Triumph Rocket 3 anyone ever drive/own one

[slider]

am considering buying a triumph rocket 3 (am Not selling my bumblee bee!!-just to have one ..so if anyone out there knows anything about them would you please give me your feedback??You guys told me right about the valkyrie so I know you wont steer me wrong on this..Thought Id like to have one just because they are so different-just like the dragon is-thanks guys

[donaldcc]

 

  I love my valkyrie. That said I went over to Riverside a couple months ago to meet a fellow VRCC member at his son's Triumph motorcycle dealership.

http://www.douglasmotorcycles.com/

   He had one of the Rockets there and I did sit on it and pretend I was riding.  it is a great looking bike and BIG like the Valk.  He had very good pricing on the motorcycle and I had fantasies of getting a 2nd bike.  Of course I have a lot of fantasies that never come true. 

   Seems like it might be a lot of fun and be a good roomate for a fat lady.

http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/roadtests/three_cylinder_triumph_rocket_iii/index.html

[Duckwheat]

Check out the routine maintenance cost. They should give it to you if you agree to bring it back for service.

DW

[Cattman]

I've ridden one and it's a FAST BIKE. Take off speed makes you really hang onto the bars. That said the first few years had numerous crank problems. see more info here.   http://www.r3owners.com/index.php

[Jack]

I had one.  Enjoyed it for its style and power.  Got lotsa looks on the street.  Did not have it long enough for any troubles to appear(totaled).  Heard several horror stories on the net about mechanical problems and hard-headed dealers.  My local dealer went out of business so I forgot about buying another.  Heard that happened in other states as well.

[Jack]

Oh yeah, one good thing!  They use the same oil filter as the Valk!

[hubcapsc]

I rode one and liked it, it stayed at the shop a while and I eventually saw some rusty bits on it.

The Rocket III Roadster (I haven't actually seen one) model that came out this year has pegs
in a similar place to the Valkyrie instead of icky forward floorboards, the double headlight,
a pipe on each side, more power, seemingly (to me anyhow) the best parts of all the
Rocket models...

http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/triumph/2010-triumph-rocket-iii-roadster-review-89547.html

-Mike

[Jabba]

I rode one once.  I liked the power.  The feel was not bad for me.  The brakes were great, and they NEEDED to be, but I didn't like how it shifted, and it felt really buzzy to me at certain RPM's.

I liked it... but would NOT trade my valk for one. 

That said... and I know you're NOT dumping the Valk... I say go for it.  If you have the dispposable income that is.

Jabba 

[Momz]

I've ridden three R3s. The first one was,.....FAST and it did belong to the guy that owned the Triumph dealership.
The second one was during a Demo ride at Bike Week; I was very dissappointed. It seemed as if they may have detuned it for the Demo rides.
The third was at "Triumph of Detroit" during their Open House/Demo Days event. That one was also FAST. But I did like my I/S better for it's comfort and civility.

[9Ball]

I have a 2007 standard R3 in the garage parked next to the Valk that I bought new in July, 2007.  It's only got 2000 miles on it for a reason...major problems that so far no one can fix and Triumph has washed their hands of their responsibility and are offering no further good will.

My advice, don't do it.  PM me and I'll give you the low down.

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

I rode this one up at the Covered Bridge Rally a couple years ago ...The owner told me to " Go stretch it out " .....Nice bike no doubt however it could never replace a Valkyrie IMO...I also heard lots of tales about the many problems these machines have.

[KW]

There's at least ONE or TWO VRCC members who has one. . . so hopefully one of them will jump in with the info you want.

I have ridden one, which doesn’t qualify me at all to give a informed opinion, but that’s never stopped me before. It was the first or second year they came out.  I LOVED the bike. It handled very well and was easily the quickest bike I’ve ever ridden. For that matter, it was the quickest ‘anything’ I’ve ever been on or in. The monster – at least the original version – is beyond scary quick.

I don’t know how quick the tuned down ‘interstate type’ version with the smaller tires and windscreen is. . . .  If I had the space to park one, I’d seriously think about getting it, but I would never sell my Valkyrie to own one! 

You’re going to hear from some folks here who have very little good to say about them because they ‘read’ something negative about the maintenance or mechanical problems. . .. Triumph has been around a long time and has a 100 year reputation of making solid, durable, well engineered machines AND then standing behind their bikes, so I’d ignore all that garbage.

Personally, I would only pay attention to folks who either have owned one or ridden one extensively. . . .

[Dogg]

triumph does make solid motorcycles. but the R3 is an abortion. more issues than any other bike Ive heard of. My firend used to own a Honda/triumph/ducati dealer in NJ, He hated the R3 because of so many warranty claims. nothing but a headache...but its really up to you...

[Oss]

rode one at americade demo back before they dialed back the power

like others said  blazing fast acceleration and great brakes but I wouldnt trade my Valkyrie for one.

