before the end of the year, possibly in October. If that is the case, going off usual new bike release schedules, we could guess that the first units will arrive on Australian shores early in 2024. Of course, in the current climate with shipping and component delays, that could easily be extended.