Introduced in 2006 with the "R" arriving on scene in 2011, the Triumph Daytona 675 proved itself powerful and nimble against supersport competition from the 600 cc Japanese bikes of the day. The inline triple engine produced ample horsepower, making it both quick and fast.

2017 Triumph Daytona 675 Performance and Capability

Triumph's tiny, in-line triple on the Daytona 675 is the real star of the show. Don't let the size of the package fool you. This mill punches way above its weight.

This liquid-cooled lump runs with dual, over-head cams to time the 12-valve head, and a fairly hot, 13.1-to-1 compression ratio. The 76 mm bore and 49.6 mm stroke is decidedly oversquare, and as is always the case with short-stroke motors, horsepower is high while torque falls off a bit.

Not only is the Daytona 675 mill fuel injected, it actually carries two injectors per cylinder. That is something you don't see every day.

Super-light titanium valves enable the use of lighter valve springs and allow for much higher revs, to the tune of a 14,400 rpm redline, though I'm not sure I would be entirely comfortable straddling something wound up quite that tight myself. You're looking at a Daytona 675 top speed around 160 mph. This is on a bike that weighs in at less than 400 pounds, so obviously, you'd better be hanging on when you grab a fistful of throttle.

What this leaves us with is a powerful little plant that is right at home on the track, and tame enough for civilized road use. At 12,500 rpm, the Triumph Daytona 675 puts out a whopping 128 horsepower with 55 pound-feet of torque coming on just a skosh earlier at 11,900 rpm.

A slipper clutch couples engine power to the six-speed transmission while providing some anti-hop protection during aggressive downshifts. For aggressive upshifts, both of the Daytona brothers come with a race-ready, push-button quick-shifter as standard equipment.

Design

Back in the early 2000s, Triumph's four-cylinder, middleweight sportbikes were taking a beating by the 600 cc bikes from the Big Four in Japan. The solution? Drop a cylinder, boost the cubes and start a nearly complete, ground-up rebuild based on the old Daytona 600 chassis.

The result? A decidedly nimble and powerful supersport packed away in a deceptively small package. After a number of changes and the addition of the Daytona 675 R in 2011 that went on to win the Daytona 200 in '14, the Daytona family moved into the 2017 model year with many of the features that made the range a success.

As sexy as the Daytona line is, with its nicely rounded curves and slightly nose-down stance, it is far from a vanity piece. Wind tunnel-tested body panels tie the front of the bike together, from the windshield-bearing upper fairing down to the functional chin fairing.

Although the Daytona presents a fair entry point to penetrate the air, those panels quickly taper off to nothing, leaving the rear end of the bike looking much more like a naked bike. That's fitting considering that the 675 was originally designed as a full-on naked ride and the fairings added later in the process.

Naturally, the engineers didn't miss an opportunity to make use of the pressure wave at the front of the bike. The mouth formed by the fairing edge channels pressurized air right down the gullet.

Make no mistake, the “R” isn't any more powerful than the base Daytona, they both run the exact same engine. Variations in the suspension make it a bit more track friendly, and some carbon-fiber trim and other small details set it apart visually from the base model.

Jockey-mount footpegs and short handlebars pull the rider into an aggressive, forward-leaning position. That's great for the track, but for the road, not so much. The seat padding could've been better, so don't count on hours in the saddle.

Chassis

Eight separate high-pressure die castings make up the all-aluminum, twin-spar frame on the Daytona 675. This reduces the number of welds needed to hold it together while keeping it strong and light.

Reduced rake and trail make it more nimble and eager to dive into the corners. The Daytona frame carries the forks at 22.9-degrees rake and 3.4 inches of trail with a compact 54.1-inch wheelbase. Lump this all together and you can count on good flicking behavior and reversals.

An all-aluminum, boomerang-shaped swingarm completes the standing chassis and comes mounted on an adjustable pivot for an extra layer of ride control. The “R” comes with an extra little bonus on the frame in the form of a steering damper to help minimize handlebar kickback, and improve stability and tracking at speed.

At this point, the two bikes start to diverge a bit in their accouterments. Although the “R” gets the top-shelf goodies, the base-model 675 really isn't very far behind.

