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
2004 Triumph Daytona 600 (Above left) The aggressive-looking headlights' and Ram-air-intake duct's lines converge in a chiseled point at the base of the front fairing. (Above right) The stainless headers and midpipes lead to the stock aluminum canister; on the track the bike was fitted with the accessory carbon·fiber unit. The bike comes with both the passenger seat and plastic cowl. (Below left) The fully adjustable rear shock perfonned flawlessly all day on both the street and the track. (Below right) Although not revolutionary, the Daytona's new chassis works incredibly well. One stretch of road was very reminiscent of the roads we often ride in Malibu, California, featuring a series of long carousel corners connected by quick little straights; in hindsight it reminded me of the Cartagena circuit that we would experience later that down roller coaster of a road, and being the hooligan that I am, I started pulling wheelies over the rises. I can't tell you how surprised I was that the Daytona would easily pull fourth-gear whee lies over them. Maybe this bike does have some serious power. Just like the TT600 before it, the Daytona's gearbox is a bit on the rough side. It's not that it hits false neutrals or anything like that, it's just that the shifts are a bit on the stiff side and require that you use the clutch on the up-shifts every time. As far as street performance goes, the Daytona really impressed me the bike is comfortable with good ergonomics. The riding position is aggressive without being overkill, keeping your weight off the wrists, while the seat felt comfortable for the duration of the ride. Our street ride was only a few hours long, but my initial impression is that Triumph has taken the Daytona to the next level, giving the consumer another legitimate choice to consider when buying a 600. day. On the street, I noticed that the fuel-injection system, which has always been the TT600's biggest nemesis, had been dramatically improved. The new Keihin fuel-injection system works a lot better than the snatchy system on the last TT600 I rode. The system worked well both around town and in some heavy traffic (at slow speeds in a tall gear) we hit on our return trip from the coast. One thing that I noticed on the street and even more so on the track, is that if the revs are around 8000 rpm and you whack the throttle open, the bike momentarily hits a big flat spot in the powerband. This is something that I distinctly remember about the last TT I rode. It just feels ridiculously flat at that point in the rev range. On the other hand, one area that I was impressed with is the bike's top-end power, which seems for the first time on par with the bikes from Japan. At one point on the street ride, we were riding on an up-and- 20 APRIL 30, 2003' cue I CARTAGENA CIRCUIT e Of course, the highlight of any new-model introduction is the time spent on the racetrack. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The tracks in Spain are unbelievably n e _ s good. The quality of the surface and the safety, due to the large runoff areas, are hard to beat. The Cartagena Circuit was enjoyable to ride on and was perfect for testing the new Daytona because it's a track that really puts a premium on handling. It also requires plenty of acceleration out of the corners. Since the front straight isn't very long, you don't get the opportunity to get the bike really wrung out, however. We spent the first couple of laps behind the aforementioned ValMoto Supers port rider Craig Jones to get up to speed and learn the tricky circuit. Time was at a premium, and we only had about five minutes between our four 20-something-minute sessions, so we pretty much went at it for two hours straight. The first session was pretty much a wash because I had to learn the new track. The second session was much better, but it was the last two sessions that proved to be very productive. I knew where I was going and was comfortable with the bike, and the fact that I had spent a lot of time recently on the Pirelli Diablo tires that the Daytona comes with also helped. Let's just say that I was confident with the available traction. The track is pretty demanding in that I can't think of too many other tracks where you spend so much time completely cranked over. In a nutshell, the Daytona handles awesome. Engine The combustion chambers have been CNC machined for improved efficiency. The intake and exhaust ports have benefited from time on the flow bench. The intake is now two-percent more efficient, while the exhaust is II-percent more efficient. The airbox has been increased to 8.5 liters. The fuel injection system is new and features Keihin 38mm dual-butterfly throttle bodies. The Keihin ECU has a new 32-bit processor to improve data flow from the sensors to the injection and ignition. The exhaust system is brand new and features a 4-2- 1 design made out of stainless steel, with crossovers between the number one and two headers and between the number three and four headers. The canister features an aluminum silencer. The camshafts are brand new as well. Chassis The frame on the Daytona is a new design with a new three-cell internal structure, as opposed to the n's four-cell structure. This was done in an effort to save weight. but new design and manufacturing techniques actually increase the rigidity. The frame is made in three parts with a cast headstock and swingarm mounts, while the spars are extruded beams. The extruded aluminum swingarm is new and is 5mm shorter than the one it replaces. The rear sub-frame is made from new, smaller 2mm box section aluminum to reduce weight. The forks are all-new 43mm cartridge units with provisions for preload, compression, and rebound damping and feature all-alu,!,inum internal components. The fully adjustable rear shock has been revalved for better response. The brakes are new and feature new 308mm rotors with four piston calipers. The Daytona comes with Pirelli's Diablo tires, a I20/70ZR17 front and an 180/55ZR17 rear.