I absolutely stalked the Daytona for over a year before I was able to pull the trigger and bring her home. I participated in a Triumph demo day in October of 2014 and decided then and there that this was the bike for me.
Here she is next to a '13 Speed Triple I dubbed the "Snot Rocket." That thing was a wheelie monster. I had trouble controlling the throttle even on the tame, guided demo ride we were led on. As fun as I knew it could be, and even more practical in some respects; it was the little supersport that would haunt me.
The Daytona was and is nothing like the FZ. At the time, it felt so foreign to me. Actually the feeling was more bizarre than foreign. You sat on top of the machine, rather than "in" it. It felt tiny by comparison to my Yamaha. You could see over the front of the fairing past the front tire, because the riding position is so aggressive. The handling was so twitchy. The bike was impossibly narrow. Where were they hiding the engine in this thing?
Ah. The engine. This triple, that sounded like no other engine I had ever heard and which delivered power so sweetly was the drug to which I would become a fiend. Even after such a small taste of what it could do, I was sold. I had fallen for her. But how to make it happen?
I watched and waited. Surprisingly, the demo bike didn't sell. It sat on the showroom floor for two more months through the holidays, then four, then six. I watched the price drop on the dealer listing on Craigslist. Clearly no one else felt the love I was feeling for this pale British lass. The price dropped again. I worried that someone from out of town would see it online and it would be cheap enough to make the trip to the 'Ol Pueblo and scoop her up. I would have to act.
And act I did. In July 2015 I traded in the FZ6 and paid asking price for the Daytona, knowing the dealer had reached rock-bottom. No haggling is a good thing, and I got a screaming deal on a demo bike with 63 miles on the clock.
Out with the old, in with the new. The FZ had about 25,000 miles when I traded her in. What a great bike. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that sometimes I wish she was still in the stable. Yamaha built a true, do it all machine with the FZ6, and I am sure that I could put 75,000 more trouble-free miles on that engine and chassis.
After putting around 3,000 miles on the 675, I am convinced I made the right choice. I knew I wanted a bike primarily for the track. This is where my efforts have been focused more and more, and I had been gearing up for more track time in other ways as well. I just needed the right tool for the job. I also knew that to buy a larger displacement bike would be a big mistake. My experience with liter bikes has been that the added weight and power can actually hinder your progress as a noob. Best to stay in my comfort zone and master the middleweight. Though there is certainly no lack of power coming from the three cylinder mill. With the Daytona's sharp handling, light weight and ample torque, a skilled rider (not me at this point!) could hang with the big bikes if the pack was mixed.
My first track experience on this ride was at Musselman Honda Circuit this past October. While it was a fun night out, something just felt wrong. I took the D675 over to Evan Steel Performance for a suspension check up. Man! I was struggling against a set up that was way, way out for my body weight and riding style. Got her dialed in, and headed out to Arroyo Seco Raceway in November to see what the new settings would do. The difference was like night and day! I finally was able to feel the handling that the Daytona is so famous for. This little skinny bike that feels so squirrelly around town suddenly came into it's own. It became more planted the more you leaned over into the corners. It snapped back to vertical when getting back on the throttle. Woohoo! As my confidence in the bike and in myself increased throughout the day, I stopped getting passed. I should probably rephrase this. I became a more worthy obstacle to the other, more experienced riders that day.
The hook has been firmly set now and I want more. I have felt the rush of the throttle fully open on the straights and impossibly hard breaking into the turns. I know that the bike has more to give and that I'm the limiting factor. There will be many more track days in 2016. Of that I am sure.
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| Arroyo Seco, November 14, 2015 |
