BIKE launches are always funny things to go to, there’s so much bullshit and PR bravado floating about, it’s sometimes hard to actually get to the bottom of what’s going on!
And while Triumph’s Daytona Moto2 765 reveal at the BRDC club before the British MotoGP round was low on bullshit – Carmelo Ezpeleta was there, I think he has a low bullshit tolorence! – there was a fair bit of bravado floating about, with Triumph bringing out the big guns from the board, including the owner’s son Nick Bloor.
Now before the event, I was fully sold on the timeline of events that were about to unfurl. It’s Triumph’s PR machine’s best trick, and worked well for the TFC Rocket 3 and TFC Thuxton R. It goes like this:
- Make a super exclusive toy
- Market it as the ultimate X/Y or Z
- Leave the masses to sweat for a bit and stare at pictures on social media
- Put them all out of their misery and announce a general release of a less high-spec version
So, you can imagine my disappointment at the news that this was it, the final edition, the end of the bloodline – nada.
But is it, really? I don’t think so, and here’s why!
For one, if all the bikes are sold – as I was told they were on Friday evening – why the hell are we all stood in the super exclusive (and expensive to rent) BRDC clubhouse at Silverstone? Why are we being invited to do pieces of video with the lead engineers and talk about the new frame and revised engine? If all the bikes are sold, Triumph could have saved a heap of cash by not inviting us all just sending out a press release!
The second thing is that on Triumph’s own website the bike is name-checked as the next-gen Daytona – here’s the proof:
So why not the last generation of the racing legend, why the next? Surely that’s implying there is more to come from Triumph with a sports bike in one form or another!
The final thing that might give us a clue to what’s going on here is the engine. On the night of the reveal there were hushed noises around the room of Euro5 emissions and that the 765 engine might be unable to pass them. I can’t comment on the validity of this, as when I asked the reply I got was so long and convoluted I lost interest.
What could be happening is that yes, sadly this is the last hurrah for Triumph’s Daytona 765. One final blast of the PR trumpet to remind the masses that the good folk at Hinckley can still build a decent sportsbike when they want to. But I don’t think it’ll be the last we see. With the ever-tightening emissions regulations, constantly ramping up capacity to get the power us riders crave, I wouldn’t bet against a larger engine, similar spec machine hitting the dealers in the next couple of years.
