Bristol BR 400i

The Bristol BR 400i has been designed to appeal the retro motorcycle purists with its quintessentially British appeal. The motorcycle tries to form its own identity with different looking body panels when compared to other retro roadsters and café racers, which make it look even more handsome. 

The round headlamp at the front of the Bristol BR 400i forms the major part of the front fascia of the motorcycle. This headlamp, in a true classic motorcycle fashion, comes encased in a large semi-spherical chrome housing, and here, it gets triangular silver-finished clamps on either side with rounded orange turn indicators which too are encased in long chrome housings. The simple rounded front fender of the motorcycle comes with clamps on either side, which is again an attempt to add that old school touch to the motorcycle.

The side profile of the Bristol BR 400i, with its long fuel tank with curved knee recesses, low set handlebar, rear-set footpegs and the long single-piece seat with a curved bulge at the back, gives it the true retro café racer in a true sense. The trapezoidal side body cowls come with three ovular holes laid out in a vertical manner, and also sport the name of the motorcycle. The entire engine has been finished in a black theme, whereas the long exhaust pipe has been treated in a golden finish.

The rear of the Bristol BR 400i has been executed in a minimalist theme, with the chopped rear fender behind the seat having the round tail lamp mounted over it and the turn indicators mounted on its inner side edges. There is an additional tire hugger below over the rear tire, which has license plate mounted on it.

The Bristol BR 400i has a very simple looking mostly-analog instrument console – the two pod design stays true to the retro motorcycle ethos. The left pod houses the speedometer and a small LCD screen which shows fuel gauge, odometer and trip meter, while the right one gets the tachometer and other tell-tale lamps. The clip-on handlebars are short, with their ends sporting rounded rearview mirrors.

The Bristol BR 400i has been designed to appeal the retro motorcycle purists with its quintessentially British appeal. The motorcycle tries to form its own identity with different looking body panels when compared to other retro roadsters and café racers, which make it look even more handsome. 

The round headlamp at the front of the Bristol BR 400i forms the major part of the front fascia of the motorcycle. This headlamp, in a true classic motorcycle fashion, comes encased in a large semi-spherical chrome housing, and here, it gets triangular silver-finished clamps on either side with rounded orange turn indicators which too are encased in long chrome housings. The simple rounded front fender of the motorcycle comes with clamps on either side, which is again an attempt to add that old school touch to the motorcycle.

The side profile of the Bristol BR 400i, with its long fuel tank with curved knee recesses, low set handlebar, rear-set footpegs and the long single-piece seat with a curved bulge at the back, gives it the true retro café racer in a true sense. The trapezoidal side body cowls come with three ovular holes laid out in a vertical manner, and also sport the name of the motorcycle. The entire engine has been finished in a black theme, whereas the long exhaust pipe has been treated in a golden finish.

The rear of the Bristol BR 400i has been executed in a minimalist theme, with the chopped rear fender behind the seat having the round tail lamp mounted over it and the turn indicators mounted on its inner side edges. There is an additional tire hugger below over the rear tire, which has license plate mounted on it.

The Bristol BR 400i has a very simple looking mostly-analog instrument console – the two pod design stays true to the retro motorcycle ethos. The left pod houses the speedometer and a small LCD screen which shows fuel gauge, odometer and trip meter, while the right one gets the tachometer and other tell-tale lamps. The clip-on handlebars are short, with their ends sporting rounded rearview mirrors.

Apart from the engine, the Bristol BR 400i has its mechanical underpinnings in a very simple looking form, with no major complexity involved here. The motorcycle has inverted hydraulic telescopic forks at the front and oil damping with gas-charged mono-shock at the back. The riding posture is quite sporty and aggressive, which can be stiff and uncomfortable for long-distance touring. The Bristol BR 400i comes fitted with a very capable braking setup of double discs at the front and a single disc at the rear.

The Bristol BR 400i shares its four-stroke, single-cylinder, oil-cooled, fuel-injected, 400cc engine, which marks its presence in the lower end of the middleweight category of powertrains. This engine, which here is coupled to a 5-speed gearbox, pumps out a modest 28.1 PS of maximum power and 33 Nm of peak torque output. This engine enables the Bristol BR 400i to reach a top speed of 145 kmph, which is pretty impressive.

Given that it is an entry-level middleweight classic retro motorcycle, the Bristol BR 400i has no major complex electronic riding aid, apart from a dual-channel ABS.

For an affordable middleweight motorcycle, the Bristol BR 400i has been designed quite well, with the beautiful British old school essence in its design and the performance levels which do give it a very sprightful character to it. However, we would have loved to see few additional modern features in the Bristol BR 400i which could have uplifted the appeal in front of other modern retro roadsters.