Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1538859
P130 RIDE REVIEW I 2026 TRIUMPH TF 450-E bike's phantom turn indica- tors. However, this and the license-plate-ready rear fend- er mean it'll be just that much easier to perhaps legalize for the pavement in some states. I get the feeling that Triumph will have a street-legal version in the works shortly. Let's hope so. END OF THE TRAIL Not to our surprise, the Tri- umph TF 450-E is an excellent off-road performer because we already knew how well their first-time motocross- ers performed right from the start. I must commend Triumph for taking the time and effort to incorporate many off-road-oriented im- provements into the E model instead of opting for the easy, minimalist approach. As mentioned earlier, Triumph clearly put some thought into this bike. After spending the day on the new TF 450-E, it's obvi- ous to me that the Triumph falls somewhere between the high-performance trail bikes, like the WR450F and CRF450X, and their full-race YZ450FX and CRF450RX cross-country coun- terparts. The Triumph is more aggressive than the trail bikes but isn't quite as fierce as the cross-country racers. It's with- out question a fantastic high- performance trail bike straight out of the box and wouldn't take much tweaking to become a serious threat to the FXs and RXs of the world. CN the UK, the bike works remark- ably well in the dry and the open parts of the desert, while still performing well in the tight stuff, which the desert has plenty of to offer. Thankfully the TF comes standard with a radiator fan. We put it to the test during our ride day as temperatures reached nearly triple digits. The fan was working overtime, but I never noticed any excess heat down near my legs, even in the slower speed sections. This is a must-have accessory for any - one looking to ride off-road. Brembo handles the brake and clutch department, and both offer a lightweight yet powerful feeling. I always favor the adjustability of the Brembo components, as you can fine- tune the engagement points at the lever. With the low-end torque, the bike spools up nice- ly, so relying on the clutch isn't as needed, and despite the high temps and slow speeds, I never experienced any fade from the clutch. Triumph says they've also beefed up the clutch internals. There were a few issues I had with the bike. One is the awful auto-retracting kickstand that several European manu- facturers use. To add insult to injury, the kickstand's spring broke early in the day and forced me to use the rubber ring attached to the frame to hold it in place every time I hopped on it or picked it up off the stand. The lighting switchblock on the handlebar looks out of place because it's so large, as it also houses switches for the 2026 TRIUMPH TF 450-E ($10,795) ENGINE 4-stroke, single-cylinder VALVETRAIN SOHC, 4-valve COOLING SYSTEM Liquid DISPLACEMENT 449.9cc BORE X STROKE 95 x 63.4mm STARTING SYSTEM Electric COMPRESSION 12.8:1 FUELING Dell'Orto 44mm Cable Throttle, EFI HORSEPOWER (CLAIMED) 57.80 hp TORQUE (CLAIMED) 35.6 lb-ft TRANSMISSION 6-speed, wide-ratio CLUTCH Brembo, hydraulic, Steel integrated basket FRAME Aluminium, spine & double cradle HANDLEBAR ProTaper Evo w/ ODI grips FRONT SUSPENSION KYB 48mm coil spring fork, fully adj.; Neken aluminum triple clamps REAR SUSPENSION KYB coil with linkage, fully adj. FRONT-WHEEL TRAVEL 11.81 in. REAR-WHEEL TRAVEL 12.32 in. FRONT WHEEL 21 in., D.I.D DirtStar rim REAR WHEEL 18 in., D.I.D DirtStar rim FRONT TIRE Michelin Enduro 2, 90/90-21 in. REAR TIRE Michelin Enduro 2, 140/90-18 in. FRONT BRAKE Brembo, 260mm Galfer rotor, floating caliper REAR BRAKE Bembo, 220mm, Galfer rotor, floating caliper WHEELBASE 58.58 in. SEAT HEIGHT 37.59 in. FUEL CAPACITY 2.2 gal. FINAL DRIVE 13T/51T WEIGHT (NO FUEL, CLAIMED) 257.28 lbs.