Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

2006 Mi ddl eweight Shootouf FIRST PLACE 125 Points ENGINE KEY CHANGES: . Completely new inline-thre€ engine . Displaces 675cc . DLc-coated pistons . Very compact combustion chamber . Keihin rHmm l2-hole iniector throttle bodies lf you can't join them, b€at them. That's what lohn Bloor and the management team at Triumph must have said to its enSine€rs when the design of the Daytona 675 tot under way. After years of plalnt second llddle to rhe miSht oflapan, always sucking on the erhausr fumes of those inline-fours, they realized that a dirferent apprmch was necessary Triumph tried in \Ein to build a competitive inline-four, eventually incre5int the capacity to 650cc. but even at that displacement, it couldn't match the power of the bikes from the East. Sure, the Daytona 650 was stjllan excellent bike, but in the comPanyofsuch overachieveE, it aouldnt Srab the att€ntion that it may have deserved. All of that ha! chanSed for 2006 with rhe launch of the new Daytona 675cc inline-three ' something that the),, know a thing or ovo about. A6 a matter of fa.t, all of the inline four-cylinder bikes in their lineup have been jettisoned in favor of parallel-twins and triples. The Daytona has something that it has never had trefore and that is comp€titive horsePower. It doesnt make the most power in the shootout - a5 a matter of fa(t it's Iourth but as you can s€e, it's right in the ballpark with the heavy hit- ters. What it do€s have is torque, secohd only to the Ducatiand irs pair of huge 90mh pistons. "The Triumph i5 probably the most fun engine in the test, ' Sorensen said. "Los of fun torque. a sup€rcool sound and it can be trac- tored around like a Ducati. The engine issmooth but powerf'rl, with a linear power delivery - but it could use a little more over-rev" ''The usability of thh motor makes it an absolute blast to ride," Puetr added. The Triumph seems to have just the riSht arnounr oI power everpvhere you need it. lt comes off the corners with authority due to the 36 APRtt12,2oQ6 . CYCLE NEWS torque, but has more than enough Power to keep pulling in the upper-rev ranS€. h is by far the most interesting and flexible engine in the test, "This bike wa5 surprisiaSto me," Carruthers said. "Having never ridden one, I instantly was able to do some of my best lap times with it - withou! really havinS to ride very hard. I would have liked to have spent more time with it, becalse i! may have ended up beint the bike I went the fastest on. lt's very comfonable ro ride and is very well balallced. lt's also fast at helland pulls like a mother off the corners. And the sound is the best of the bunch." As for the fuelinieclion. it almost unanimous- ly received the highest mark, which is not lomething that we're familiar seyinS about Triumphs oI yore. The lransmission doesn t quite shift as slick as the Japonese bikes, but is a huge improvement over the clunky box in the Daytona 600 and 650. At the drag strip, the Daytona lvas excellen! turning the second-quickest EI despite wanting to wheelie off the line. CHASsiIEYHANEILING KEY CHANGES . Brend-new aluminum frame . 54.&in. wheelbase . Radial-mount front calipers . Braided stainless-steel brake lines . Excellent l(afaba suspension The Triumph s chassis, like its enSine, is com- pletely new and shares nothing with the old Daytona 600 or 650. comparing the geometry numbers to the other bikes in the test shows that the Tnumph has the most radical rake and trail numbers (23.5-degrees and 86.8). This makes the Triumph flick into corners easier than any of the others in the test, but can be a touch lively midaomer "Excellent, easy to steer and falls into the comer no problem," Flontano said. "Not much effort needed at all. l'4idcorner stabiliq/ is pretty good, but fe€ls a little light and unstable, but you can move around [change line] if needed with confidence." The Daytona sports an excellenr, fully adjustable 4lmm invened (a).aba fork and P8- gytack reservoir shock. The fork offers Sood damping rates and feedback for most of "Like the Kawasaki, the TriumPh fork was plenty plush and compliant," Sorensen said. "Not a ton of feedba.k. but it worked well once up to speed." The Iriumph was one of the bikes that reacl- ed ne8atively to the Dunlop tires. at leatl in a straight line or hard on the throttle exiting cor- ners. The Dunlop's tall rear prollle combined with the Triumph's minuscule trail and steeP nke angle made the bike a handful at times. DurinS the timed hot laps, I (Conner) exited BuBonwillo\,v's linalcorner, Eot it upright and on the gas only to have the bike shake its head the entire length of the fronr straiSht. The shock worked wellon the Buttonwillow tiack, but needed provisions for ride h€i8ht to compensate for lhe large rear DunloP tire. But the susp€nsion balance is very good. "Once ar speed. the TriumPh has a very nim- ble feel." Sorensen said- 'A little on the sofa side but still pre(ise. Once fli.ked in, it has tood bal- ance rmnsfer, front to rear. The bike had Sreat composure from just before the apex, all the way through to the exit." The 675 has one ofthe b€st bmke systems in the troup. Triumph, like most of the others, has radial-mount front calipers, but also has a radial- pump master cylinder pumpint fluid lhrou8h braided stainless-sleel brake lines. Ever),one tave the 675 brakes high mark for their inirial bite. power and feel. "The brakes w€re spot on, handled the job of stopping the Triumph with ease, Sreat feeland stopping power," Puerz said. The Triumph's dash is very informative and hrs rhe best shift liShls of the Eroup. The seven shift l8hB illuminate sequentially a5 the enSine approaches redline, and is positioned perfectly just adiacent to that side of the tach. The bike ha! a gear-position indicator like the Suzuki, whi.h is nice to have, but we wish the water temPerature had a corresponding number. The entire cockpit was comfortable and weil organized. "The dashboard was idiot-proof, ' Baird said. 'And everything was in the right place as far as pegs and levers are concerned." As for the sqilin8. everyone unanimously thinks Triumph has a hit on its hands. d i06 Pq$rel Iofqrte ,{0.... -.i-.,.-.,i. '!: TFIUMPH DAYTONA 675 PA I1O a loo '"" o 460 -sE = , 9ro o 1Il 1 7S910 En ine S eed (RPM x 1000) o Sensitive to setup Fork could communicate befter Can't race it in the AMA Great engine Sound Handling NEG,ATIVES PCIEiITIVES - L TFilUMPH DAYTONA 67= I \ I )l \ \ Measured wet weight: 416 lb. Peak horsepower: 't O6.58 hP Peak torque: 47.47 ft.-lb. Weight-to-power ratio: 3. 90 lb./hp Fastest lap time: 1 :59.95 (Sorensenl Gluarter-mile time: 1O.67 @ 130.81 mPh Price: $8999 I o P;-- :l o I t rt>at4 *s I I Ma ,7 8' }/la t- / I

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