Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

RIIIIR&C::J To achieve this, Triumph has focused as never before on slashing grams, let alone pounds - so that, for While the TI 600 has genuine racetrack potential that is likely to see Triumph become a contender once again in world-class competition, 30 years on after the marque's evocative-sounding triples howled their way to F750 success, the new model equally impresses as a potential everyday streetbike. That rev-hungry engine is docile and tractable in traffic or around town, where you can balance it with poise at walking pace via deft touches on the quite-stiff but easy-action cable-operated clutch lever. The only drawback in town is the very noisy fan, which cuts in at traffic lights or even as you're walking away from the parked motorcycle - in whlch case it has passers-by turning round to check out who's street-sweeping the sidewalk with a vacuum-cleaner! The Triu ph does seem to run quite hot - whije the radiator is surely adequate for road use, the digital temp readout on the dash gets awfully close to the boiling poir1t a lot of the time, and will surely be marginal for hot-weather track use, just as its Suzuki rival's is. Triumph better figure on adding an oversize Yoshimura-type radiator to its already extensive TI600 aftermarket catalogue. However, Triumph says it has no plans to develop a factory race kit, Suzuki-style. Well, not yet... With nearby four-wheeled raceengine expert IImor - creator of the reigning Fl world champion McLarenMercedes VI0 motor and the successful IImor-Mercedes V8 Indy car engine - acting as R&D consultant, Triumph has taken advantage of its location in the Gasoline Alley heartland of the worldwide motor-racing industry in the Midlands of Britain, to refine a high-performance engine design that looks set for a long run at the top of the Supersport class, at least in road use. The TT600's crankcases are highpressure die-cast for the first time on a Triumph (the company's previous engines have all been sand-cast), with a nitride crank and ultra-slippery, lightweight, forged pistons delivering 12.5: 1 compression, running in Nikasil cylinders. The starter drive and lightweight, oil-cooled alternator have both been moved to the end of the crankshaft, compared to previous Triumph models where they've been positioned behind the example, the TT600 has single-piece forged-aluminum clip-on handlebars, an alloy steering stem, a polycarbonate headlamp lens instead of a glass one, a redesigned rear sprocket (.4 pounds lighter than previous Triumph ones), an aluminum cockpit frame that saves 1.7 pounds over a steel one, and new lightweight instruments (also used on the Sprint RS) with digital speedo and analog tach, saving two more pounds. This diet has been on all its valves - a feature which has cylinder block, to save weight and especially to reduce noise. The fullyraised reliability problems for Honda extended to the three-spoke castmapped Sagem EFI uses a single teams on the racetrack. This presumalloy wheels, the lightest ever fitted to injector per cylinder, with the four ably explains the TT600 Triumph's a Triumph, and almost certainly a 38mm throttle bodies nestling inside conservative 13,750 rpm rev limit in new benchmark for the 600cc Superthe fairly large 2.2-gallon pressurized spite of its ultra-short stroke, even sport class. These have the additional airbox. This is ram-air fed by twin compared to the new ZX-6R Kawasabenefit of reducing unsprung weight, ducts, whose cylindrical outlets proki's 14,500 rpm, and the R6's thus enhancing steering and suspentruding on either side of the distincclaimed 15,500 rpm (not more than sion response, while the conventiontive, semi-triangular headlamp give 15,000 rpm in real life, once the optial, fully-adjustable 43mm cartridge the nose of the TT600 some added mistic tach seemingly common to all forks (chosen in favor of inverted character (though it's uncomfortably Supersport contenders is recalibratclose to that '70s special-builder look because of the latter's weight penaled). The Triumph is no exception to of flexible cool-air hoses leading to ty) were especially developed by that rule, with its stock analogue revthe carbs). Kayaba in conjunction with Triumph, counter reading as high as 14,500 Triumph claims an output of 108 and have forged-aluminum triple rpm on several Pau-Arnos test bikes, horsepower at 12,750 rpm for the before the 13,750 rpm soft-action clamps top and bottom, as well as six-speed engine, running on a static rev-limiter cuts inl lighter springs and aluminum damper dyno without benefit of ram-air, To house this seemingly competicartridges - the latter saving an extra which puts the TT600 right on a par tive motor, Triumph has developed a 4.4 pounds unsprung weight over with its Japanese rivals - though only four-celled extruded aluminum twinnormal production forks. Brakes, too, once the cylinder-head ports are spar chassis, with three inner walls came in for a diet, with the smaller hand-finished on the assembly line to running along the length of the spar, add the final two horses. Max torque 310mm Sunstar front discs using to create four inner square "tubes" in of 50.15 ft.-Ibs. is also a class benchlightweight carriers, and gripped by each single spar, and thus increase mark, delivered at 11,000 rpm on an Nissin four-pot calipers. And to its strength at very little weight penalengine redlined at 13,750 rpm. It's clothe the whole result, Triumph ty. Together with the alloy swingarm, worth noting that, while the valves on invested in extensive wind-tunnel the result weighs 27.7 pounds in all, the TT600 are the biggest (and theretesting, to obtain what is claimed to helping contribute to a very competifore heaviest) in the 600cc Superbe the lowest-ever coefficient of drag tive claimed dry weight of 374 sport class, Triumph has opted to use figure ever achieved by one of the pounds - right in there with the just a single exhaust-valve spring on British company's products. CN Japanese competition. the engine, with twin springs on the inlet - rather than the double-up design of the YamaSPECIFICATIONS: ha R6, which has allowed it ENGINE TYPE: ..............•...........•....••....Liquid-cooled, DOHC 599cc in-line four to rev a lot higher much 68 x 41.3mm BORE X STROKE: .................•..... _ more safely than its shortCOMPRESSION RATIO: 12.5:1 er-stroke Honda rival, in FUEL SYSTEM: ,Multi-point sequential electronic fuel injection with forced-air induction both models' debut season. IGNITION: .Digital, inductive-type, via electronic management system The CBR600 is restricted in GEARBOX: .....•......•.....•............................................6-speed its safe-rev ceiling by the FRAME: ...........•.....•.....•...........•....••....•.....Aluminum beam perimeter use of a single valve spring SWINGARM: ....••....•......•.....•.....•.....•....••......Twin-sided, aluminum alloy TIRES: FRONT: ........•......•................•. : ...•.....•...........•....120/70-17 REAR: ..........•............•.....•....•.....•.....•...........•....180/55·17 SUSPENSION: FRONT: . .43mm cartridge fork w/dual-rate springs and adjustable pre-load, compression and remote compression REAR: Monoschock with adjustable pre-load. rebound. and remote compression BRAKES: FRONT: ...•............•.....• .., ....•......Twin 310mm floating discs, 4·piston calipers REAR: ......•.....•.....•...... ~ .....•........Single 220mm disc, single- piston caliper 81.1 in. LENGTH: .......••....•.....• ~ .....•..... ~ WIDTH: 26.2 in. ~ 45.3 in. HEIGHT: SEAT HEIGHT: .........•.....•.....•.....•....••.....•.....•....•..........3-1.9 in. WHEElBASE: ..........•.....•.....•.....••....•.....•.....•.....•.•........54.9 in. RAKEtrRAIL: .....................•... , .......•...........•..............24°[82mm FUEl CAPACITY: ..................•.....•....••..........•.................4.8 gal. 374 Ibs. CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT: ...•.....•.....•.....•....•...........• : 42 APRIL 19, 2000' cue • e n e _ 50

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