Triumph’s acclaimed Daytona 675 sportbike continues to win comparison tests worldwide against its four Japanese four-cylinder rivals, most recently triumphing (ouch!) for the second year in succession in the multi-nation Master Bike shootout’s Supersport category, as well as currently dominating the French Supersport series, after winning every round held so far in the hands of the youthful Kenny Foray. Triumph’s annual balance sheet for the 2006 model year shows that overall sales increased by 18.3% year on year, up to 37,400 machines from 31,600 in 2005, with a comparable increase planned for 2007, up to 45,000 units – while the British manufacturer which still remains wholly owned by John Bloor and his family saw its turnover rise 13.5% to GBP 200 million – up from GBP 177 million the previous year. Now the imminent arrival of the British manufacturer’s new middleweight Street Triple naked contender – essentially a stripoff of the 675 Daytona – represents the first of several new models which the company will be launching in the next couple of years, as a means of driving volume, and profitability, onwards and upwards.
First up later this year will be the range-topping Touring version of the 2.3 litre Rocket III triple, coming with the most expensive price tag yet for any Triumph model since John Bloor revived the company back in 1990, plus hard luggage and full protective equipment as standard, all to position it as a competitor to the BMW K1200LT, Honda 1800 Gold Wing, Harley’s Electra Glide range and the new Victory Vision. But for 2008 Triumph is expected to launch the 1500cc parallel-twin cruiser range it’s been developing for the past four years, whose existence was first revealed in these columns three years ago. Likely to be fitted with shaft final drive, like the Rocket III, this dohc eight-valve mega-Bonneville will share only the same broad engine concept with its junior relation, with its eight-valve dohc engine set across the frame, just like the Bonnie, rather than with lengthways cylinders, as on the Rocket III. The new 1500cc twin-cylinder cruiser family of models will surely entail various spinoff variants being launched over time, though all are expected to have the same 270-degree crank throws as the current Speedmaster, in order to make hardcore American Way V-twin addicts feel at home on a bike that’s certain to be targeted at Harley’s Fat Boy and Softail models. Styling, too, is likely to follow the lines of the revised 2008-model Speedmaster cruiser, with chunkier looks including a fatter teardrop-style fuel tank.
Also believed to be under development, most likely for a 2009 model year launch, is the Tiger Cub 675 – another revival of one of the many iconic model names in the Triumph history books, representing a middleweight version of the larger Tiger 1050 that debuted at the end of last year. This had more tarmac-focused running gear and street-friendly performance than the previous Tiger, but the Cub may well have avowedly more dual-purpose capabilities than its bigger brother, reflecting the lighter build and more compact dimensions of the smaller engine. For, as with the new Street Triple, this will use a retuned version of the 675 Daytona’s three-cylinder engine to complete the range of midsize triples.
By slotting in between the forthcoming refreshened 865cc Speedmaster and the 2300cc Rocket II, the arrival next year of the new 1500cc twin-cylinder cruiser (whose likely name isn’t yet known) will plug one of the two most obvious gaps in Triumph’s distinctive, freshly-engineered lineup, in which no model outside the Bonneville family is more than three years old. The other still remains to be filled, though – the hole in the range left by the now deleted large-capacity Daytona 955i superbike, production of which ended one year ago. But persistent rumours insist that Triumph is indeed developing such a bike, using a tuned and heavily re-engineered version of the 1050 triple motor currently powering the Sprint ST/Speed Triple/Tiger family of models. With Superstock class regulations already returned to the capacity differentials jettisoned five years ago for production-based racing, with 1200cc twins competing against 1000cc fours, and World Superbike poised to follow a similar route, now would be a good time for Triumph to revive the big Daytona, with SBK supreme Paolo Flammini admitting as such in an interview. “We have been contacted by manufacturers who have said that they are considering entering SBK in the future adopting a three-cylinder engine (so, Benelli – and Triumph?? – AC),” he said, “so they want to know what the (capacity) ruling is. According to what has been done in Supersport, where from February this year we permit 675cc triples against 600 fours and 750 twins, it would be natural to think of a capacity level halfway between the four-cylinder and twin-cylinder Superbike limits.” So 1100cc triples it is, then: will Triumph be there on the grid? Watch this space!
