Doin' Time - Triumph Daytona 675
Staffers' Rides
Photography by Kevin Wing
Triumph
Dayona 675
Ringleader: Ari Henning
MSRP (2009): $9799
Miles: 1020-1884
Average Fuel Mileage: 38.5 Mpg
Accessories & Modifications: None Yet, But I've Got A List...
I don't get very excited about birthdays anymore, but this year I did, and it had nothing to do with my hitting the quarter-century mark. It was due to the concurrent arrival of my new long-term Triumph.
One year ago, I was trying to decide between the Daytona 675 and the ZX-6R when a propitious run-in with the Kawasaki PR people put a Ninja key in my hand before I'd had a chance to complete my mental comparison. Now with the Kawi on its way out, it was time to see about getting that Triumph after all.
With stainless-steel brake lines, beefy Nissin calipers, Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP tire
I attended the press intro for the revamped Brit-bike in Spain in '09, and was taken by its midrange power and extreme flickability. The triple feels like a cross between my beloved Suzuki SV650 twin and the 600cc four I'd just stepped off of, as in it has loads of low-end grunt and plenty of high-rpm power. That's a terrific combination for the tight canyon roads and racetracks I ride most. And while I showered the 675 with praise in my First Ride write-up, we haven't done anything with it since. I'm excited to be able to fully experience what it has to offer.
During my initial stateside ride, I focused on adjusting the controls to my liking. The clutch and brake levers needed to be rotated forward and nearly a centimeter of slack taken out of the throttle cable. I also bent the aluminum heel guards in toward the swingarm to make room for my size-10 Sidis. My testbike arrived with over 1000 miles on the odometer, so it was already broken-in, thus I was free to ride it hard right away. Within days of delivery I was on-track, and the Daytona proved every bit as excellent as I remember. If it's this good in stock form, I can't wait to see what it's like with a little refinement!
By Kevin Wing
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