I write a review because I'm genuinely impressed or severely let down. I believe that people should ...
I write a review because I'm genuinely impressed or severely let down. I believe that people should hear both the good and bad. It certainly helps me when I read reviews from other Ciao members. I hope you find my reviews useful.
Member since:22.08.2009
Reviews:13
Over the years I've owned middleweight Honda's, Kawasaki's, Yamaha's, KTM's and an Aprilia Mille. I judge a bike by whether it gets me out of bed before 8am at the weekends. The Triumph Daytona 675 certainly does, not just at the weekends either.
My Daytona is a 05 in red, the best colour in my opinion. I have to say that of all the bikes I've owned this is by far the best all rounder and its given me the biggest grin of the lot. Not to say that it does everything reasonably well like a CBR 600; the 675 everything exceptionally well, has the image, the heritage and the grin factor packed in as well!
In my early riding years I was a junky for the Japanese reliability, yet soon became bored whilst everyone seemed to own the same bike as me and have the same opinion that they'd probably picked up from Ride Magazine last week. I went for the Triumph 675 Daytona because it had individuality, it felt as solid as a Japanese bike and above all had the Triumph badge and
heritage. It's British!!
On the test ride I quickly became a convert to three cylinders. The fours are smooth but don't offer real grunt coming out of the bends and sometimes the v-twins can be a little too lumpy. The Daytona gives the best of both world's with plenty enough torque without the typical four cylinder banshee whail. It's a pleasure to ride.
As soon as you jump on you'll notice that this feels like a small bike. I've ridden bulkier 250's. It's easy to tuck your knees into the Daytona's curves and angles and the riding position gives a real sense of what's happening beneath at tarmac level. When you turn the key you get a rewarding little electronic whine for a few seconds before the rev counter sweeps around the clock. It's like powering-up on the starship enterprise.
From the standard underseat pipe there's a warm burble once your running. After a few months I fitted an carbon Arrow race system for approximately £1200 which didn't really improve performance, but gave a beautifully distinctive deeper and louder burble through to a lion's roar.
So out on the road. The Triumph Daytona 675 has a more racey feel and positioning than the average middleweight which is immediately noticable in the wrists if you're in traffic. However, this is bearable and doesn't put me off my daily commute. The bike is narrow and neatly packaged encouraging confidence with plenty of feedback. If you are used to four cylinders you will notice a difference in the way that the 675 holds onto your favourite roundabout. Plenty enough torque, easily handled through the bends you will leave your mate on the CBR playing catch-up after a few miles. The Daytona doesn't quite have the top end that the Japanese bikes do but ask yourself how often you actually travel at 155+ mph. Exactly, so buy a Triumph.
Brakes on the Daytona are more than adequate whether you mix it through the lanes or beat your way through the city each day. The rear brake could possibly do with a little more feedback but its never a problem.
The paintwork is easily a match for most manufacturers and 3.5 years later the Daytona still looks like its just come out of the showroom. The screen takes most of the brunt for you but it may be worth investigating a slightly taller aftermarket screen if you are anything more than about 5ft 11. My Daytona was supplied with a single seat and I bought a rear seat pad for about £60. This pad however has only ever been used once whilst the Daytona isn't ideal for a pillion unless they're one of the seven dwarfs. These seat options are very easily intechangeable with a twist of a key in the seat lock at the rear of the bike.
My Triumph gets serviced in Aylesbury at a large Triumph dealership. Its a different experience at a Triumph dealership, you actually get mechanics that know what they're taliking about and do exactly what you want them to do. I've never experienced the same attention to detail from other manufacturer's service departments.
In 3.5 years I've commuted, toured and track-dayed on a Daytona 675 without any problem whatsoever. If you need an allrounder that can impress your mates, well this bike can do it in spades. It has the look, the stance, the heritage and the badge that tells them that you're not going to follow the crowd; they can follow you.
Without hesitation, I'd recommend the Triumph Dayton a 675 to anyone.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
exceptional by (25%):
very helpful by (75%):
