Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
RideApart
RideApart
Sport

This Supercharged 400 Horsepower Motorcycle Makes Zero Sense

There are custom bikes out there that make perfect sense—purpose-built machines designed for a specific job. And then there are bikes like this: a supercharged, 400-horsepower Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RR that has absolutely no business existing.

And yet, here we are.

Let’s start with the base bike. The Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RR is already an absolute weapon. I’ve spent a good amount of time with it, and at one point, I even considered buying one for myself. It’s easily the most performance-oriented machine in Triumph’s lineup, with a 1,160cc inline-triple pumping out 177 hp. It’s fast, razor-sharp, and as refined as British sportbikes get. So why, in the name of all that is sensible, would someone strap a supercharger to it and crank the power up to an utterly deranged 400 hp?

Enter Thornton Hundred Motorcycles, a UK-based shop that specializes in high-end, no-holds-barred custom builds. They took one look at the Speed Triple RR and thought, You know what this needs? The ability to scare fighter pilots. The result is this completely unhinged creation, featuring a Rotrex C30 supercharger, a custom billet swingarm that’s 180mm longer than stock, and a five-liter methanol tank integrated into the swingarm for the water/methanol injection system.

That’s right—this thing runs on a cocktail of fuel and pure lunacy.

Then there’s the aesthetic. As if 400 horsepower wasn’t enough, it also comes draped in full carbon fiber bodywork, adaptive aerodynamics, and lightweight carbon wheels. It’s got all the aggression of a MotoGP prototype, except it’s fully street-legal. Not that you should actually ride it on the street, unless your idea of a good time is seeing your own life flash before your eyes at neck-breaking speeds.

So, who would want something like this? Someone who laughs in the face of reason. Someone who sees a finely honed sportbike and thinks, More power. More speed...more danger. 

And the best part? This bike can be yours. Thornton Hundred is selling it for £55,000, which translates to around $70,000 USD. That’s a lot of money, but when you consider the level of engineering, the sheer madness of the build, and the bragging rights that come with owning a one-of-a-kind 400-horsepower supercharged drift bike, the price almost starts to make sense. Almost.

At the end of the day, this bike exists for one reason and one reason only: because it can. There’s no logical explanation for it, no real-world justification, and certainly no sane argument for why anyone should ride it. And yet, I’m glad it exists. Because motorcycles—at their core—aren’t about logic. They’re about passion, about pushing boundaries, about creating something that makes people stop and say, What the actual hell?

And in that regard, this supercharged Speed Triple RR is perfect.

Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox.
For more information, read our
Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Got a tip for us? Email: tips@rideapart.com
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.