1999 955i : After the first year...
Written: Apr 12 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Flat broad powerband, superior FI, bold styling, nice alternative to Jap bikes
Cons: Heavy, vibration in bars, doesn't keep up with bikes in it's own class.
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| teufelziege's Full Review: 2000 Triumph Daytona 955i |
I have to admit, my purchase of the 955i was purely an emotionaly one. I didn't buy it for any performance reviews I read or because it had been rated with an excellent reliablity report. In fact, I had heard the horror stories of pre-Hinkley days when they were spewing oil out their head gaskets. But it was a cool Californian morning that I strode into a local breakfast joint that I saw the motorcycle that filled an empty spot it my idea of what a sports bike should be....it was a Triumph T595 Daytona (1997)Ah, what a thing of beauty it was in a nice bright red. And what was that emblazoned on the side of the tank? It was the original Triumph logo. After wiping the saliva from my lips, I vowed to myself that I would get one.
As soon as the 1999 Model came out and I had scrounged up the last of the 6000.00 dollar down payment I was making, I went and bought one. Here are my inital opinions:
Handling: Superbly tight, flicks easily through turns with no handlebar slap. Initial shock settings were a little mushy, but after a little tweaking, they were great. Tracks well at high speeds.
Braking: Probably the best pair of stoppers without buying a set of Brembos. Although the rear brake is less than desireble...they are almost non-existant. Adding to suspension, there is little dive in hard breaking.
Engine: The 955cc triple is the best of both worlds, with the powerfull torquey rumble of v-twins and the high end screaming that inline fours produce, it balances nicely producing a very wide powerband in which to use. No problems starting in second gear with this baby or accidental mis-shifts, it won't lag at lower RPM's. Disapointingly though, Triumph reports 130BHP coming from this engine, although this figure is taken from the crank when most motorcycle manufactures give you rear wheel figures. My bike with the High-Rise carbon fiber race pipe could only muster 117BHP from the rear wheel. Most high performance bikes in this class with beat that with 20 to 40 more horse power. By no means is it a dog though! Don't be worried by Triumph's sorted past. Triumph's new facilities are the most modern in the motorcycle industry. Manufacturing techniques are state-of-art. Companies like Porche have queried Triumph on it's crankshaft and head assembly techniques. They have to be doing something well, eh?
Fuel Delivery:
I am very impressed with Triumphs fuel injection system. Early FI in bikes had major problems idling or delayed throttle response. Triumph has blown these myths out of the water by producing a highly flexible, highly responsive injection system that works like a dream! And no more Re-jetting to be done...once a pipe is fitted, all you have to do is take it to a shop and they plug in a computer and remap the FI. Takes 15 minutes!
Clutch/transmission: Clutch is very strong, maybe a little too strong and the clutch handle has quite a bit to reach it. There is now a kit to shorten the throw. That should help. My cable stretch considerably the first couple of months as well. This had to be adjusted at the 500 mile service point. No biggy though. Transmission is very smooth, no missed gears and no heavy clunky sounds comming through it. Handle's the triples torquey output well too, easy to break loose the bake tires.
Here are some things that let me down.... =(
Weight...at 436lbs, it's pretty heavy for it's class. Most 900cc to 1liter bikes weigh less than it.
Vibration in handle bars....They will rattle your fingers loose if you let em. There are Barends that will fix this though
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
teufelziege
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Reviews written: 1
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