Used Bike Review: Triumph Daytona 675 (2010)
Triumph Daytona 675 Review
The history of the Daytona…
The names Triumph and Daytona have long been associated together, ever since the American racer Buddy Elmore famously won the 1966 Florida Daytona 200 when he started from 42nd position on the grid.
Since then, Triumph has embraced the Daytona name with the first bike bearing the name being released a year after Buddy’s famous win in 1967 – The Triumph Tiger Daytona. Triumph would continue to build and develop this model all the way through to 1973 when the bike was discontinued.
Fast forward a few years to the early nineties and the Daytona name was reborn in the form of an inline four sports bike built in an attempt to compete with the ever evolving sports bikes from the Japanese and Italians. At that time the industry was led by bikes such as the Ducati 916 Honda’s Fireblade and the ZX-9R from Kawasaki. Triumph played with various engine configurations for the Daytona, a 750, a 900, a 1000 and an 1100 but struggled to get the bike where it needed to be.
The last bike I reviewed for this channel was the 2004 R1. I mentioned in that video that a gentleman by the name of Nick Sanders famously set a world record for circumnavigating the world on a motorcycle. Well the record he beat he set himself riding an original Daytona 900. Although it struggled to keep the pace of its competitors on the track, it was still a great bike and they are still held in high regard.
In 2000 Triumph started to move in the right direction and released the TT600…this evolved into the Daytona 600 and Daytona 650 a few years later. During this time Triumph were exploring the possibilities of building a triple, after a few years experimenting and being pleased with their findings the project moved into concept in 2002.
Triumph would continue to develop the triple powered sports bike before finally releasing 675 in 2006. For the first time ever, the Daytona was proper competition for the Japanese super sport bikes.
The 675…
The chassis is a heavily modified version of the Daytona 600, with key changes being made to the wheel base, the tank and the head angle. This new configuration, race focused configuration paired with the punchy, 123 bhp triple made the Daytona 675 an instant hit both on the track and on the road.
The model remained mostly untouched until 2009 when over 50 tweaks and improvements were made to the bike. This revised version was treated to a new front end, the overall bike is lighter, the engine produces an extra 3 bhp and the redline was increased. All of these small changes added up to a notable difference, especially on the track.
This bike is a 2010 model, Triumph didn’t make any changes to the 2010 bike other than a redesigned instrument cluster.
For suspension, as you would expect everything can be customised with adjustable preload, rebound and damping. For slowing you down, we have 308 mm discs up front with 4 piston radial calipers and a radial master cylinder.
On the road…
The first thing you really notice when sitting on the 675 is how aggressive the bikes stance is. The seat is really high, the pegs are high and the bars are forward and low. It’s feels really race focused which is quite unusual for a super sports style bike.
Despite it forcing you into a racing position, the bike is really easy to get on with at lower speeds and negotiating through town and traffic is an absolute breeze.
Getting onto the faster A roads is where the Daytona really starts to shine. Unlike your typical inline four sports bike where all of the power is really high in the rev range, the 675 pushes lots of power throughout the middle of the rev range. This is really refreshing for a sports bike, to not need to cane the bike everywhere to enjoy the peak power output.
Arriving at your first fast bend is a real pleasure, the Daytona feels incredibly slim and tips in an out of corners effortlessly. It’ll hold its line on the corner beautifully and gives you loads of feedback of what the bike is doing underneath you.
The Daytona doesn’t offer anything in the way of rider aids, which is fairly typical of a bike from this era… It doesn’t feel like its missing anything at all.
Conclusion…
This was one of the bikes that I really wanted to review for this website and YouTube channel, and I’m pleased to say it didn’t disappoint. The mid range torque is intoxicating and a real breath of fresh air after riding inline fours where all the power is typically high up in the rev range. Given that the power is found much lower down on the 675 it makes it a It sticks to the road like it’s on rails, at times it does feel a little bit twitchy and unsettled…,but it’s not unpredictable, the bike gives you loads of feedback and gives you the confidence to push as hard as you want to.
I guess the big question is, would I choose this over a Japanese inline four? I think that depends on context. If I was looking for a track only bike, I would probably stick with something like an R6 or a ZX6…that’s not to say the Triumph wouldn’t be good on track, personal preference more than anything. But, if I was wanting a supersport bike just for on the road, I would choose the Daytona any day of the week.
It’s amazingly agile, has all of its power available right where you need it, it still looks beautiful and is backed up by the awesome British heritage of Triumph.
Ratings:
The inline triple on the Daytona is a really fantastic setup, its punchy and lively with loads of mid range torque. A real blast on the road
Fully adjustable forks, rear shock and steering damper, as you would expect of a bike in this class. A nice balance between performance and comfort for the roads. No complaints here!
The 4 piston radial mounted calipers and 308mm discs offer more than most will ever need. Braking is strong and progressive, but if your on the track there is plenty of space for improvement.
Great build quality and attention to detail, it feels very Italian in places. Both the old and new shape Daytona have been known to be reliable with a strong network of spares and officially licensed upgrades available.
Style, performance and something a little different from everyone else. The Daytona offers a riding experience very unique compared to the typical Japanese inline four, I wouldn’t necessarily say better as that depends on what your using the bike for. Regardless, the 675 Daytona is a really, really good bike.
As always, a huge thankyou to our good friends at JD Comps for loaning us the bike to make this review.
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