Triumph 955i Daytona Review

Overall Rating

Brakes, engine, engine noise, handling, comfort for a sportsbike, ride quality.

not much really - mirrors only average, engine lumpy below 2500rpm, wind blast with standard screen, clocks could be sexier, looks getting dated especially rear end.

Bought a 2004 low mileage Triumph 955i Daytona model few months ago. Overall very impressed and I like the bike. In particular, the brakes are superb, and the triple engine has loads of engine braking, which I wasn't expecting but means that during normal riding, just rolling off the throttle and applying a little rear brake is enough for many situations.
The engine is great. You can trickle along at 30mph in 3rd gear, though it can get lumpy a low revs but you would expect that. It has a fantastic howl when you open the throttle, very addictive! Power builds progressively, and really takes off once past the mid range, which it has lots of too! My last 2 bikes were a Blackbird and ZX-6R - the Daytona is faster than the ZX-6R but not as quick as the Blackbird. The gearing is quite high, 60mph in top equates to about 3500rpm, so provides very smooth cruising if you want. Throttle responce is instant, I've not noticed any hesitation when opening the throttle. There is good power available from 3500 onwards, meaning that gear selection is not critical for overtakes.
Riding position is good, bit of weight on the wrists at lowish speed, no worse than any other sports or sports tourer, though its not as comfortable as the Blackbird. Seat seems ok, though I haven't ridden more than 2 hours on this bike in one go. No probs with peg height. It seems to soak up bumps well, it seems to strike a nice balance of being firm but supple at the same time.
Wind blast is worse than I expected, once over 80ish it can get quite bad. My last 2 bikes had double bubble screens and were a lot better so that's my next upgrade as the bike has a standard screen at the moment.
Finish seems good, there is just a little tarnishing in the bike that is now 5 years old.
Gearbox - many says its poor but I've found it actually pretty good, certainly no worse than the ZX-6R and Blackbird I had recently. You need the clutch for 1st to 2nd, and sometimes when going into 3rd round town but after that its more that happy clutchless, on par with the 2 bikes mentioned above. You need to be careful downchanges as all the engine braking can cause the back to become light and on the verge of locking the rear wheel.
The clocks are clear but look bland, just plain black plastic. The speedo is easy to read, clock and trips are useful. No fuel gauge, just a low fuel light. Tank range seems good actually, fuel consumption good too, helped by the tall gearing. The newer Triumphs clocks have a similar design but have a crome surround which looks a lot nicer.
Mirrors are only average, it needs a slight tuck-in of the elbow to see the road behind. Worse than the Blackbird but about the same as the ZX-6R.
Can't comment on headlight yet, or pillion use.
Overall its a good bike, good fun, sounds fantastic and handles much better than I need! Overall the Blackbird is the better bike but its so competent it's almost bland, the Daytona is of course more sports biased therefore more flickable / lighter and handles better and is more fun, and definately sounds better.