Did I say fast

Also something about the looks just didnt do it

[Tropic traveler]

Former R3 owner & current multi-Valk owner here...........
First off I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the time I owned & rode my Rocket. I had it for about 1 1/2 years & put 9,000+ miles on splitting riding time with my Valk.
As far as R3 to Valk comparisons there are a LOT of similarities.
Handling-- both handle very well for big bikes with the Valk getting the nod for slightly better parking lot manners & a better {tighter} turning radius. R3 feels just a bit more top heavy but not bad at all.
Brakes-- R3 clear winner, hands down. The Valk aint bad but the R3 is VERY good, back brake will lock up easy.
Power-- There is NO contest of speed that the R3 will lose to the Valk. Unbelievable power & torque at ALL rpm ranges. Believe it or not the R3 gets better fuel mileage. Go figure.
Fit & finish-- Valk clear winner. My R3 had fastener rusting at 2 years of age that my '97 still doesn't have at 13 years. Triumph needs to pick up their game there.
Reliability-- DUH...Valk clear winner. I had the stalling/ no idle thing, the dreaded "paint can rattle", & the clear coat checking on the wheels & TT issues with my Rocket. To be fair, Triumph fixed all but the wheels checking for me under warranty. Took several tries on the stalling but a sharp Triumph mech at Rossemeyers {at the time} Triumph/Ducati/Harley shop in Daytona figured it out. It was the TPS. The "rattle" was the one issue that bothered me the most. The crankshaft keyway had started to deteriorate & caused the timing chain to rattle. Scary. I never had the trans/bearing issues that so many R3 owners did but I sold it with 17K on the clock. Had all the problems resolved in the first couple months I had it & not another problem after that. I had heard of all the Rocket mechanical problem horror stories as well but in the end those issues were not what led me to sell my Rocket.
In 2008 I saw the economic problems coming down the pike & made a bunch of financial moves that put us in a good $$ position that we are still in now . Selling the R3 was one of those moves. Bought Kim's beautiful Valk AND paid off what we owed on a nice badly needed car we bought for my parents with the R3 money. Also a trip to the Keys with Kim riding my Valk & me on the Rocket showed me what I really needed to know..... There is NO SUBSTITUTE for the Valkyrie. I thought the Rocket might be but no. I could never get really comfortable on the R3 like I could on the Valk. The vibration, while nothing like a stupid V-twin, was still too much for me. I guess you could say I was spoiled by the Valk.
I agree that the R3 Roadster with it's properly placed footpegs is an awfully tempting bike but for the kind of riding we do the Valk is still the best!!!


The Dynamic Duo.


Keys ride that made up my mind.


In front of Mel Fisher's place in KW.


Triumph w/s, sissy bar & rack, boards, crashbars, Corbin Beetle bags, D&D exhaust, added Valk bars, Kury grips, car horns... all set up for touring!

Bottom line is the Rocket is a pure BLAST to ride, more of a PITA to maintain & is a total attention magnet just like the Valk. There are lots of guys that have put tons of trouble free miles on the Rocket as well as the disasters that others have alluded to.
Every Valk owner should take a ride on one at least once!

[CajunRider]

Every Valk owner should take a ride on one at least once!

I can't do that... I couldn't afford the payments in this economy!!!    

[Thunderbolt]

and a 99 Valk Interstate.  Sold my 97 Valk Tourer when I got the Rocket.  Rocket is the hot rod now, Interstate is for longer trips and storage.  Rocket has no storage, if I were to buy one now I would probably go with the new model with hard bags, though I don't like the smaller rear tire and gauges on the tank.
If you want sheer power and torque, get a Rocket, both of them draw a lot of attention any time either of them is in a crowd of "other" bikes.

[highcountry]

I have a 2007 standard R3 in the garage parked next to the Valk that I bought new in July, 2007.  It's only got 2000 miles on it for a reason...major problems that so far no one can fix and Triumph has washed their hands of their responsibility and are offering no further good will.

My advice, don't do it.  PM me and I'll give you the low down.

I was interested in a R3 before the Valk and found an UK Triumph forum and there were numerous posts from owners with problems like above.  Buyer Beware!

[torch1972]

I actually bought one of the first in the country, it was a reps bike, red with gold ghost flames. I had a Valk Tourer which to this day I regret selling to buy an 05 HD Road King Classic. The HD was a nice bike but coming off the Valk and its performance I was very disappointed. I happened to go by Foothills BMW and one of the salesman(Matt) says Al I've got the ride for you. There it was. Took it for a test ride and the power was fantastic. The only reason I got rid of it was I started hearing horror stories about the early R3s and it was also partially due to financial reasons. I loved the looks,power, brakes and sound of the beast. I was up in Frisco for the 06? Inzane and let some folks sit and poke around a bit. It is the closest thing to a Valk out there.

[slider]

  thanks for all the input!!have done my home work and have decided I dont need a possible head act..will be better off to buy another dragon to keep the bee company,more reliable,and alot prettier!!I drove one and it dose have pl;enty of power and handles pretty good but it JUST isnt a dragon!!Guess my ole gal has me ruined..

[Wizzard]

I rode this one up at the Covered Bridge Rally a couple years ago ...The owner told me to " Go stretch it out " .....Nice bike no doubt however it could never replace a Valkyrie IMO...I also heard lots of tales about the many problems these machines have.

Joe,
that is my riding buddy Bob's bike you rode and he still has it. I can say this about it.
It goes through rear tires like crazy. Just eats em up.
It has crazy power.
Dont put a trailer hitch on one or it will void your warranty (he found out)
At 7000 miles a bearing went out in the transmission and if it were not for the dealer fudging on the warranty it would have cost him 3k. Had to split the engine.
I kid him that he has a tractor engine on his bike.
He still has it and loves it and now has 25k miles on it.

Would I trade my valk for one, (and I have rode it plenty)  NO WAY.
Whenever we go on a long trip (and he has a russell seat) I can ride for 10 hours (ultimate seat) but he gets a sore butt and we have to stop. Don't know if its the bike or the seat, but her sure likes to ride mine.