Usd Kayaba forks with 41 mm tubes buoy the front end of the Daytona 675 on 4.33 inches of travel. The Kayaba piggyback monoshock floats the rear on 5.07 inches of travel. Both ends come with high- and low-speed compression damping as well as rebound damping for complete ride-quality tunability.

As good as that is, the “R” takes it up a notch with a pair of 43 mm, usd Öhlins forks up front and an Öhlins TTX36 monoshock in back. Fork travel is greater than on the base at 4.72 inches, as well as the monoshock with 5.23 inches of travel at the axle. Both ends of the “R” come with adjustable preload, compression, and rebound damping.

Much like the suspension parts, the brake components see just a little divergence. Brembo brake components make it onto both ends of the “R,” with four-pot calipers binding dual, 310 mm discs on the front wheel, and a single-pot caliper pinching the 220 mm rear disc.

The base model 675 gets the same Brembo caliper and 220 mm disc in back, but the four-pot front calipers come from Nissin. Both bikes come with switchable ABS as part of their standard equipment package.

Cast-aluminum rims mount 17-inch hoops, with both rides getting a 120/70 front and 180/55 rear tire. The brakes have a nice, progressive feel, and while they aren't very grabby at first, they wind up biting with authority by the end of the lever stroke.

2017 Triumph Daytona 675 Price and Availability

Triumph offers each bike in a couple of different paint schemes, and as the same price regardless of paint choice. The Daytona 675 costs $11,999 or $13,999 depending on which model you get.

The base Triumph Daytona rolls in Crystal White/Jet Black or Diablo Red/Matte Aluminum Silver for $12k, and the “R” model in Crystal White/Jet Black or Phantom Black costs $14k. If you're looking for a Daytona 675 for sale, there's a chance you might find new-old stock somewhere, but it's doubtful.

Competitors

Since the Daytona was originally created to counter the 600 cc Japanese threat, I decided it would be fair to pull what is arguably the most recognized name from that pool for my head-to-head -- the GSX-R600 from Suzuki -- and throw it up against the 675 R.

Suzuki GSX-R600

Visually, they are both more-or-less, full-on superbikes, even if the Daytona shows a little more of what's under the hood. Beyond that, I think just calling them race bikes with turn signals will just about sum up the looks department.

Much like the Daytona, the Gixxer built on a cast-aluminum frame comprises multiple members with a cast-aluminum swingarm to finish off the skeleton. Fully adjustable Showa forks and monoshock come with the same adjustments as the Öhlins products on the Trumpet, but Showa components definitely come off a lower shelf behind the bar, if you catch my drift.

Brakes are likewise similar. Brembo makes an appearance across the board, but Suzuki falls off a bit here with no ABS versus Triumph with a switchable, take-it-or-leave-it ABS as standard kit.

The Gixxer runs a four-banger against the Daytona's three, but with tiny bores that only add up to a total of 599 cc versus 675 cc from the Brit. Beyond that, engine layout is similar with water-cooling and all of the expected electronic engine management (except traction control).

Dyno results fall out about like you would imagine. The Daytona 675 R comes out on top with 128 horsepower and 55 pound-feet of torque and Suzuki somewhat close behind with 103 horses and 46.7 pounds of grunt. Close enough given the displacement difference.

Suzuki gets its only solid win at the till. The $11,199 MSRP is bound to draw some business away from the Daytona “R” with its $14k tag. That's a chunk of change, and the GSX-R family is one of the most recognized in the world of sport bikes, so that's two hurdles for the Trumpet. My money would go to the Brit, but many of you will swing the other way, regardless of the minutia buried in the specs.

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“When I think of a Triumph, my mind immediately goes to the Bonnie and it's always something out of the '70s or '80s. I confess I don't think of Triumph when I look at a Gixxer and wonder what can take it down, but perhaps I should. The Daytona was obviously built as a direct competitor for it, and it looks like Trumpet managed to score big on this one. Still not as sexy as a Ducati, but damned close.”

He Said

My wife and fellow motorcycle writer, Allyn Hinton, says, “The Daytona 675 is an awesome middleweight sport bike. This 600 cc range is some hot stuff, still a little bit stupidfast for my comfort. If you're a shorty-short like I am, you might not want to play pick-a-foot at stoplights, so something like a Street Triple might be a better choice.”