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!!!
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!
Pulled this from a post a couple weeks ago. Pretty much sums my feelings about the 2 bikes.
