Restyled Triumph Scrambler 400 X Adds Custom Flavor to a Budget-Friendly Package

Still fresh out of the oven, the Triumph Scrambler 400 X already found itself in the shop’s crosshairs and the bar has been set very high right from the get-go. The build was commissioned by Triumph’s Thai branch, and much of the hardware used here will soon become available in K-Speed's aftermarket catalog. Right off the bat, we can say this thing looks a lot meaner than a stock 400 X.

One of Triumph’s main goals with this budget-friendly Scrambler, as well as the Speed 400, is to grow the marque’s presence on Asian markets. Collaborations with top-tier custom bike shops are a great promotional tool, so it made perfect sense for them to jump on the bandwagon along with brands like Royal Enfield. Dubbed the Diabolus Scrambler, K-Speed's reinterpretation knocks it straight out of the park and into the stratosphere.

The specimen will be present at the 2024 Bangkok International Motor Show between March 27th and April 7th, along with another K-Speed build based on the Speed 400. You should definitely check out the event if you happen to be in the area, but let us admire the reworked 400 X digitally for the time being. To their genuine delight, the guys were given carte blanche on this project from start to finish.

Any modifications they had in mind were thus fair game, even if they would alter the donor’s anatomy irreversibly. First things first, the K-Speed crew got the ball rolling with some clever structural changes at the back, aiming to reduce visual clutter as much as possible. They ditched the grab bar and proceeded to loop the subframe, before attaching a handmade mudguard underneath.

It seems like the OEM side covers have been retained, but the Scrambler lost its two-up seating arrangement. Instead, it now carries an elegant solo saddle upholstered in black leather. The whole rear-end setup looks the part, and the custom party continues up front with another, high-mounted fender. Choosing to retain the stock fuel tank, our protagonists simply revised its top section with a bespoke strap of sorts.

They kept the standard ten-spoke hoops from Triumph but cloaked their rims in chunky dual-purpose rubber. Items like the suspension and brakes were left unchanged, as they are extremely capable straight out of the box. The motorcycle’s single-cylinder engine also stayed the same on the inside, only receiving some finned covers and a new, high-mounted exhaust system.

This handmade pipework comes with accompanying heat shields to keep temperatures in check, and we find it a lot more intriguing than the stock plumbing. Along with the replacement fenders and beefy tires, it certainly makes the budget Triumph a lot worthier of its scrambler designation. The project’s authors still had a few aces up their sleeves, though – an assortment of smaller touches that really make the whole thing come together.

Among them, the most notable has to be the updated headlight assembly found at twelve o’clock. The headlamp itself is an aftermarket LED module placed nice and close to the forks, with small but bright turn signals flanking it nearby. However, the real star of the show in that area is a rugged custom grill, which gives the 400 X a much tougher appearance.

Up in the cockpit, the K-Speed treatment was about subtraction rather than addition. Items such as the hand guards, central pad, and standard mirrors have all been discarded to tidy things up in that area. Minute bar-end mirrors offer a view of what’s behind the rider, and the instrumentation is now located downlow on the left-hand side of the fuel tank.

But of course, an appropriate color scheme was needed before the lads could call it a day. To suit the Diabolus Scrambler’s menacing aesthetic, they cloaked it in a mixture of dark grey and black mostly done in a matte finish. The black detailing on the gas tank consists of horizontal stripes and stylish Triumph logos – subtle and low-key, but great at creating visual depth and continuity.

Once again, the custom bike gurus over at K-Speed managed to build a fantastic machine by putting all their skills and knowledge to good use. As much as we love the Scrambler 400 X in its stock incarnation, this reworked head-turner from Thailand is definitely the one we’d pick if given the choice. Not only does it look more imposing, but it is also better suited to rides on unpaved roads.