Triumph Daytona Moto2 765 road test, price and review

Triumph builds a sports bike after the accountants have gone home.

It’s a neat trick. Me and the Triumph 765 Daytona are ‘making progress’ along the back roads of Sussex. Peter Hickman won’t feel threatened by our pace, but I’m having a hell of a time. The Triumph feels nimble, lively and very responsive. Firm suspension and a stiff chassis are exaggerating the bumps and ripples while the steering shimmies, but never anything more. This feels like a really quick ride, but when I look down at the speedo we are best described as mischievous or misguided, rather than reckless or dangerous. At first I’m disappointed and then the opposite. This bike reminds me of all those great rides we used to have on 400cc sports bikes, only quicker. All the thrills and precision of a sports bike with few of the bigger risks.

The word ‘ultimate’ is massively over-used, especially by marketing people making TV adverts with Samuel L Jackson accents. Ultimate means ‘final’ and, in the case of Triumph’s new 765cc Moto2 replica it fits. The Moto2 Daytona is the first, last and very much the ‘Ultimate’ 765cc version they’ll build.

Which answered everyone’s first question, ‘Is this the limited-edition forerunner of a mass-produced 765cc Daytona?’ No, say Triumph. Absolutely not., and we didn’t see any fingers crossed behind their backs. Instead, this is Triumph waving-off one of their most successful and favourite machines with a full-on ‘blaze-of-glory’ demonstration of just how good a Daytona can be.

In the flesh it is stunning. The numbers on the spec sheet might struggle to compete with mass-produced 1000cc superbikes costing similar money, and let’s not forget that Honda’s now-legendary RC30 didn’t exactly impress us with the spec-sheet numbers either. But the attention to detail, quality components and performance on road and track certainly impress. The one-piece, hand-laid carbon fairing is finished to a standard most supercar builders can only dream of. The plain-anodised (not lacquered) alloy frame and swing-arm are things of beauty and the top-spec Öhlins suspension and Brembo brakes mean that well-heeled buyers won’t need to trade up to a Ducati V4-R until they can get their TT lap times beyond the 128mph that Peter Hickman proved was capable on his 675 Daytona in 2019.

Triumph Daytona 765 on road and track with John McGuinness! | REVIEW

The limited edition Triumph Daytona Moto2 765 was unveiled in August 2019 while the Hinckley-based firm celebrated its first year as the official engine supplier to the Moto2 class.

2020 Triumph Moto2 Daytona 765 Price

Back in July we reported that dealers were expecting the price of the new Daytona to be around the £15k mark. We can now confirm that the price of the new bike is… £15,765.

Just 10bhp down on the Moto2 racer, but fully Euro-4 compliant and a two-year, unlimited-mileage warranty as well

2020 Triumph Moto2 Daytona 765 engine, power and torque

Triumph tweaked the 765cc motor used in the Street Triple RS to get closer to their Moto2 spec. It now makes 128bhp and 59lb-ft of torque, up from 121bhp and 56lb-ft in the Street Triple RS and down about 10bhp on the full-fat Moto2 racer. The changes are many, but mostly aimed at getting more rpm and so, more power, with reliability too. Titanium inlet valves, stronger pistons, revised cam profiles, new intake trumpets, modified crank and con-rods, intake ports and barrels, plus an increased compression ratio all combine to add 600rpm, 3lb-ft and 7bhp to the Street Triple’s engine.

That’s a lot of work to make just two more bhp than the last of the 675cc Daytonas, especially considering there’s ten per cent more capacity. But it’s not the headline number that matters here (unless your mate has a 2015 Suzuki GSX-R750, in which case you might want to focus on the chassis and suspension part of the spec-sheet).

What’s most impressive here is that the Daytona 765’s engine has a whopping 20 per cent more torque…everywhere than the old Daytona 675 unit (which was always considered torquey for a middleweight) and five per cent more than the 765 Street Triple RS’s motor too.

And what’s even more impressive is that, unlike your mate’s 148bhp/64lb-ft GSX-R750, this is a fully homologated, Euro-4 compliant motorcycle with an enormous catalytic convertor that the race bike doesn’t have and enough silencing (from a road-legal titanium Arrow end-can) to keep your neighbours happy. Without all that lot the road bike would be making not far off the numbers of the racer.

