By David Neely
dneely@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
article taken from Belfast Telegraph online
Phillip McCallen was riding along a country road in Leicestershire just over three weeks ago when his memory went back 14 years to a day in Holland when he tested a bike that was to become a landmark in motorcycling, a machine so good it was not simply a step forward but a giant leap.
His memory had been jolted because within a short time of leaving the Triumph factory at Hinckley he knew the bike he was on had broken the mould; it was not just another contender, however good, in the 600 class but one which had succeeded in breaching the existing parameters, as the Honda Fireblade had done in 1991.
The Triumph Daytona 675 was only the second milestone in Phillip’s vast experience of road bikes. The first was the Honda and by coincidence the new triple cylinder machine was painted black - the same colour as that 1991 Blade.
Phillip, 11 times TT winner who holds a Triumph franchise among others at his Lurgan dealership, had been asked by the factory to test the 675 and withhold no criticism.
“When I arrived at Triumph I had a briefing from Ross Clifford, the factory’s chief development engineer, who took me to the R&D department to see a stripped down 675,” he explained.
“Everything on the bike looked impressive, from the black frame, to the compact engine, to the underseat exhaust, to the radial brakes.
“The test machine had just arrived back from track testing in Spain and Honda’s benchmark 600RR was provided for a comparison. I rode off on that, following a factory rider on the 675.”
They stopped to swap bikes after a few miles. “I spent about five minutes getting the feel of the bike, the bars, everything, just getting to know it.”
He was not long in the saddle of the 675 before he said to himself: “Whoa, this engine is special. It took off from tickover with hardly any revs, it just wanted to go and had the torque and feel of a 1050 engine but with the ability to rev like a 600,” he said.
The suspension was slightly firmer than normal, probably not slackened back after being set up for the track in Spain, but to his surprise the Kayaba rear unit and same make upside down forks, fully adjustable, managed to soak up the bumps.
He believes that when the bike goes into production the settings will be slightly softer.
He had one unexpected moment in testing the set up. “I was concentrating on the suspension on a 60mph corner when the bend suddenly tightened up and I ran wide and off road. I can report that the suspension performed well and I also saw the benefit of the slightly wider bars.”
After switching back to the Honda, a machine which Phillip also rates highly, he took over the controls of the Triumph again. By this stage of the road test, Phillip realised that the bike was “something really special. It makes an average rider a good rider but I knew the whole package was special.”
At a private circuit they did some speed testing and roll on tests. The bike is geared for 160mph, which he saw on the clock. The rolls on tests excited him.”We did these in top gear from 30, 40, 50 and 60. The torque of the 675 from 30 in sixth was astounding. It simply pulled away effortlessly from the 600RR from 2000rpm to above the legal limit.
” As we went further up the bands the advantage decreased until they were almost level, but at low speeds the margin over the Honda was massive. After all, for the average road rider torque is more useful than revs above 9000.”
By now all the right boxes had been ticked: engine, handling, chassis, suspension, brakes, styling. But he’s keen to emphasis that it was much more than that. “The only time previously I had tested a bike which made such an impression because it was a ground breaker was the Fireblade. I was invited to ride it at Assen a year before the launch and I knew it was something special,” he says. “The 675 is special in exactly the same way and it will re-write the 600 class.”
With such lavish praise the cynical may say that Mr McCallen is in the factory’s pocket. But he also sells Kawasakis and its 635 is an excellent machine. When he says the 675 is a landmark bike his opinion must be taken seriously.
The Daytona is due to go on sale next February with a price tag around £7,200. Only 1,200 will be available in the UK during the year and half of them are already sold.
The first public showing of the bike will be at the International Motorcycle Show at the NEC in Birmingham, opening next Friday. Triumph has asked Phillip to do the honours and pull the cover off the 675 when its unveiled to the Press at a special viewing a day earlier.
The 39th Tokyo Motor Show 2005 opens this weekend and Honda have shown off their automatic transmission touring motorcycle of the future.