2x2: 2009 Ducati 848 vs. 2009 Triumph Daytona 675

Middleweight punch-fest! When the sparring was complete, we were surprised how close these two Euros were to each other.

By Blake Conner | Photos by Brian Blades

July 2009

Photos: Ducati 848 vs. Triumph Daytona 675 >>

In boxing, what good is having a great jab if you're confined to a space where you can't let it loose? Sometimes in close quarters, having a firm uppercut gets the job done just fine. That's how it is with these two European middleweights—more punishing grunt and less flashy-fast footwork than supersport 600s.

Both Ducati's 848 and Triumph's Daytona 675 have gone down different roads than the Japanese inline-Four 600s, relying on fewer cylinders but beefed-up displacement and the subsequent added midrange. The Italian bike accomplishes this with an 849cc, liquid-cooled, 90-degree Twin that pumps out 117 rear-wheel horsepower but an even more impressive 63 foot-pounds of torque (20 more than a typical 600). As for the Anglo engine, revised for 2009 with new con-rods and exhaust port work, its liquid-cooled, 675cc inline-Triple produces 110 hp and 49 ft.-lb. of torque.

Unfair, you say?! Too bad, sometimes you just have to make your own rules! The benefit that both bikes offer over 600s is improved real-world power delivery, especially roll-on performance; they don't feel nearly as highly strung. Around town, the 848 and 675 pull away from stops with minimal fuss.

Unfortunately, that added oomph wasn't felt at the dragstrip. Despite making good power, both bikes were difficult to launch. The Triumph continually bogged off the line despite a power curve that would lead you to believe otherwise—possibly due to our 2500-foot elevation test location. The Ducati's clutch likes to be babied or it chatters.

Regardless, acceleration figures were still very comparable to those of the Honda and Kawasaki in the preceding 2x2. The Ducati clicked off a respectable 10.63-second, 132.62-mph quarter-mile pass, while the Triumph was right behind with a 10.65/131.49 pass. Zero to 60 took 3.0 and 3.2 seconds, respectively. If either bike could be launched harder, they would likely trounce the 600s.

Shift action from each six-speed box was good, though the Triumph can be a touch notchy at times and we hit a few false neutrals on the otherwise slick-shifting 848. Both are huge improvements over previous-gen trannys from both companies, especially the Ducati gearbox—no longer do you have to sit at a stoplight clicking back and forth between first and second in a seemingly endless quest for neutral. Both bikes would benefit from a slipper clutch for trackday use, especially the shorter-wheelbase Triumph.

The real shakedown occurred at the Streets of Willow Springs Raceway on a cold and blustery spring day. We opted to run stock tires, as both bikes come with sticky, track-worthy Pirellis. Early in the morning, with track temperatures cold and the wind yet to whip up, Road Test Editor Don Canet and I recorded base lap times before we messed with suspension settings. The 675 was awesome right out of the box and immediately laid down what would be the quickest time of the day. The 848, on the other hand, needed further suspension setup as it was really soft in the front, allowing too much dive under braking, and it wouldn't hold a tight line through the middle of corners.

After cranking in all but one line of preload on the Ducati's 43mm Showa fork and optimizing rebound accordingly, the 848 transformed and instantly dropped 2 seconds per lap.

With Willow's infamous wind howling later in the afternoon, lap times for both bikes got slower. Despite closing the gap considerably, the Duc consistently circulated about half a second slower than the Daytona. One of the keys to the 675's success on track is its ability to turn-in more quickly, hold a tighter line and transition from side-to-side effortlessly. With a wheelbase measuring about 1.5 inches shorter than the 848 and with a steeper rake (23.9 degrees compared to 24.5), the Daytona easily flicked into and out of the Streets' tight bits. Another factor was how planted the 41mm fork felt mid-corner, giving us lots of confidence. Triumph's Kayaba suspension front and rear offers high- and low-speed compression damping for '09.

Continue Reading >>