Triumph Rocket III: Review
Honey I grew the cruiser…
Throughout the 90’s, it wasn’t just fast food that was getting the supersize treatment – so were motorcycles. By the new millennium, Kawasaki’s Vulcan exceeded the two-litre mark and Harley had their 1450cc ’88’ engine. Even so, when Triumph finally brought out their Rocket in 2004, the sheer size of it engendered an outbreak of jaw- dropping unequalled since the parting of the Red Sea. As if a 2.3 litre engine was not enough, a wet weight of 350 kilos, a fuel tank of almost 6 gallons and a 240 section rear tyre gave it more presence than a T-Rex in ray-bans. In fact, if Godzilla could ride, he’d have had one.
But though The Rocket has, without doubt, entered the motorcycle pantheon of Unique and Famous Bikes, the big triple has never been the run away success the Hinckley firm hoped.
But though The Rocket has, without doubt, entered the motorcycle pantheon of Unique and Famous Bikes, the big triple has never been the run away success the Hinckley firm hoped.
Triumph Rocket Touring 2011 Paris Show. Image:Wikipedia
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Some say the basic design concept was flawed. The bike was aimed primarily at the American market on the basis that in the USA, size matters. Yet traditional cruiser riders are a conservative bunch and they were used to v-twins, not triples. The Rocket lacked both the visual beauty of the v-engine and, crucially, the familiar thump-thump soundtrack.
Just as importantly, Americans wanting speed traditionally bought Triumphs because they were lighter and faster than Harleys. The Rocket is fast, but light it certainly isn’t. The bike didn’t so much leave Yankee buyers unimpressed, as just plain bemused. |
But misjudging a marketing niche doesn’t make the Rocket a bad bike. Ten years later, it’s still white-knuckle fast, raucously loud (in an off-beat triply way and assuming you ditch the standard pipes) and looks so glam-rock outrageous it’ll put a grin on your chops the moment you open the garage door. Triumph should get a medal just for imagining such a thing.
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In the flesh, there’s seemingly 10 acres of gleaming chrome to keep Sunday polishers happy; the bike will leave a cloud of roasted rubber (and numerous lesser bikes) in it’s wake at the traffic light Grand Prix and, in a nod to practicality, the huge gas tank means that you won’t be stopping every hundred miles like most cruiser riders. In a nutshell, the the Rocket is huge fun, inspired pride of ownership and giving recession-hit egos a welcome boost. |
Triumph Rocket Classic 2009. Our test bike.
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The technical stuff…
The heart of the beast is a three cylinder over-square DOHC four stroke with a cavernous capacity of 2294 cc – more than the lump in many family cars. It runs a laid back compression ratio of 8.7 to one, but even so manages to kick ass to the tune of 146bhp.
Torque is enough to tow the Queen Mary down the fast lane of the M1 (no it’s not, Ed.) – a huge 147 ft/lbs. Even though the Rocket revs to 7,000 rpm, around 90% of the torque is available at just 2500. Astonishingly, it delivers more pulling power at tickover than The Triumph Trophy does flat out. 
In terms of model range, there are now two models to choose from, the Roadster with footrests nearly five inches farther back and an inch lower than the original Rocket III, and the Touring with foot-boards, hard saddlebags, screen and softer power delivery. Another bike you’re likely to come across however is the Classic, which has the floor-boards but no luggage – we chose this as our test bike.
Suspension and braking
Click image to see video of Progressive Shocks Install
In terms of handling the power, and the mass, what
you get is frankly a mixed bag. Moderate rake angle and heavy upside-down forks
keep the front end reasonably well behaved, although there is no
adjustment available.
But the rear shocks are awful and deliver a jarring ride on anything less than perfectly smooth tarmac. Slowing the bike though is admirably achieved by twin 320mm stoppers front and a single 319mm rear which haul the bike up impressively fast. Odd though it might seem, the handling tends to be better on the Touring model as this has a narrower rear tyre (180 instead of 240) and better rear shocks. Turn in is faster and ride smoother. Equipment
Extra gauges are available to add detail to inputs and bling up the cockpit.
Triumph have clearly taken a leaf out of BMW’s book when specifying the Rocket; standard levels on the Classic and Roadster are pretty basic with the tourer only a tad better, but the accessories catalogue is huge.
Pick and mix does offer choice but seems a bit mean given the bike’s asking price. For instance, our 2009 model originally came with no clock or fuel gauge until the previous owner kindly added these OEM ‘extras’ . More oddly for a water-cooled bike, it also had no water temperature gauge, nor indeed for so appealing a candidate for theft, an alarm or immobiliser. We added these HERE. There is no ABS as standard on earlier bikes. Triumph make a kit for heated grips, and another for fog lamps, both pre-wired in the bike’s harness. We fitted the latter HERE and also upgraded the feeble OEM horn with a fabulous America Wollo air horn HERE. More recent bikes have immobiliser and alarm as standard as well as ABS and the 2014 Touring model comes with fog lamps, screen, crash bars, panniers and computer. With the Rocket more than most bikes, if buying pre-owned, check out exactly what your bike does and does not have before handing over the cash. Looks and performance
Image: Wkimedia
The bug eyed headlights and buxom curves of the Rocket make for a bike that is striking rather than pretty (think Doris Day not Angelina Jolie) except for the engine which is, frankly, just an ugly lump, best left blacked out as Triumph have indeed done. It’s a shame more could not have been done to improve this key visual component of any cruiser’s looks.
Fine build quality though is apparent from the deep shine of the tasty paintwork to the quality and lustre of the chrome. It’s well put together and built to last. 
The Rocket is not all-show-and-no-go. It looks powerful and indeed, in a most Ronseal sort of way, it is. Straight-line performance is impressive, with the old girl being able to hoist her skirts and blast forward at rates normally only seen on sportsbikes. Embarrassing fast cars and other unsuspecting bikes at traffic lights can be humungous fun. Similarly overtakes can be accomplished safely and quickly with the flick of the wrist – a far cry from the anxious throttle-wringing needed to pass traffic on a typical Harley. It’s simply astonishing to see how fast a car turns into a mere dot in your mirror as the Rocket blasts off. |
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