How hard are you willing to push the performance envelope on your next sportbike sortie? Whether back-road boogieing or taking in a track day, are you ready to capitalize on your bike’s capabilities? And is your bike truly track-ready? Only you can answer the first questions, but I can assure you that Triumph’s new Daytona 675R is clearly game to answer the latter.
Start with Cycle World’s Ten Best-winning Daytona 675 (Best Middleweight, 2006) that packs a 12-valve, dohc, 675cc inline-Triple producing smooth, broad power right up to its 13,900-rpm redline, then give it major suspension upgrades and you get this new R. Yes, this bike R-ness comes from its fully adjustable Öhlins NIX30 fork and TTX36 shock, replacing the standard Daytona’s Kayaba units. Another upgrade was made in the braking department: A Brembo 18mm-diameter master cylinder works on four-piston Monobloc calipers to pinch 308mm Nissin discs, replacing the Nissin calipers and master on the base model.
Power is the same as it has been in the past, which is a good thing. This is truly one of the great engines in all of motorcycling, and produces a claimed 124 horsepower and 53 foot-pounds of peak torque. Keeping the chain stretched taut is a close-ratio, six-speed gearbox fitted with a standard, factory-installed quick shifter. The combination of the incredibly cool induction growl and the sweet tone emitting from the under-seat stainless-steel, 3-into-1 exhaust is awesome, a sonic symphony of speed.
Chuckwalla is a rare desert lizard, and is also the name of a newer and very fun racetrack in Desert Center, California, where the U.S. press introduction for the 675R took place. The R is track-ready and wants to be ridden hard. With those race-proven parts from Öhlins and Brembo, in addition its standard-fitment Pirelli Diablo Corsa SP tires, R owners won’t have any excuses for going slowly!
The Triumph Triple flicks from side to side with very little resistance and quickly snaps into deep lean angles at the apex. A narrow waist and relatively pulled-back bars help make the rider a tucked-in projectile. The quickshifter worked flawlessly with this excellent gearbox and made for very smooth upshifts, even when leaned over, a very nice touch that helped make the most of those corner-exit drives. Suspension was sweet right out of the box and I never touched a clicker all day. The only “chassis” adjustments were few tire air-pressure changes fine-tune handling and grip. My only gripe about the bike was that the brakes started getting inconsistent and pulsed a bit when pushing a very aggressive pace. But, overall, the Daytona R is worth every penny of the $1500 premium buyers will pay over the standard model.
The suspension upgrade is the reason to buy this bike over the standard Daytona, although there are also several styling details that set the R apart: Crystal White paint, a black lower fairing, red subframe, red pinstriped black wheels and various carbon-fiber pieces (front fender, rear-tire hugger and exhaust shield) are unique to the $11,999 Daytona 675R. The bike is expected to hit dealerships in late May. That’s plenty of time to schedule a track day…