On the road, it’s a lovely engine to use. There’s enough mid-range and part-throttle acceleration to enjoy a twisty backroad without having to change gear every few seconds. It feels more like a fast road motor than something as fast-revving and racey as Yamaha’s R6 buzz-bomb. Which makes sense because the three-cylinder 765 motor is effectively three-quarters of a four-cylinder 1000cc superbike. And when you do get excited and really go for it, there’s a lot more than you realised in reserve without feeling so fast that you don’t feel in control.

The quickshifter works both ways on the gearbox, but, on the road is only really of value on the downshifts because you can shift up without the clutch so easily anyway.

Still need more impressing? How about the fact that the limited-edition road bike is also built to be stronger and more reliable over time than the Moto2 racer? It has to be because customers expect a proper warranty, 6000-mile service intervals and absolute dependability on the long ride home from their track day at Catalunya. So, the Daytona’s internals are stronger and heavier than the ones in the race bikes that do three race weekends (which is still impressively reliable) between rebuilds.

TFT dash and each bike is individually numbered on the top yoke

2020 Triumph Daytona 765 Moto2 electronics and clocks

Five riding modes (including a rider-programmable one), traction control and ABS. The level of assistance (including ABS) varies with the setting selected. ABS is not lean-angle sensitive.

Full TFT instrumentation with lap timer, easy selection and configuration of the riding modes, traction control and ABS settings, all controlled from Triumph’s joystick system and switchgear shared with the Street Triple. The display is small, but most of the info is easy to read in a quick glance at high speed. A few of the numbers are a bit small for middle-aged eyes like mine that don’t wear glasses on a bike – BMW, Honda and Ducati have moved TFT displays a long way forward in the last year or so, while Triumph spent their money on carbon fairings and top-spec suspension and brakes.

Up and down quick shifter fitted as standard

2020 Triumph Daytona 765 Moto2 chassis

The alloy frame is basically the same as the outgoing Daytona 675R. The Daytona-R frame also has an adjustable swing-arm pivot. When Moto2 testing began Triumph built a test-mule using a standard Daytona chassis for their development riders to put some miles on the engine. They knew it was capable because the 675 has won at national races, World Supersport, the IoM TT and the Daytona 200, but were surprised, at the first official Moto2 test to discover this road bike chassis was lapping within 1.5 seconds of the full-on, ultra-stiff race bikes. The Daytona 765R is a single seater so the subframe is different and there’s no pillion pegs or rear seat.

Stiff is the right word to describe the ride though. Mostly the 765 feels like a well set-up 675R because, chassis-wise that’s what it is. Ok, the suspension set-up has a lot to do with that and has enough adjustment in it to swap track precision for ride quality with still-exceptional roadholding, but most riders will put up with the stiffness in return for the feedback and feel of what the steering is doing.

Normally when you put a racer on a road bike on a track day the first thing they notice is how softly sprung and underdamped a chassis is. When we asked John McGuinness to try the Daytona 765R he was very impressed with it on standard settings, especially the stability on the brakes.

Even after three sessions, McPint (who, let’s not forget is a pretty handy and accomplished Supersport rider) had a lot more to say about how the Daytona’s styling and finish could have been better for a £15k bike than any reservations with the performance.  

Top spec Öhlins suspension, but without the semi-active assistance of other top-of-the-range sportsters 

2020 Triumph Daytona 765 Moto2 suspension

High-spec, multi-adjustable Öhlins at both ends. The forks are NIX30 units and the shock is a TTX36 twin-tube monoshock. If that kind of things means anything to you, then chances are you are looking at the right bike.

Despite this being a top-spec, limited edition bike, Triumph opted not to use the semi-active versions with electronic control. This puts more responsibility on the rider knowing and understanding how suspension works and having the patience to work on a set-up. The flipside of that is that seriously sporty riders usually enjoy this or, at least, are happy to spend the money with an expert to help with a truly personalised set-up. Not everyone likes electronic assistance because your suspension performance can vary depending on what the sensors are detecting.

Brembo Stylema calipers work hard to stop Triumph’s lightest-ever wheels spinning. ABS is programmable, but not lean-angle sensitive 

2020 Triumph Daytona 765 Moto2 Brakes and wheels

Top-spec Brembo Stylema (is it just me who wants to call them Brylcreem?) calipers, plus ASC master cylinder, plus ABS. Triumph say the reason they didn’t fit cornering ABS is that the feel and control of the chassis at all lean angles is so good that the added complexity of cornering ABS isn’t required. We are not sure they fully understand the benefits of cornering ABS to the road rider because no amount of Moto2 development brilliance will save you when the gravel and horse poo appears halfway round a blind corner on the B1192.

