Why would you ever buy a 675cc bike for 10.15 lacs when you can get something similar from another company at about half the price? This looks like a valid question to be asked to Triumph people now, who have just launched the Daytona 675 at 10.15 lacs ex-showroom Delhi.
When Triumph announced they would be opening shop in India, the Daytona was the most looked-forward to bike by us. The bike looks quite gorgeous, with its nose down, tail up style and muscular looks. We figured a 675cc 3 cylinder engine producing 131 horses does command a premium over a 650cc producing 72 horses, but what we expected was the Daytona 675 was to be launched at below 7 lacs, not over 10.
Yes, the Triumph Daytona 675 is a very track focused bike, as against the touring focus of Ninja 650R. Yes it looks better, is faster and has more tech wizardry under the hood than Air Force One. But none of these things are enough to break the hearts of all performance enthusiasts out there, especially those without obscenely deep pockets.
Anyway, the calmer sister of Daytona 675R gets fully adjustable suspensions both front and rear, Pirelli SuperCorsa tires and best quality brakes you can put your hands on. The Daytona 675R is more than a lac costlier than the “normal” version, and is especially made for those who have an exceptional amount of contempt for their own lives.
The Triumph Daytona 675 will be fighting against the brilliant Kawasaki Ninja 650R and the not-so-brilliant Hyosung GT650R. A new addition to the party would be the Honda CBR650F, when it is launched. I really hope Honda doesn’t make the same mistake as Triumph, in the price department.
Triumph has now 11 products in their portfolio, starting at 5.9 lacs and going up to 24.5 for the mammoth Rocket III. None of them excite me a lot, but it’s like I always say, choice is always good.
Image source: MotorBeam.com and Motorcycle-USA.com