Today, I rode out to Joe’s Cycle Shop in Dayton to test ride the largest production cruiser on the planet, the Triumph Rocket III, a 2300cc triple cylinder monster. ( Not counting Boss Hoss motorcycles, that use the 8200cc Chevy V-8 engines).
The first thing I noticed was that the bike has A LOT of power. At 704 lbs dry weight (320 kgs), the Rocket is lighter than several full dresser HDs and puts out a peak 140 bhp @ 6000 rpm and 147 ft. lbs of torque at 2500 rpm. As I let out the clutch slowly, I could feel the latent power in the engine, requiring just a flick of the throttle to unleash. I’m sure I could have popped a wheelie if I wanted to. The triple cylinder engine sounds good, very different from a V-twin. The seat is taller but I could flat-foot on both sides. The bike was surprisingly nimble for its size and handles very well. I would definitely want to own one some day!
By the way, if you have a Triumph dealer in your neighborhood you should go and test ride the Rocket. After you test-ride the bike, you can enter the sweepstakes for a chance to win a Triumph Rocket! See the Triumph USA website for details.
July 11, 2007 at 5:25 am
Since i haven’t experienced more than 17 bhp on 2 wheels, guess cant even imagine ur feel of the rocket. But hoping that one of the japs show mercy on us desi’s and bless us with a 25+ bhp machine
July 11, 2007 at 4:53 pm
Hey praveen, I’m wondering why they haven’t started making bigger CC, v-twin bikes in india yet, I’m sure there’s a market for it. I think something like my old bike, the Honda Shadow VLX, a 600 cc V-twin putting out about 38 bhp would be perfect for the speeds and other requirements there.
July 11, 2007 at 11:29 pm
Nice!
…you don’t mention the price on that monster. Is that deliberate?
July 12, 2007 at 1:34 pm
You said it Vinod. But blame it on the exchange rate !
For example, though the living standards are comparable between a SW Engineer in US and india, but 2 months pay of US SW Engg gets him an R1, where as 2 months pay of Indian SW Engg get a 17 bhp bike!! In short paying 83k Rs for a17 bhp bike here is like as if paying 12k dollars in US for the same bike!! or Buying an R1 here (including 110% duty ) is like an US citizen shelling out 100000 dollars for an R1!. But life is ok on other stuff like, a bottle of coke costs 30 cents here tough the same costs around couple of dollars in US.
Phew, forgive my rant
July 13, 2007 at 3:59 pm
DP, the bike costs about 15K USD. More if you want accessories! Out of my reach for the moment!
Praveen: Yeah, I see your point. An that 110% import duty doesn’t help either. I wonder if the cheaper Korean brands have any appeal there- Vento motorcycles (http://www.vento.com/) or Hyosung ( http://www.hyosungmotorsusa.com/) . They have started appearing in the US but I don’t see too many of them around as they don’t have brand recognition.
By the way, did you know that the Enfield Bullet is sold here as a modern classic ? !
July 15, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Yes Vinod, Hyosung sells the Comet GT250 here through kinetic motors. But Enfield Bullet selling in US is a surprise to me
July 16, 2007 at 11:21 pm
2300cc–that is simply mind bloggling! I’m unable to comprehend those numbers! “Rocket” seems like an apt name!
August 1, 2007 at 2:43 pm
The Rocket is almost 10 times the engine size of my daily ride — Vespa GTS 250ie. And as big as it is I have to say that Triumph is the only motorcycle that constantly draws me in. All their products have a special aesthetic that gets me.
Before I bought the Vespa I was on my way to the dealer, cash in hand, to by a T100 Bonneville. But I got sidetracked. Now a 900 Scrambler is on my shopping list.
We have a dealer here in town. I’ll have to look into a test ride.
Steve Williams
Scooter in the Sticks
August 10, 2007 at 8:49 pm
lucky you mate.. lucky you….
wish they had something like that in india… the RE is the max powerful bike on road today. the newly released avl packs about 24 bhp… riding the rocket must be truly an enjoyable ride,..
IF i ever make it to your land, first thing im going to do is get to test ride some bikes? need to get an international licence…
August 11, 2007 at 5:43 am
This bike is amazing, you can’t really compare it to the Bss Hoss for quality. Triumphs bikes great, their classics range is fantastic. Check out this great Triumph Rocket III video I located on youtube.
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