BikeTest/ Triumph Daytona 675: The name of Triumph has been respected world-wide since 1902, despite not a few setbacks the likes of which could have made the name but a memory.
In technical and quality terms, in the late 1950s through to the 1970s, Triumph were devastated by the Japanese invasion. While virtually all of the British motorcycle industry fell by the wayside, Triumph fought back, in part building on its solid reputation for parallel twin-engined machines such as the iconic Tigers.
In the post-war years Triumph did not produce sports bikes as they are understood today.
The emergence of the modern sports bike co-incides with and has been almost wholly powered by the Japanese influence. Half-a-century ago a machine, such as a Triumph Tiger 110 was used as a ride-to-work machine, for the weekend spin and for the annual touring holiday.
It was a comfortable machine which could be ridden two-up all day long. That cannot be said for any of today's sports bikes.
Today a sports bike is designed to look as near as possible to the factory machines ridden by the star riders on the track. They are mostly suited to track days and, while some determined enthusiasts use them for everyday riding, it would be difficult to think of a genre with less comfort and practicability.
Which is not to deny that a modern sports bike provides enormous fun with a degree of performance that would cost you over €300,000 if it had four wheels.
A large part of Triumph's recent success has been in the sports bike sector where they have competed with the mighty Far Eastern manufacturers.
Nothing better illustrates this than the recently introduced Triumph Daytona 675. While the big four Japanese manufacturers seem largely to copy each other, going a pound or so lighter here and maybe one bhp more there than another, Triumph refused to play that catch-up game.
Instead they attempted to re-invent the sports bike. Their aim was to produce a middleweight sports bike unlike any other, hence the 675cc capacity.
They aimed for a motorcycle that would stand right out in terms of performance and character compared to anything else in the middleweight sports segment.
They wanted to create a machine which could stand or fall on its own merits as a satisfying machine to own and ride without recourse to what any other manufacturer was doing.
The Daytona 675 is the epitome of everything Triumph stands for; when they do something, they do it in a distinctly "Triumph" way.
This is an ultra-light machine, the 12-valve triple engine is almost two inches narrower than the four-cylinder 650, this gives the machine a very narrow profile. The gears are close ratio and in a stacked layout in the box. Oil and water pumps are internal obviating unsightly pipeworks.
Although it seems a small bike, far slimmer than most 600s, the cockpit is roomy enough for tall riders. Power output is smooth, linear up to around the 10,000 mark after which, if your nerve holds out, it just gets ballistic. Over 250 km/h is well within the machine's capabilities but, if you are going for that, just make sure you are as capable and, please, not on a public road!
Most of our test ride was on normal roads in England and not on the track. In this kind of environment, in terms of roadholding, it would be well nigh impossible to fault as a sports machine. That means it is exhilarating, an exciting ride without being at all frightening and, importantly, it is a machine which has that almost indefinable je ne sais quoi that sets it apart from ordinary sports bikes.
They aimed to produce an incomparable sports bike that stands out in terms of character, performance is satisfying to ride and is different.
Have they succeeded? We think they have, beyond doubt.
You do not need to go to Japan when so good a bike is built so much closer to home.
TechSpec
ENGINE Liquid-cooled 675cc,DOHC, in-line 3-cylinder. 12.65:1 compression. Six-speed close ratio gearbox, chain drive. 125PS (123bhp) @ 12,500rpm. Max. torque 72Nm @ 11,750rpm.
FRAME Aluminium beam twin spar. 41mm USD forks, twin 330mm floating disks. Swinging arm: braced, twin-sided aluminium alloy with adjustable pivot. Single 220mm disk, single-piston calliper. Alloy 5-spoke 17" wheels, front 3.5", rear 5.5"
PRICE €12,500