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Thursday, 08 September 2005 |
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2005 Triumph Daytona 650
High Diving by Mike Emery ~ Life Guard Photography by Tom Riles
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The Triumph brand isn’t exactly the first name that springs to mind when thinking (or talking) about the Supersport class. It's obviously in the market for Supersport sales but it's never really been taken seriously and consequently is usually left on the substitute bench on game day. Well after a very entertaining day blowing up the skirt of one of the new super-duper-sport Daytona 650, I think this is going to change. |
| Being a Brit I did anticipate the English marques’s initial introduction of the original Supersport TT600 in 1999, but on first inspection I was left feeling a little disappointed. Sure the-little-Trumpet-that-could aced a few in the handling department but it looked like a wanky old late 80's Japanese jelly bean motorcycle. It was soft and fuzzy and not at all the fire breather that we looked forward to. Oh, and don’t even get me going on that frog shite fuel injection which enjoyed an enhanced re map from your local dealer every other week to run properly - Was that fuel map 1000024 or 1000028 sir? To their credit though, this was the first manufacturer to offer Fi on a middleweight bike so credit is due... grumble, grumble. |
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The company saw fit to go back to the drawing board somewhat and in 2003 a restyled version appeared newly christened the Daytona. This particular bike enjoyed some really nice clothes and some further revised hardware. Best I document the changes for you because they are also relevant to the newer 2005 version. To address weight issues, the 2003 model featured some lighter frame and sub-frame parts which totaled nearly 2lbs, with further reductions in unsprung weight from the suspension. The motor also gained some new found power through a revised (lighter) crank, reworked head and different valve spec’s. They also turned to the Japanese for a fuel injection cure and a set of Keihin throttle bodies found their way onto the newer bike (bon voyage to SAGEM) For the proverbial, and very British, shits and giggles, the exhaust received some work and as an end result, power and torque was up everywhere. |
| So how good was this first remake? How about a Junior TT class win in the much fabled Isle of Man? Not too shabby, let me tell you. However, the stock bike was down on power to most of its Asian counterparts - To own a Triumph, you needed to want to own a Triumph. Looking good is fine in the middleweight war-zone, but you need some horsepower substance to stand tall at your local bike night or racetrack - Nice try Triumph. |
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Fast forward to a beautiful day at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the USA press introduction to the new pumped up 05' Daytona. This bike evolved from the constant (and consistent) comments asking for more power. Triumph’s answer came from a much used and trusted equation - There is no replacement for cubic displacement. The 2005 model comes complete with a longer conrod, (fitted by the factory for your convenience, of course) and it endows the 2005 with a few more ponies and a lump of torque for good measure. That 3.1mm longer stroke comes with no downside apart from a little more rev’s to enjoy the increase in midrange and power. |
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