there ’ s really no comparing the two mills at 56hp and 94hp outputs respectively . Everything else is much the same , wheels at 17- inch , with 120 / 70 front , and 180 / 55 rear , on cast alloy five spokers . There are three colour schemes for the 660 , in Granite Grey , Snowdonia White and Carnival Red , and my demo was definitely RED , with a lovely 660 edged graphic picked out in white , on the glossy black , low on the fairing . Aesthetically , the bike is excellent , and I even liked the rear light and plate stalk , with a mid-point floating plate stopping escaping wet and dirt from the tyre , and nodding towards a proper tail tidy , while keeping the law happy . The mirrors are a quirky fixture . Often problematic in a sporty faired bike , these are no exception . Sticking out like snail antennae , they ’ re OK , just ‘ OK ’, but there ’ s an odd sense of ‘ detachment ’ from the picture behind you , in part because the distance from your eyes is longer than normal . I also found them quite hard to adjust so that my arms weren ’ t 60 percent of the rear view .
THAT MOTOR But the heart of this bike , obviously , has to be that water-cooled triple , and its 12 valves . Based on the Trident engine , but seriously modified specifically for the Daytona , with new heads and pistons , three throttle bodies and a slipper clutch , its a real treat , red-lining at a whopping 12 and a half thou ’. It ’ s a terrific powerplant , getting 80 % of torque at 3000 revs , and proving to be a lot of fun on the road . Comparison-wise it ’ s probably up against Aprilia ’ s RS660 , the Yamaha R7 and Suzuki ’ s GSX-S8 , but its not a down and out race bike , unlike Honda ’ s CBR600 . In that , it differs from the earlier Daytonas , the discontinued 675 the case in point . That said , this motor loves to be revved and the soundtrack is bloody marvellous when you do fang it , and I discovered the handling was softer than I expected . Sometimes the drive into good corners and the snappy whip from side to side had more of a roll-on , roll-off type feel , and I felt the front didn ’ t have the directness of some others . I did check tyre pressures too , but I couldn ’ t fault the Michelin
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