2005 Triumph Daytona 650
More cubes equal more real-road fun for Hinckley’s sporting middleweight
By Mark Gardiner , Alan Cathcart , Roland Brown
It seems strict adherence to displacement in the 600 class has become a touch passé of late. In 2003, Kawasaki built street riders a 636cc version of its ZX-6R . For ’05, Triumph has followed suit, blessing its latest sporting middleweight with the magical displacement of the Meriden factory’s venerable ’60s-era Bonneville—650cc. The result is something to hoist a pint about, where stoplight-to-stoplight street riding is concerned.
Triumph boosted the Daytona’s displacement the old-fashioned way—by stroking the engine. Stroke—the distance each piston moves from top dead center to bottom dead center—was increased 3.1mm for a total volume of 646cc. Triumph claims the added size allows the 16-valve, DOHC inline-four to make a claimed 112 horsepower and 51 pound-feet of torque. Those peak figures are only slightly different from the previous mill’s, but the new motor’s midrange is much stronger.
More cubes equal more real-road fun for Hinckley’s sporting middleweight
By Mark Gardiner , Alan Cathcart , Roland Brown
It seems strict adherence to displacement in the 600 class has become a touch passé of late. In 2003, Kawasaki built street riders a 636cc version of its ZX-6R . For ’05, Triumph has followed suit, blessing its latest sporting middleweight with the magical displacement of the Meriden factory’s venerable ’60s-era Bonneville—650cc. The result is something to hoist a pint about, where stoplight-to-stoplight street riding is concerned.
Triumph boosted the Daytona’s displacement the old-fashioned way—by stroking the engine. Stroke—the distance each piston moves from top dead center to bottom dead center—was increased 3.1mm for a total volume of 646cc. Triumph claims the added size allows the 16-valve, DOHC inline-four to make a claimed 112 horsepower and 51 pound-feet of torque. Those peak figures are only slightly different from the previous mill’s, but the new motor’s midrange is much stronger.