Inline-three-cylinder 675cc, with counter-rotating crankshaft, titanium inlet and exhaust valves and a ride-by-wire throttle system. The engine has the smallest overall dimensions of any of its supersports rivals. Breathing through Mikuni 50mm throttle bodies, it’s the most powerful too, producing 128bhp at the crank and 118bhp at the rear wheel, at a heady 14,400rpm. The engine weighs just 52kg and has an ‘over-square’ 79 x 45.9mm bore and stroke. The Triumph Daytona 675’s is 74mm x 52.3mm. The F3 has Sport, Normal, Rain and Custom riding modes. Within each of the first three modes there are predetermined levels of throttle sensitively, engine torque, engine braking, engine responsiveness and an rpm limit. The custom mode lets you dial in these parameters specifically to suit you. Ride the F3 at high revs on-track or a super-fast road and it’s glorious – it has lots of power and a good throttle connection, but at normal speeds the fuelling and throttle response is terrible. You have to slip the clutch and dial in big revs through town to keep it running, like an old two-stroke and the power doesn’t come in predictably accelerating out of corners. On top of all that, the electronic engine braking control opens the throttle butterflies into corners to stop the F3 backing-in, but in reality it makes the bike accelerate alarmingly when you’ve got the throttle shut.
