At first appearances the Triumph Daytona 675 may seem like most sport bikes around the 600cc mark, but appearances can be deceiving; very deceiving indeed.
Starting with the appearance, this sport bike has the classic fully faired look. However, the beauty is in the subtle detail. When stopped at lights, you’ll notice people in cars starting, when at the petrol station, the attendants will stare, and your friends will comment on how stunning the design is. Yes they are comparing it to other sport bikes, and yes I experienced all these whilst were we testing.
Simply put, there is a barely tangible allure to this bike that makes everyone around gawk at it’s beauty, but without the words to describe it. In terms of aesthetic appeal, it certainly has the X-Factor that we search high and low for.
With regards to the riding position, it’s the typical sport bike set up, and typically, your forearms will get tired if you don’t ride it often enough to get used to it. There are the usual adjustable settings and this will help an individual rider find the best set up.
The acceleration and power delivery are controllable but by no means boring. The liquid-cooled in-line 3 cylinder motor produces 94kW (126hp) at 12,60rpm, and is surprisingly capable of revving to 14,000rpm; quite a feat considering the larger cylinders than competing models from other manufacturers. This is also sufficient to see yourself flying through the gears, shifting at 14,000rpm on to a top speed of 250km/h and a quarter mile time of only 11.1 seconds. This power is decidedly easy to control, predictable and smooth in it’s delivery. Even novice riders will be able to ride fast without scaring themselves off the bike.
In fact, the only people you will be scaring will be your fairly annoyed and angry fellow road users, even if you’re idling. This is due to the factory optional Arrow aftermarket pipe. This eardrum popping exhaust produces a beautiful note all the way through the rev range, and is fantastic both on the power and the run down. The only real advice I can give is that you buy a better set of ear plugs. Too bad for the other motorists though, they’ll just have to settle for hating you once they’re done staring at the Daytona’s beauty.
Then there comes one of this stunning machine’s party pieces, the handling. It’s no wonder the Daytona has enjoy moderate successes on the racing track, often winning regional titles and quite a few races since it’s introduction in 2006. In one instance, it was pitted against a Suzuki GSX-R750 for a 24 hour period. Although the Daytona failed to finish due to mechanical problems, it was outpacing the more powerful Suzuki by 0.7 seconds a lap. This bodes well as a testament to the Triumph’s handling.
In world super sports and super stock 600’s the Honda CBR600, Yamaha R6 and the Daytona are battling it out on the track in this fiercely contested segment. Due to the fact that the Triumph is a 3 cylinder, getting the bike to enter a corner is said to be easier thanks to a more nimble chassis. However once exiting the corner, be sure to be high up in the RPM range to ensure maximum performance. Anything below 6000 RPM can be said to be under performing, and this is not a problem only inherent on the Daytona, but instead on all 600 machines.
This well sorted chassis however means that you’ll find yourself mid corner, looking out at the exit, only to glance down at the digital speedometer and realise that this is the fastest you’ve gone round that corner all day.
Thankfully, on the road, the Daytona has plenty of torque (73Nm), ensuring that acceleration in those conditions is never a problem.
The seat height is sufficient that you can easily flatfoot unless you’re a circus midget; and speaking of the seat, it is made of fantastic material. Your arse is going to be sitting on a velvet sofa as you blow out eardrums on a morning commute or Sunday ride.
The only real criticism I can think of with the Daytona is the electronic speedometer. Whilst there’s nothing wrong with using a digital speedometer, it doesn’t refresh nearly fast enough, meaning that you are sometimes left guessing when accelerating; quite unnerving if you’re riding down a road with traffic cameras. To be entirely fair, this is a common problem with many sport bikes, and would simply be resolved my manufacturers redesigning the instruments to use faster processing units so that they could refresh more times per second.
Ultimately, there’s two kinds of bikes; Bikes we ride and enjoy while we do, and bikes that we dream of for weeks after we’re done, the ones that make you want to just get up and go out for a ride, doesn’t matter where to. The Daytona is definitely in the latter category, it’s a shining example of a bike having true character, and thus making your day better simply but pressing that start button.
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| Make Model | Triumph Daytona 675 |
| Year | 2006 |
| Engine | Liquid-cooled, four stroke, in-line 3-cylinder, DOHC, |
| Capacity | 675 |
| Bore x Stroke | 74 x 52.3 mm |
| Compression Ratio | 12.65:1 |
| Induction | Multipoint sequential electronic fuel injection with forced air induction |
| Ignition / Starting | Digital – inductive type / ELECTRIC |
| Max Power | 126 hp @ 12500 rpm+ |
| Max Torque | 73Nm 53ft.lbf @ 11750 rpm |
| Transmission / Drive | 6 Speed / chain |
| Frame | Aluminium beam twin spar, Swing arm Braced twin sided, aluminium alloy with adjustable pivot position |
| Front Suspension | 41mm USD forks with adjustable preload, rebound and compression damping |
| Rear Suspension | Mono-shock with piggy back reservoir adjustable for preload, rebound and compression damping |
| Front Brakes | 2x 308mm discs 4 piston callipers |
| Rear Brakes | Single 220mm disc 1 piston calliper |
| Front Tyre | 120/70 ZR 17 |
| Rear Tyre | 180/55 ZR 17 |
| Dry-Weight | 165 kg |
| Fuel Capacity | 17.5 Litres |
| Standing ¼ Mile | 11.1 sec |
| Top Speed | 249.4 km/h |
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