On the road the brakes have all the power you’ll need and plenty of feel too. On the track McPint said he could feel the fluid getting hot, bringing the lever back to the bar as he upped the pace

Wheels are cast alloy – the lightest Triumph has ever used, but still not as light as the carbon rims used on BMW’s M-spec S1000RR this year.

Quality of finish is just stunning

2020 Triumph Daytona 765 Moto2 Styling and finish

The styling is essentially that of the outgoing Daytona, but with single seat, no pillion pegs and full carbon bodywork. It’s easy to argue that, if you are having to hand-make the fairing panels out of carbon then why not take the chance to update the design (the 675 first appeared in 2006 after all), but that would have meant using different lights, brackets and many other small parts that we, the public never see, which makes no sense on a limited-edition bike. The fairing is now one piece and is hand-laid carbon, like the seat unit (which also has a custom seat). Finish is a special paint that leaves the carbon weave visible and the Union Jack motif is either in black and grey on the UK, Europe and Asian bikes or with an added red pinstripe on the USA and Canadian models.

It looks stunning in the flesh with the carbon panels set-off beautifully by the anodised metal frame and swing-arm.

If this is your idea of a perfect day out on a motorcycle, get searching the small ads now or contact your Triumph dealer for insider information.

Want one?

Triumph are making just 1530 Moto2 Daytona 765Rs. 765 of those are coming to Europe and Asia and just 150 of those are available to UK buyers. As a road bike it ticks all my sporty boxes. Comfy enough to get you across town to your favourite roads without ruining your day. Quick enough in the middle and top-end to be challenging, but enjoyable too and nimble enough to make you feel like a racing hero. Suspension and brakes that’ll run rings around pretty much any other production bike on sale and that lovely hunched-up magic that only a tiny, lightweight sports bike can give.

I recently celebrated my third mid-life moment by buying a 1997 Honda CBR600F with a FireBlade engine fitted. It makes the same power as this Daytona, weighs only about 10kg more (Triumph is being coy about the weight of the 765, but let’s assume it’s a couple of kg less than the outgoing 675R at around 182kg ready to ride) and is as comfy and practical as every great Honda ever. Riding the two of them back to back was interesting, mostly because despite similarities on paper, the Triumph (not surprisingly) kicked my Honda’s backside with its fast-revving, digital fuel injected supremacy and it’s top-spec Swedish suspension

The Daytona 765 is one of those products that exist for a different reason than spec sheets or even actual performance can define. It’s genuinely special, built with passion by engineers who want to show the world what they can do when the gloves are off. The fact that it will only do 170mph instead of the 186mph of a full-on superbike is utterly irrelevant – the way it will make you feel through that one perfect corner on that one perfect track day in the tarmac-melting sunshine will make it seem like value at half the price…probably. 

2020 Triumph Daytona 765 Moto2 spec

Looking for motorbike insurance? Get a quote for this bike with Bennetts motorcycle insurance

What is MCIA Secured?

MCIA Secured gives bike buyers the chance to see just how much work a manufacturer has put into making their new investment as resistant to theft as possible.

As we all know, the more security you use, the less chance there is of your bike being stolen. In fact, based on research by Bennetts, using a disc lock makes your machine three times less likely to be stolen, while heavy duty kit can make it less likely to be stolen than a car. For reviews of the best security products, click here.

MCIA Secured gives motorcycles a rating out of five stars, based on the following being fitted to a new bike as standard:

• A steering lock that meets the UNECE 62 standard

• An ignition immobiliser system

• A vehicle marking system

• An alarm system

• A vehicle tracking system with subscription

The higher the star rating, the better the security, so always ask your dealer what rating your bike has, and compare it to other machines on your shortlist.

NEW Triumph Daytona 765 (2019) FIRST LOOK!

We got exclusive access to see and hear the new and limited-edition Triumph Daytona Moto2 765 for 2019. Take a look around the bike, check out the top spec equipment and hear what Triumph's Chief Engineer, Stuart Wood, has to say about it.