The All Forgotten Triumph Daytona 600

What a difference a few years could have made. If Triumph had launched the Triumph Daytona 600 just two years earlier things could have been very different. It was so nearly ahead of its time in many ways, but unfortunately in 2003 when the Triumph Daytona 600 was launched Kawasaki unveiled the first of the radically styled ZX-6R's and Honda unleashed the Honda CBR600RR.

Having learned its lesson the hard way with the dreadful TT600, Triumph put a lot more effort into the Triumph Daytona 600. The styling was radical, the chassis sorted and the engine and fuel injection.

So why did Triumph kill the Daytona 600 after just three years? It all came down to money. In the early nighties Triumph were fixated with beating the Japanese, which a small company in Hinckley, England simple couldn't do. It was in 2003 that the Japanese started throwing everything at the 600cc class. Slipper clutches, radial brakes, lap timers, titanium wotsits, you name it.

Triumph just couldn't keep up, they weren't big enough to absorb the astronomical cost of constant development that was required to be competitive. Which is why in 2006 it took a different route and create its own niche market with the Triumph Daytona 675 Triple.

Unfortunately it was the Daytona's less-than-perfect history that kept the bike from appealing to the mainstream biker masses. Which was their loss.

Okay, on track the CBR600RR, Kawasaki ZX-6R and Suzuki GSX-R600 of the era are better machines, but on the road the Triumph Daytona is king. Triumph always gets it right when it comes to road ability and the Triumph Daytona 600 is no exception. It's physically a lot larger and roomier than the competition and is a great practical bike. You can easily take one touring and the riding position is far more relaxed than any other 600cc.

Although on-track the soft suspension limits its ability, on the road it's a blessing. A series of bumps won't upset a Triumph Daytona like they will a Kawasaki ZX-6R and your wrists won't be crying out of mercy as they will be on a Honda CBR600RR. And you don't have to rev it to get to where you want to be going.