Return of the Daytona

Just three years after it was dropped from the line-up, Triumph’s announced that its much-loved sporty middleweight is making a comeback!

That’s right. Triumph’s just released all the key information about the latest bike to bear the iconic Daytona name.

We knew it was coming, following a not-so-subtle teaser back in December – but now we’ve got the full lowdown on the newest addition to Triumph’s extensive range.

The big news is that it’s built from the bones of the massively popular Trident 660. Though, there’s been plenty of tweaks to help it stand apart from the value-for-money naked as it looks to fight for attention in the increasingly crowded sporty middleweight market.  

It’s a sharp looking thing, with an unmistakable nod to the Daytona’s of old. It should be easy to get on with too, thanks to an 810mm seat height, slim waist and sporty but still practical bar and peg position.

It’s powered by the same tried-and-tested 660cc triple engine as the Trident, though it offers a whopping 17% more power and 9% more torque to play with. In real terms, that means it’s kicking out a pretty punchy 95bhp and 69Nm of torque.

There’s some quality kit fitted as standard, including Showa upside down big piston 41mm forks at the front and a Showa preload adjustable monoshock at the rear. For stopping there’s radial four piston brakes with twin 310mm discs and braided brake, and it gets a set of Michelin’s new Power 6 hoops.

It gets some top tech too, including three riding modes (Sport, Road and Rain), which each offer a different throttle response and level of traction control intervention. Traction control can be turned off too, which is a nice touch and hints at the bike’s sporty intentions.

Priced at a seriously competitive £8,595 on the road, and with a 10,000-mile service intervals and two-year unlimited mileage warranty, we suspect the newest Daytona’s going to do very well indeed, nabbing sales from the likes of Aprillia’s RS660 and Yamaha’s R7. We’ll be getting our hands on one as soon as possible to see how it holds up out in the real world.