My new “old” Daytona 955i

Re: My new "old" Daytona 955i

I own a silver 2002 Daytona 955i (double sided swingarm) with 16,000 miles on it, as well as a 2002 Sprint ST with 21,000 miles on it. I love both bikes, and have had only two problems with either of them: 1) the plastic fuel fittings failed on the Sprint. There is a factory recall on these plastic fittings for both the Sprint and the Daytona - be sure and get them replaced with the metal fittings, and 2) I had to have an updated program downloaded (at no charge) because the memory allocated for the speedometer was getting "corrupted", making it appear that the speedometer had stopped working. (there was no mechanical failure).

The valve adjustment interval is 12,000 miles.

A month ago I participated in my first track day, using the Daytona. I did two things: 1) I put on a set of Michelin Pilot Power tires, and 2) I modified the suspension settings in accordance with an article I found by surfing the internet. The article was written by a UK bike magazine, and was based on setting up the bike for the track.

The suspension adjustments basically softened the compression and rebound damping up front somewhat, softened the rear pre-load, and lowered the forks in the tripleclamp a bit. Being a novice at these things, I did exactly as the article instructed. Since I don't have experience on the track with other bikes, I can't give you a comparison, but I can tell you that the bike was absolutely rock solid. Even though I'm a novice track rider, I pushed it hard enough to grind off a good portion of the pegs with great confidence and no drama. So I guess the setup was pretty good. I'm sure the bike is slower and less nimble than the top liter bikes, but I think you'd have to be a really advanced rider to push the bike to the point where the differences become any sort of practical limitation. The bike was incredibly fast, very quick to turn, and amazingly stable. I was thrilled.

On the street, I also have had numerous positive comments about the looks of the bike. I particularly like the looks being a bit "understated" compared to most other sportbikes. I bought a set of Triumph softbags for it that work really well. I recommend them, as they make the bike much more versatile.

I like having something a bit different, and don't feel like I had to compromise to get it.

Re: My new "old" Daytona 955i

I think that has to do with the fact that your 4 cylinder engine is a derivative of the old Daytona 1200 engine. And I believe the 1200 was basically the 900cc triple with an extra cylinder grafted on. So you've just got a bigger freakin' diesel! That is so cool.

I don't think the reason is thinner castings, though. I heard one of the service techs at my dealer complaining about how overbuilt the Triumphs were compared with the more elegant Ducati designs. Actually, one of the articles I read on the new Sprint ST--the same one that coined "Kenworth Effect"--gave a reason for it. I don't remember what it was, but it was mechanical. Of course, I don't know if they were correct. I'll have to look it up.

I posted this on the Triumph sales thread, but I'm not sure you caught it: Triumph is said to be developing a 1500cc Bonneville with a derivative of the Rocket 3 motor. They apparently lopped off one cylinder, turned the whole thing ninety degrees and, voila, a parallel twin. A prototype has been seen running around in England.