Ducati 848 Vs. Triumph Daytona 675

Ducati 848 vs. Triumph Daytona 675

Middleweight punch-fest

BLAKE CONNER

IN BOXING, WHAT GOOD IS HAVING A GREAT JAB IF YOU’RE confined to a space where you can’t let it loose? Sometimes in close quarters, having a firm uppercut gets the job done just fine. That’s how it is with these two European middleweights—more punishing grunt and less flashy-fast footwork than supersport 600s.

Both Ducati’s 848 and Triumph’s Daytona 675 have gone down different roads than the Japanese inline-Four 600s, relying on fewer cylinders but beefed-up displacement and the subsequent added midrange. The Italian bike accomplishes this with an 849cc, liquid-cooled, 90-degree Twin that pumps out 117 rear-wheel horsepower but an even more impressive 63 foot-pounds of torque (20 more than a typical 600). As for the Anglo engine, revised for 2009 with new con-rods and exhaust port work, its liquid-cooled, 675cc inline-Triple produces 110 hp and 49 ft.-lb. of torque.

Unfair, you say?! Too bad, sometimes you just have to make your own rules! The benefit that both bikes offer over 600s is improved real-world power delivery, especially rollon performance; they don’t feel nearly as highly strung. Around town, the 848 and 675 pull away from stops with minimal fuss.

Unfortunately, that added oomph wasn’t felt at the dragstrip. Despite making good power, both bikes were difficult to launch. The Triumph continually bogged off the line despite a power curve that would lead you to believe otherwise-possibly due to our 2500-foot elevation test location. The Ducati’s clutch likes to be babied or it chatters.

Regardless, acceleration figures were still very comparable to those of the Honda and Kawasaki in the preceding 2x2. The Ducati clicked off a respectable 10.63-second, 132.62-mph quarter-mile pass, while the Triumph was right behind with a 10.65/131.49 pass. Zero to 60 took 3.0 and 3.2 seconds, respectively. If either bike could be launched harder, they would likely trounce the 600s.

Shift action from each six-speed box was good, though the Triumph can be a touch notchy at times and we hit a few false neutrals on the otherwise slick-shifting 848. Both are huge improvements over previous-gen trannys from both companies, especially the Ducati gearbox-no longer do you have to sit at a stoplight clicking back and forth between first and second in a seemingly endless quest for neutral. Both bikes would benefit from a slipper clutch for trackday use, especially the shorter-wheelbase Triumph.

The real shakedown occurred at the Streets of Willow Springs Raceway on a cold and blustery spring day. We opted to run stock tires, as both bikes come with sticky, track-worthy Pirellis. Early in the morning, with track temperatures cold and the wind yet to whip up, Road Test Editor Don Canet and I recorded base lap times before we messed with suspension settings. The 675 was awesome right out of the box and immediately laid down what would be the quickest time of the day. The 848, on the other hand, needed further suspension setup as it was really soft in the front, allowing too much dive under braking, and it wouldn’t hold a tight line through the middle of corners.

After cranking in all but one line of preload on the Ducati’s 43mm Showa fork and optimizing rebound accordingly, the 848 transformed and instantly dropped 2 seconds per lap.

With Willow’s infamous wind howling later in the afternoon, lap times for both bikes got slower. Despite closing the gap considerably, the Due consistently circulated about half a second slower than the Daytona. One of the keys to the 675’s success on track is its ability to turn-in more quickly, hold a tighter line and transition from side-to-side effortlessly. With a wheelbase measuring about 1.5 inches shorter than the 848 and with a steeper rake (23.9 degrees compared to 24.5), the Daytona easily flicked into and out of the Streets’ tight bits. Another factor was how planted the 41mm fork felt mid-corner, giving us lots of confidence. Triumph’s Kayaba suspension front and rear offers highand low-speed compression damping for ’09.

DUCATI

848

$13,995

Ups

Chip off the 1198’s block

Big-bike power in midweight package

$2500 cheaper than big brother

Downs

$4200 more than Triumph!

Mirrors suck

Only snowball paint

With lap times so close, it was apparent that the Ducati was making up ground with pure grunt off the corners. It wasn’t nearly as easy to thread through the track’s multiple chicanes, the bike wanting to wrestle the rider. And despite its longer wheelbase and steering damper, the 848 didn’t show a notable advantage over the Triumph through the track’s tricky, ultra-fast esses. It would shake its head and let you know you were hauling ass every time. Factor in the Britbike’s measured dry weight of 400 pounds, and it’s easy to see where the less-flickable, 414-pound Italian was losing tenths of a second.

TRIUMPH

DAYTONA 675

$9799

Ups

Sexy power and torque curves

Race-quality brakes

Light and nimble

VDowns

Reluctant hard launches at dragstrip

Resetting trip meter a twohanded operation

Handlebar switch pods kinda hokey

Despite having less power than the Ducati, the 675 has incredibly smooth delivery, allowing the throttle to be picked up sooner exiting corners, and with at least 40 ft.-lb. of torque available from 4000 to 13,500 rpm, a good drive was assured. The 848 liked to be on-throttle, especially through the track’s downhill 180-degree Turn 3, as its chassis reacts more to power input. Chop the throttle mid-corner on the Ducati and you can feel the front end load the tire. Corner exits were brisk, but the Ducati still likes the rev-counter reading 6500 rpm and higher for a really good drive, then it pulls aggressively until smacking into the hard limiter at 1 1,250.

Braking was a toss-up, with each bike offering an excellent setup. The Ducati gets it done up front with twin 320mm discs, Brembo radial-mount calipers, stainless-steel lines and an adjustable-span lever. The Triumph’s anchors are comparable: 308mm discs, radial-mount monoblock Nissins, braided lines and an adjustable lever. Power and feel for each were excellent, both on the street and at Willow Springs.

Ergonomically, the bikes are quite different. The Triumph’s ergos are compact with a much shorter reach to the clip-ons, while the 848 stretches you out over the tank. On the street, the Daytona allows a more upright posture with good wind protection. Seats on either bike are firm but offer excellent shape and allow the rider to hang off and move from side to side during spirited riding. Saddle height on the Triumph places the rider’s butt 33 inches off the ground to the Due’s 32.3, and the latter also offers more extreme footpeg placement (slightly more rearset and higher). You sit on the 675 and in the 848.

One of Ducati's biggest oversights are its mirrors, pretty much useless for seeing anything directly behind you. The Triumph's allow more adjustability so you at least know if The Man is pacing you. Where the 848 one-ups the 675 is its LCD dash (identical to that of the 1198); it offers tons of info, is easy to read in almost any light, and is stylish and modern. Both displays include shift lights, but the Triumph’s has too many sequential LEDs; we like the simpler three-light progression on the 848.

Styling comes down to buyer taste. You would have to be a fool to not like the 848’s clean lines, but only one color, white, is offered. The 675, available in either red or black, received a facelift for ’09 with updated bodywork and lighter wheels making it look even more lithe and purposeful.

When the sparring was complete, we were surprised how close these two Euros were to each other. But that same statement made choosing a winner a bit easier. Despite giving up 7 hp and almost 15 ft.-lb. of torque, the Daytona outperformed the Ducati hands-down at the track. On the street, the bikes ran virtually neck-and-neck in acceleration testing; but factor in the $4200 price difference and the fact that the 675 is more user-friendly in everyday use and the Triumph delivers a TKO. □