When Triumph launched the Daytona 660, it was a bit of a let-down. Fans wanted the Hinkley company to make a modern version of the original Daytona 675. Customers accepted they weren't getting anything similar to the Daytona of the naughties, but the Daytona 660 still fell short in terms of handling performance versus its competitors in the newly created 'middleweight sportbike' class. It was just a bit soft, but Triumph looks set to change this with a host of updates for the 2026 Daytona 660.
The Daytona sometimes lost out in reviews to its competitors, despite having a lively engine and around 12-20 more hp, because it wasn't up to snuff when things got twisty. Now, the Daytona features new Showa 41mm USD big-piston Separate Function forks, adjustable for compression and rebound damping, which are relatively comparable to Yamaha's R7—often touted as the best in class for racy handling.
The rear Showa shock still features preload adjustment, but strangely, Triumph hasn't added damping adjustability, which is featured on the latest RSU of the 2026 Trident 660. I think the middleweight sportbike should at least feature the same adjustability as the middleweight naked from the OEM, so I reached out for a comment regarding the reasoning behind this decision and will update this piece with the response.
