Triumph Daytona 1991 - 2006

When Triumph were Reborn in a stunning manner in 1991, most observers expected that the top-of-the-range
sports machine would be labeled as a Bonneville. But no. When the model line-up was announced, top sports
honors were awarded to motorcycles carrying the word Daytona in their title. Those Canny Triumph folk had
other plans for their Bonnevilles. Early Daytonas suffered a little from Triumph's 'modular' approach to their new
range. Almost all major components of both engines and cycle parts were as common across the entire range as
was practical, given the need to appeal to as many Riders as possible. A predictable result of this was that most of
the early bikes were compromised but where compromise can be seen as a negative, the character which also
resulting from the design philosophy was the opposite. While all of the machines in those early days were
competent, the Daytona stood out as being one of those which repaid effort and understanding on the part of the
rider; the 4-cylinder Daytona 1000 in particular. Press testers were often critical, but owners loved them, even theirs
very revvy, highly-strung character had its fans.

Daytona notoriety appeared in the form of the Daytona 1200, a machine of truly awesome performance;
performance from the vastly powerful engine which the rest of the machine struggled to handle. Which is, of
course, the stuff from which Legends are made, and indeed those 1200cc, 145bhp monsters have a considerable
fan following of their own, remaining blisteringly fast to this day. The 900cc 3-cylinder models were less rapid, but
were also much more manageable. The arrival of the T595 Daytonas in 1997 changed everything. Suddenly, the
modular approach was reduced in its impact, and Triumph built the first of their truly market sector-leading sports
bikes using entirely new engine and cycle parts. To great effect; the new machines looked stunning, particularly in
the brilliant gold finish, they sounded unique with their 3-cylinder engines howling on song, and their handling and
Braking was well up to the standards of the class. The model was renamed the 955i (which more accurately
reflected the engines actual capacity) in 1999, and development was steady until its demise in 2006, by which
time it was viewed more as a sports tourer by most pundits, rather than an out-and-out sports machine. The
The Daytona line changed again at this point, with the introduction of Triumphs new 675 model, but that is another
story.

A total of 156 fully illustrated pages. SB.

Test drive articles from various magazines. 21 x 28 x 1.2cm