Photos by Blake Connor

Three cylinder bikes have been around for years and they've even won superbike races. Dick Man won Daytona on a BSA Rocket 3 in 1971. Since then other triples to see production include the Kawasaki H1 and H2 two-strokes, the original Triumph Speed Triple, which was actually the same engine as the BSA with the exception of the lean of the jugs, and Laverda's 1000cc machines that began with the 3C of '74 and ended with their full bodied Jota of the early eighties with its revised crank pin locations. Just what are the proper rod mounts on a triple's crank?

This latest of all triples also happens to be one of the most high tech bikes produced today. The Triumph T595 Daytona is powered by a water cooled, 955cc, four valve, twin cam engine that is a complete redesign of the revived Triumph company's initial three cylinder engine (that would be the one in between the BSA's brother and this one). And the Daytona's fuel injection is still the best in the business even as we end the second year of the bike's production. This is remarkable considering we've witnessed a number of efi fed bikes coming from various manufacturers in the last year.

The Daytona shares it gauges and controls with the Speed Triple. Neither of them have a "choke lever".

The quick measure of an efi system can be done by determining whether or not it has a "stupid lever". A stupid lever is located where a choke lever would normally be found on a carbureted bike and it serves basically the same function as one; you pull it to facilitate cold starting. But what the lever reveals is that the efi system involved doesn't have the brains to understand that the engine is cold and then make the proper adjustments on its own. When is the last time any of us had a car that required pumping the gas pedal to the floor prior to cold starting or, worse yet, had a car with a dashboard mounted cold starting lever? That would be inexcusable. So why some efi bikes have them, I don't know. Cheap. The T595 doesn't have a stupid lever.

Triumph offers a choice of pipes as do many aftermarket companies. Remapping the efi is recommended.

The efi on the Daytona is a thing of marvel. It knows not only everything that you and the engine are doing but it also makes predictions about what you're going to do next. Supplying the efi with this information are sensors that read rear wheel speed, cam speed, voltage, throttle position, intake air speed, and so on. It knows the truth. You can't fool it. What's neater yet is that the system is reprogramable so you can add an aftermarket pipe or other modifications and then remap the system for performance. At this writing there are a number of aftermarket companies that make pipes for the bike and the good ones know what mapping is best. If the guys you're buying a pipe from are dumb to the mapping question, you might want to shop around a little more.

The T595's frame is a combination of extrusions, castings and forgings. Count the number of welds from the steeringhead to the swingarm mounting plate.

The aluminum frame of Triumph's T595 is a portrait of beauty and function. It adds to the unique look of the bike together with providing for light weight and strength. The frame is a composite of parts that are extruded, cast, or forged, which explains why there are numerous welds between the steering head and the swingarm mounting plates. The finished frame is then painted silver to mask the differing colorations and grain patterns resulting from the different manufacturing processes of the parts. It also helps blend the welds into the frame.

The one shortcoming that the Daytona will face if it ever sees racing action will be due to the length of its chassis. Although the T595 is about eleven feet shorter than the bike it replaced, at over 56.5 inches it is still an inch longer than the nearest bike of its class, the Kawasaki ZX-9R. It's nearly three inches longer than the R-1.But if you're not going to race the thing don't worry about it. And anyway, Curtis Adams has been winning races like crazy on the thing in the twins and triple class that most of us have yet to figure out. Oh all right, beating Buells is one thing, and beating real live superbikes is something altogether different.

Up front, the suspension is handled by a set of RSU (right side up) 45mm, fully adjustable Showa forks. Out back the Daytona has a single sided swingarm mounted to a Showa shock that is also fully adjustable. Although the swingarm is functionally sweet, it is the one thing about the bike that's less than beautiful. The sharp turn the arm makes as it slips in between the rear tire and the sprocket makes it look unnecessarily industrial. There is no design to its form, just function, unlike the handsome arms found on the Ducati 916 or Honda's RC45. The Daytona's swingarm shares the aesthetics of a '63 Ford Falcon differential. It does its job but avert your eyes.

But the T595's suspension works quite well, thank you. Don't sell short RSU forks -- you just might be finding them on more and more performance motorcycles because engineers are realizing their advantages to upside down units. The rear end works too, although at least one racer determined that the progressive ratio is a little steeper than he'd like. On the street it's quite fine.

If you can't appreciate the Daytona for its looks or high tech design, you'll be won over once you ride the bike. Great big gobs of steaming power all the way from low revs to the top. It goes, it steers, it acts just like a real live sportbike should -- no excuses. Everytime I get back on one of these things I am quickly reminded of how much I like this bike. It is absolutely one of my top five favorite bikes, period. The Daytona's efi operates without fault or glitch providing instant response at every rpm and it responds immediately to every change in throttle position. For '98 the Daytona's efi mapping was altered in addition to a change in the bike's cam timing. Both of these changes make the bike even stronger in the low revs than it was in '97. But if you have a '97 Daytona don't despair. Just stop by your dealer and have it remapped. That's another one of the joys of Triumph's fuel injection system. The Daytona's handling is as spot on as its injection system. It takes about 2 seconds to adjust to this bike and from there on it's all joy. Maybe it is a little long by today's standards but if you're not in contention for a national championship you'll never complain about it. And don't get me wrong, it's a little long by today's standards but it's short for yesterday's. The T595 steers as quickly as most everything in its class and it's not truck-like or heavy in its handling in the least. It's confidence inspiring, comfortable, and different. A couple editors I've heard mention they didn't really like the clip-on position but I puzzled over why. For me, everything fit just right. This bike's brakes are spot-on too, which might be due to the fact that Triumph is one of a very few number of manufacturers that uses steel braided brake lines on its production bikes. The calipers are only four piston units but the grip and feel is at the very top. Some of the reason could also be attributed to the rotor material. There are many different kinds of iron. Common looking four piston calipers provide uncommon braking. Maybe those braided brake lines help. The Daytona is about as good as it gets. Sure it comes up short in acceleration against the open class machines available today, but since this bike is only a 900cc triple that comparison isn't fair. Additionally, when I've ridden the Daytona on the same day that I rode the biggest and the best, I've never been let down by this bike. The Daytona doesn't have the blinding, big punch of those motorcycles but it does everything overall so well it can hold its head up high in that tough company. And one thing the Daytona has over most of those bikes is character, which is easily the toughest feature to engineer into a motorcycle. Additionally, as we near the Triumph Daytona's third year of production there are now all sorts of aftermarket parts available to hone its character that much more.

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