Quote:
Originally Posted by squirrel_hunter
I was really hoping that someone would take up the challenge of beating my 1093 miles on 33 bikes in a year...
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Ok then I will see what I can do. My rules are going to be slightly different from Squirrel Hunter's though because I am going to allow myself to ride used bikes. I am also on a bit of a mission to find a bike that does everything better than my Fireblade as it's getting a bit old and will need replacing soon.
Test 1 - 2008 Triumph Daytona 675 SE. 39.2 miles
I did actually want to test ride the new 675 but the local Triumph dealer didn't have demos in stock. Even though there were around 11 bikes in the showroom none of them were road registered.
First impressions were the bike is a thing of beauty, especially with all the sexy carbon bits the previous owner had added. The black and gold looks nice without being over the top.
As I sat on the Daytona i knew it was going to be a different experience than my Fireblade. It felt like a toy, the thing is tiny and although MCN say the weight is about the same as my blade the 675 felt a lot lighter.
I spent about 10 minutes trying to adjust the mirrors but gave up in the end after not being able to see anything other than my arms.
The dash has a lot more info on it than my blade, I like the bit that tells you what gear you are in and the shift lights are a nice touch, however the position of them is so low down you will never see them without taking your eyes of the road making them pretty useless.
The engine was superb, there is as much mid range grunt as my Blade which I loved and it means you don't have to change gear as often as on some other 600s and lazy top gear overtakes are possible.
The handling was a bit too twitchy for me, on a track and in the right hands I am sure it would leave my Blade for dust but on bumpy B roads it was a little un-nerving and my goolies weren't thanking me after being repeatedly bashed against the tank.
Brakes were excellent, and the greabox really smooth, the new models have a quickshifter so you don't need to use the clutch which will be good to try out.
So over all the Daytona felt as quick as my Blade, especially in the midrange and the hanling is much more focussed but on the road it's wasted (for someone of my limited talents anyway) and after an hour I was happy to get off as I was getting a sore bum and pins and needles in my toes from the riding position.
So overall it's a great looking, and sounding bike but on the road it's just too focussed.
