Daytona 675
DAYTONA 675
REVolution of the British Supersport
MARK HOYER
cw FIRST RIDE
IT WAS PROBABLY ONLY A COINCIDENCE THAT TRIUMPH returned to the Cartagena circuit in southern Spain-where it introduced the first four-cylinder Daytona 600 in 2003-to show the world’s press the updated-for-2009 Daytona 675. But coincidence or not, it underlined how far the company has come in a very short time. I was the lucky fellow on scene for both of these events, and from a firsthand perspective can say that Triumph has made huge strides over the last six years. That ’04 model was a solid effort with a particularly sweet-handling chassis, but the engine was still a bit behind on fueling refinement and outright power compared to its Japanese competition at the time. Riding the three-cylinder Daytona 675 again, and at the same track as the 600 Four, was a vivid reminder of what a fine bike Triumph produced in 2006 when the company decided to try something different in the supersport realm.
Cool thing about the three-banger and its additional 76cc of displacement was that it discouraged direct comparison to the Japanese 600s.. .while also allowing them to be directly compared, except with extra beans in the engine room. In any case, the ’06 version was lauded and loved by almost everybody, cleaned up in its category at the big MasterBike track test two years in a row (with a second place in ’08) and brought lots of first-time (i.e. younger!) Triumph customers into the Union Jack fold.
It was, in other words, a huge success. Which is why this latest version, four model years later, is a thorough update rather than a complete redesign. Most obvious of the alterations is to styling, namely a sharpened upper fairing. “The original designer looked back at the first 675 and the only part he really wasn’t fully satisfied with was the fairing nose, so he wanted to try to improve it,” said Product Manager Simon Warburton.
Other changes are both more subtle and more significant. As ever, sportbike makers strive for more power and lighter weight. No surprise, then, that’s what we have here.
Engineers nipped and tucked, reducing exhaust-system weight, cam-cover weight, lightening the rear wheel and sprocket, trimming suspension components, etc, dropping claimed dry weight 7 pounds to 356. But they also boosted and massaged, usefully upping power and torque.
And at this point, it must be said that this is one of the sweetest engines ever to move a motorbike. It is soulful, snappy and high-revving without ever sounding frantic.
The Triumph just sounds better and better as you spin it up, even if you don’t need to rev its nuts off to get useful urge. Power is solid from 6000, but it is at 8K where the action starts, with healthy pull up to the 400-rpm-higher redline of 13,900. Zing!
The increased power and revs come from tuning primarily on the exhaust side. Valves feature a more flow-friendly shape, while ports are recontoured and machine-finished around the seat inserts for improved flow. The cam also has increased duration, but this comes from altered opening and closing ramps that were made more gradual to keep valve acceleration-and spring life-within acceptable limits given the higher rev ceiling (lighter buckets on inlets and exhausts also help here). Going along with the redone exhaust ports is a new header with cast spigots that accurately match the port shape. This was a change from the first-gen Daytona’s regular ol’ round pipes. The new exhaust system is also lighter, particularly where it counts-in the freer-flowing silencer-up high and at the rear of the bike.
In the airbox, shorter intake funnels ease high-rpm breathing. The ECU is reprogrammed to run about 15 percent faster for more accurate fuel delivery, and it is also trained to recognize the difference between aggressive throttle opening and easy street roll-on, smoothing response during the latter with retarded spark timing.
We’ll let you know what the Cycle World dyno tells us as soon as we get a testbike in America, but for now Triumph says peak output is up to 126 crank horsepower (a 3 pony boost) with an attendant 1 -foot-pound increase in torque for a 54 ft.-lb. peak. The factory dyno chart also shows a useful step up in midrange power, so it appears the peak gain didn’t come at the expense of tractability.
It certainly didn’t feel like anything had been given away, either on the 100-mile street ride or our day at the track. Cartagena is a fun, technical road course with a lot of leaned-over braking and unexpected cornering lines. Which is good, because I often take the unexpected cornering line... In fact, at the ’03 launch I ran off into the gravel outside of Turn 1, luckily without tipping over. Glad to report no such off-roading on the 675.
Was it the new front brake discs with better heat dissipation and Nissin monoblock calipers? The fancy Showa highand low-speed compression-damping-adjustable fork and shock with lighter internals and reduced friction? The higher-spec Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa Pro SP tires? Perhaps the reduced dry weight? It was probably all of that and the fact that I wasn’t trying to keep up with World Supersporter and Isle of Man TT regular Jim Moodie, on hand at the 600 launch in 2003!
Seriously, though, this bike is easy to ride at the track. The chassis is the picture of ease and composure. Triumph has for years been able to get away with pretty aggressive steering geometry on its sportbikes without compromising stability. The 675 transitioned quickly and easily from full left to right lean through Cartagena’s chicane with no chassis windup or other untoward behavior. Engine torque is such that it is easy to unintentionally lift the front wheel when accelerating through such transitions or on corner exits, yet the bars (thanks in part to the steering damper) give only a quick shake upon front-wheel touchdown and the bike carries on doing what you told it to do.
Cornering clearance is over the top. If you are heroic enough to drag the peg feelers, don’t take it much farther! Grip and chassis feel at extreme lean is phenomenal. As a testament to how well-sorted the 675 is, after about five laps at the track I hardly thought of the bike again, concentrating only on available traction, trying to find the best lines, braking later and throttling up earlier. About the only thing that gave pause was the occasional lazy-ish gear shift that didn’t execute and stayed in the gear you were trying to change from. No false neutrals, but a deliberate toe up or down is best here. Overall, a good-shifting gearbox without being a great-shifting gearbox. On the plus side, first gear is now a usable track gear, which makes sense because the production bike has adopted the taller race-kit ratio.
Our street riding day was quite cold, so the jury will have to remain out on whether the new exhaust heat shield does a better job. Can it be warmer than a Ducati 1098? Probably not, and the Due is livable. Even if this thing were cooking your thighs (or other bits of anatomy), the $9799 Daytona would remain a great way to rip through the Spanish countryside near the coast-or through less exotic locations much nearer your home-offering good suspension compliance, broad engine torque and easy steering.
So? The original Daytona 675 of 2006 was one of the bestbalanced, most-fun-to-ride sportbikes on the track or street. The new one is the same, only more so.
