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/128211
Highside a minivan? We may have failed in our mission to hit the magic 200 kph mark, but we couldn't really speak unkindly of the wobbling blue van because it had taken us from Madrid, in the dead center of Spain, to Alicante, which is located hours to the south and on the coast, in record time after we'd missed our connecting flight. If it weren't for the van, and better yet the resourceful group of guys I was traveling with, we would've sat in the Madrid airport for 10 hours before the next available flight. That certainly would have cost us a free meal and cocktails, courtesy of Triumph, and no self-respecting journalist ever misses a free meal. Since this was my third time to Spain in the past four months, I pretty much have the gig down pat. What was different this time was that instead of enduring 24 hours of travel to ride on a track that I had been to weeks before (like the Ducati 749 and R6 launches at Almeria in December), I was going somewhere new - namely the Cartagena Circuit in southeastern Spain. Furthermore, having just completed our middleweight shootout, I was very curious to see how the newest creation from Hinckley stacked up against the four Japanese and lone Italian bike in terms of performance and handling. There are a lot of new bikes on the market that take a while to grow on you visually. However, unlike Triumph's own TT600, which didn't need to because it looked like a dated Japanese 600 from 10 years ago when it was released in 2000, the new Daytona 600 is instantly appealing. Not only does the Daytona have its own identity within Triumph's own range, it's also completely unique within the middleweight sportbike category. When I first saw photos of the bike, I thought that the designers had hit a home run with the styling. It's hard not to like that aggressive scowl from still have a couple of annoying little traits, but compared to the last TT600 I last rode, the Daytona 600 is awesome. TAKE IT TO THE STREETS the headlights and ram-air intake, while the sharp angular lines really give it a crisp look. When I saw it in person, my thoughts were completely confirmed, especially the yellow with the contrasting blacked-out frame and swingarm. Ever an awesome handling machine, the TT600 just hasn't met the criteria for a serious middleweight contender in the company of the offerings from Japan in terms of power and engine performance. To prove how serious Triumph is about its newest offering, the company has taken to the track in anger "officialIy," for the first time in 30 years with its factory-backed ValMoto race team. The team will campaign the 2003 British Supersport Championship aboard the new Daytona 600 with eight-time Isle of Man TT winner Jim Moodie and newcomer 18-year-old Craig Jones. In the bike's maiden race in the series opener at Silver- After getting over the fact that we weren't going to get a full day on the track and another on the street, Triumph decided to split up our small group of journalists, putting half of us on the street in the morning and half on the track, and then swapping us after lunch. Trevitt, Fleming, Triumph's Mike Vaughn and I ended up going on the morning street ride with Triumph's test rider David Garcia. We were lucky because it was a Sunday morning, and the weekend traffic hadn't kicked into gear yet, leaving the roads nearly empty for our antics. Most former and current professional racers whom I've ridden with on the street are very mellow, but Spanish madman Garcia was going for the Cartagena to Puerto Mazarron (a resort town further to the south) course record. Having just slipped into the saddle of the Daytona for the first time just moments earlier, it was a surprise to be in full tilt Isle of Man mode right away. I thought I was following Moodie, not Garcia. Small Spanish villages be damned. We ripped through calm little villages at 80- 100 clicks. Did the locals mind? Nah, they just smiled and waved, if they even bothered to look up from their morning cafe con leche. The roads weren't the best I've ridden in Spain by a long shot, but they were enjoyable nonetheless. I guess in one sense they were perfect for testing the Daytona because they were quite bumpy and fairly tight, putting a premium on the bike's handling and suspension compliance. There is no doubt that this is where the Daytona excels. Although the chassis has always been excellent, I was surprised how well the bike handled the rough pavement. One of the keys to the bike's handling prowess is the front end's geometry. The rake angle is a fairly lazy (in 600 terms) 24.6 degrees, with the rest of the bikes in the class falling between 2424.5 degrees. However it has a lot less trail than most of the other bikes in the class at 89.1 mm - only the razor-sharp handling Yamaha R6 has less at 86.36mm - which makes the Daytona's steering really responsive. If there were ever any roads that would tie a bike's chassis into knots, these were they. There is really nothing to get your blood flowing in the morning like a really spirited rip on unfamiliar roads, but the Daytona's chassis and frame were unflappable. The new frame offers plenty of rigidity while remaining compliant through quick left-to-right transitions. As we headed for the coast, the pace seemed to get faster and faster to the point that I started to search the skies for police helicopters. Then I remembered we were in Spain ... stone on March 30, Jones carded a ninth place finish, while Moodie finished 13th. They followed up that respectable outing two weeks later at Snetterton with a seventh for Jones and an eighth for Moodie. Could the Daytona 600 finally be catching up to its well-honed rivals? Triumph, like every other sportbike manufacturer on the planet, had two design goals that it wanted to meet with its new steed: It had to be lighter, and it had to be faster. Ahhh, the plight of the sportbike designer. Easier said than done, especially so in what is arguably the most intense and competitive market segment in streetbikedom. These may have been Triumph's original goals, and maybe they're just being modest, but they addressed a lot more of the TT's deficiencies than just weight and power. The Triumph isn't just a step in the right direction, it's a massive leap. That's not to say that the bike doesn't The Daytona not only steers quickly. it offers plenty of stability in the fast sweepers. cue. e n e _ s • APRIL 30,2003 19