Among the many aftermarket modifications we’ve put on the Daytona 675, the TracStar Clipons by Maine-based Heli Modified are far-and-away the bike’s biggest improvement with regards to rider comfort. Because “performance shouldn’t be painful” – so goes Heli Modified’s motto.

While the strain on the wrists isn’t altogether relieved by the TracStars, they significantly reduce tension by adding a full 1.6″+ on the damper end and 3/8″+ over the forks. When you’re used to grinding metacarpals just to hold onto the Daytona’s OEM grips, an extra inch of freedom feels like a godsend.

If you’re the kind of rider who’d like to trust their clipons not to warp or contort mid-endo – or, heaven forbid, after a drop – rest assured that these babies are tough enough to handle some hard living (we won’t vouch for the rest of your ride).

HeliBar TracStars are precision-engineered from extruded aluminum-alloy billet; they’re strong, resistant to corrosion and light. The downside to all this glowing praise, of course, is that you pay for what you get, even if what you get, seems really small compared to all the other things you could have spent those couple of hundred dollars on. It really boils down to personal comfort (and maybe whether or not your insurance covers carpal-tunnel syndrome).

The TracStars are direct replacements for OEM parts, so fortunately for us, they took no time to install (see previous posts). Stock cables, reservoir mounts and control housings fit on exactly the same as they did before – but now, you’re not begging for a break after a 30-minute ride. Sure, there are those out there who’ll wonder how it takes 30 minutes to go ANYWHERE on the Daytona. And to that, I can only say, bug off!

Until we get that check-engine light to cut off, it’s Grandpa Harrison time over on 580 Northbound. “What’s that, you whippersnappers? Oh! Yes, my arthritic old wrists feel fine….”

Stay tuned for more updates, and always, be sure to check out Triumph Boards.

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Today we’ll be chatting a bit about the Daytona’s check-engine light, and about how, sometimes, your bike’s cosmetics will try to kill you (see title). What do I mean? As you watch the video, keep in mind that it was shot right after the carbon fiber heel guard from the Gilles rearset flew off and jammed into the shifter while I was on the Bay Bridge.

Also note how I completely call the heel guard from our Gilles rearset, “this… carbon-fiber… thingy….” I was still pretty shook up. Fortunately, we were able to cut out the part of the video where I have a minor nervous break down and started drooling on myself.

Really, though. I’d like to take a moment to say that the pre-ride check is important and should be thoroughly conducted every time you ride. In my case, if I’d seen that the left heel guard had come loose before getting on the road, I’d have fixed it immediately and it wouldn’t have jammed my shifter in the middle of the Bay Bridge.

They teach “T-CLOCS” in MSF courses and frankly, it’s as good a guideline for the pre-ride check as any. Tires and wheels, Controls, Lights and electronics, Oil and fluids, Chassis and suspension, and Sidestand. If you’ve ever found a screw embedded in your tire or a mysterious, green liquid accumulating beneath your radiator, you know what I’m talking about.

Regarding the Daytona’s check-engine light woes, I’ve been keeping updates on TriumphBoards. The second I figure it out, you’ll be the first to know! Stay tuned.

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Today we dressed the Daytona 675. This is a procedure we recommend everyone get familiar with. At some point, you’ll either want to service the bike, clean it, prep it for the track or, as in our case, repair/replace damaged fairings. And while it’s not exactly rocket science, you do need to be paying attention in order to do the job right. As with everything, your manual will help.

First, we attached the side fairings – first the left, then the right – joining them beneath the bike, with the triangle brace inserted in front of the radiator before bolting everything together.

We put the headlamps back into the front fairing, bolted them in, then bolted the headlamp/fairing assembly to the bike’s hard points and side fairings. Et voila! Then we turned the electronics on (come to think, you should do this before bolting everything together) and, fortunately, everything worked just fine.

Remember: Give the steering a full turn in either direction, making sure nothing catches on anything you don’t want it to catch on. In our case, we found our Ohlins damper (mounted beneath the lower triple clamp) jammed very nicely into the lower lip of the headlamp/fairing assembly when the handlebars were turned to the right. “Ungood,” as my MSF instructor used to say. We put another spacer on the Ohlins bolt and solved the problem nicely. See the Ohlins damper installation video for more.

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We took an hour out of our busy weekends to indulge ourselves in a little motorcycle time. Namely, by swapping out the Daytona 675 stock steering damper with a polished silver damper by Ohlins. It’s a pretty easy swap once you get the fairings off, and you can get a feel for the installation via the video below. Thanks Alex and Paul for the assist.

The Ohlins steering damper we used is a universal model, which meant we had to use a couple of rubber spacers before she’d fit nice and flush beneath the bottom triple clamp. General note: once you’re finished installing the damper, give the front wheel a turn through the full range of its motion, making sure that the new piece doesn’t interfere with anything.

Now that we’re done, we’re looking forward to seeing how the Daytona performs on the road. Because the Ohlins steering damper has an easy, 16-click adjustment action (remember, righty-tighty! The damper is usually set to a softer position at 10 clicks counter-clockwise from fully closed) it’ll be easy to fiddle with the settings in order to see just how much wobble it eliminates. Check back soon for an update.

For in-depth technical and maintenance info, check out Ohlins website, it’s definitely worth it. For instance, you may already know that you need to service your dampener every 6,500 miles… but do you know what kind of oil it needs?

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Hey guys, here it finally is, as promised: the video that goes with our review of the Brake Tech Axis CMC rotors and Ferodo bake pads. Read the original article here. But check out the video!

It was quite a journey and we bumped into butt loads of problems, but we finally go it done. Hope you enjoyed it! Remember, to fill in any gaps, refer to the full article here.

Stay tuned guys.

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