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Over my three days at the track, I got to share information with the other journalists and found most were a little surprised how good the Daytona actually was. With the current crop of Japanese bikes being just so good, I think a few of them had thought the Daytona was not going to be quite up to the task.

I personally don’t think it hits as hard on top as the Yamaha R6, but I like the way it works in the mid-range. Ex-World Grand Prix racer, Niall Mackenzie shared my thoughts, and I enjoyed getting his feedback. Not being a racer, I find the mid-range is where I find grunt useful as it makes corner exits a whole lot easier.

The Yamaha, although I never got to try it on the track, seemed to give a little pause through the mid range before catching its breath and taking off again. Not so the Daytona.

I have not tried all the new 600’s from the big four yet, so I cannot say how the Daytona stacks up against them. And besides, my mother always used to say “comparisons are odious”, and you should always listen to your mother. What I can say is the new Triumph Daytona is going to be pretty close to all of these bikes in outright performance, and for a non-Japanese company this is a pretty impressive result.

Out on the street, where the pace was a little less hectic, I found the Daytona to be an extremely competent road tool. The Triumph mechanics softened the suspension a little and we rode with stock pipes. I think this made the bike a little more drivable down low, but I never really dropped the revs down much on the track, so I don’t know if it was just me or the bike.

The bike does not grunt down low the way its country cousin the Speed Four does, but spin it up a little and all is forgiven. Hey I know, comparisons and all that, but I rode the Speed Four on the same route last year and remember how strong it was down low. And, while I am upsetting my mother, my seat of the pants say the Daytona’s front end is a little less twitchy in the tight stuff than the R6 I tested on similar terrain earlier this year in California.

The switchgear is all standard Triumph fare, and the view from the riders seat is pretty plush for a sport bike. Nothing too flash in the gauge cluster, with a small circular speedometer and square digital speedometer sitting to the left. The engine’s red line is set at 14,000 rpm, a little above the peak horsepower level that comes at 12,750rpm.

The fairing mounted mirrors do a pretty good job, even if they fit into a normal category of motorcycle mirrors that focus on the shoulder pads; no buzzing or distorting at relatively sane speeds, they also blend reasonably well with the single colour fairing and smoke tinted screen. 

The bodywork all fits nicely and the satin finish for the frame, wheels and forks give the bike a very refined look. Absorbing the bumps, bangs and irregularities of the Spanish coastal road system, the suspension proved to be as good on the road as it had been on the track, providing a supple ride without losing it’s taught feel, and is able to react to bumps and holes without tying the bike in knots.