Recently Boyers held an open weekend to show off and offer demo rides on their new models. I popped in to the shop to enter a competition they were running, not really intending to have a ride on any of the bikes. But as they had a new Daytona 675 sitting outside the shop it seemed rude not to. The first thing you notice on swinging your leg over the bike is how tall the back end is.
The second thing you notice is how low the front end is. For a fella my size I knew this wasn't going to be the most comfortable ride, but once I got the Daytona moving it was great fun. As I pulled away from the shop I found the pegs are set fairly high, so I spent the first 200 yards of my demo ride with my right leg flapping about in the wind. Once I found the pegs the fun really began. The dash on the 675 is very similar to the LCD unit on my 1050 Speed Triple, except for the light blue/grey colour of the unit and the addition of a gear indicator in the top corner.
Although the physical size of the bike is small, even for the 600 class, when you open the throttle the power delivery is more like a 1 litre bike. I was very surprised by this and soon forgot about the cramp in my hips and my aching shoulders. Unlike the old in-line four engined models that you really have to get spinning to get any usable power out of, the new triple delivers fierce but usable power from a much wider window in the rev range. It revs to 14000rpm with peak power at 110bhp@12,200rpm.
I've been lucky enough to have ridden both the TT600 and Daytona 600 and was always happy with the handling of both of them. With the 675's handling Triumph have really upped their game. I spent most of the time hunting down roundabouts like a man possessed; the bike turns in quicker than any Triumph or for that matter any bike Ive ridden. And when you wind the throttle open mid turn the note of the (not for road use) can is amazing. The stoppers work well also, with radially mounted four pot Nissin units, and combined with the 41mm upside down forks the front end gives great feedback.
Triumph have once again developed a fantastic bike, so if you get the chance, have a go you'll be amazed.