Triumph R3.....talk me out of trading my Valkyrie

[Davemn]

I am smitten by the R3 Roadster. I don't think I can have one without selling my 98 Standard. I love the feel and the look. I have always had a thing for big motors (hence the Valkyrie). I haven't ridden one yet tho (Minnesota). Opinions?
PS My Valkyrie looks like its brand new and works perfectly.

[eric in md]

r3 are cool bikes .. run great but they have problems as well .. keep your valk ..

[Bighead]

Can't talk you out of it nor even try,but if you sell the Valk there will be a time down the road that you will regret it. Or at least I would

[bscrive]

If you drive it for more than an hour at a time your back and shoulders will be hurting.  Did for me.

[hubcapsc]

I haven't ridden a Roadster... I rode one of the other versions, though...

I bet a Roadster would be an awesome bike, but maybe not one for
riding numerous days in a row, maybe not smooth and comfortable
like the Valkyrie. I think a Roadster can eat some rear tires...

I rode my Valkyrie to the shop where I rode the RIII... I wasn't
sorry when I got back on the Valkyrie...

Make sure you get to ride one some before you give up the Valkyrie...

-Mike

[donaldcc]

   I am going to try and go over to the triumph dealership that is owned by our member art's son near me and give one of those big bikes a ride (if he will let me).  i like the way they look and they seem very powerful.  will post after.

 and get well art, with your fractured clavicle.  

[..]

I love the feel and the look.

I haven't ridden one yet tho (Minnesota). Opinions?
PS My Valkyrie looks like its brand new and works perfectly.

WTF

Love the feeeeel and the loooook but have never ridden one???

Please GO RIDE ONE.

Then ask us to decide on how we can help to decide what you already know what you are going to do.

[Davemn]

Britman, wtf relax. I am not planning on buying until I have ridden one and weighed all the options. Just looking for insight from those that have.

[donaldcc]

I haven't ridden a Roadster... I rode one of the other versions, though...

I bet a Roadster would be an awesome bike, but maybe not one for
riding numerous days in a row, maybe not smooth and comfortable
like the Valkyrie. I think a Roadster can eat some rear tires...
...

-Mike

  ROADSTER??  or Rocket III??

[Rams]

Wouldn't think of trying to talk anyone out of selling their Valkyrie.    Want something different, go for it.   I have no doubt someone else will be willing to take the ole fat lady off of your hands.  
 

[..]

Britman, wtf relax. I am not planning on buying until I have ridden one and weighed all the options. Just looking for insight from those that have.

Phew!!!

If you get to ride on a couple, as I have, you may find that they are vibration machines.

Nothing like the smooth ride of the Valkyrie.

[Clark]

  I am going to try and go over to the triumph dealership that is owned by our member art's son near me and give one of those big bikes a ride (if he will let me).  i like the way they look and they seem very powerful.  will post after.

 and get well art, with your fractured clavicle.  

the DONALD..I had 1...try this  go about 45-50 mph in high gear and roll the throttle on.. you will be amazed at the fact you don't even need to think about down shifting.. those thinhs have incredible TORQUE.. 3 pistons 733 ccs each..about the size of a paint can.. lol.. not to mention first thru 3rd gear they are detuned because of the massive torque.. that can be fixed tho..

[Oldfishguy]

I rode a R3 last year at the Moon Motors, Monticello MN open house.  (1st Saturday in April every year) they are a Honda, BMW, Triumph dealer and have about 20 bikes they let you ride that day.  They lead you out like duckling chicks following mom but they do let you wind them up, a lot of fun. 

Anyway, one of the bikes I rode was the R3 and it flat out GOES!  It is a big girl that most guys were a little afraid to ride.  Two things I didn't like about the bike though:

1st, The vibration gets going when you wind it up. Not to bad but more than our Valks.

2nd, The slop in the transmission is very bothersome to me.  When your winding it up it pulls fine but when you start dropping down there is a lag in transmission grab.  It felt to me that a rough  or inexperienced rider could be very hard on that tranny lag.  That was enough for me to walk away from it.

On the next demo, 20 minutes later take a F6b, Wing, or new Valkyrie and then you will have a apples/apples comparison.  You' ll see what I mean. 

Funny thing is while standing around eating free hotdogs I start talking to the other bikers; most of them are HD riders coming to check out the metrics.

I walked a way last year with not a bit of want, but it was a great time. 

David

[R J]

He buddy, if'n ya do trade. PM me the dealer and where he is located.   I want to go see your old bike, might just buy it from the dealer if the $$$$ is right.

[Paxton]

If you like pretty bikes buy British.  Do you want to get somewhere?  ??? Stay away from ALL British motorized products! 

[SirLancelot]

WHAT !!!!!!

[Otus]

http://www.google.com/search?q=triumph+r3&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=bovjUrXkGJStsQSS74GQCg&ved=0CDAQ7Ak&biw=640&bih=287#biv=i%7C347%3Bd%7CCtvFAFpEb4j7FM%3A I do like it dressed up.

[Mo Lee]

A couple of years ago I was drooling over them as well. One day a couple of friends and I were doing a pre-run for an upcoming ride one on a Rocket III, and HD, and me on my stock 03 Standard. When we pulled on to a main road with a nice long straight stretch the R3 opened it up and I never could resist a challenge, he could not pull away from me and I could not catch him either however I was shocked how well the Valk did against all them CC's. Kinda felt sorry for the HD guy because by the time we let off he was just a speck in the mirror and I don't think he has rode with me since. I decided in order for me to give up the Valk's dependability it was going to take a lot more horsepower than the Rocket. 

[..]

A couple of years ago I was drooling over them as well. One day a couple of friends and I were doing a pre-run for an upcoming ride one on a Rocket III, and HD, and me on my stock 03 Standard. When we pulled on to a main road with a nice long straight stretch the R3 opened it up and I never could resist a challenge, he could not pull away from me and I could not catch him either however I was shocked how well the Valk did against all them CC's. Kinda felt sorry for the HD guy because by the time we let off he was just a speck in the mirror and I don't think he has rode with me since. I decided in order for me to give up the Valk's dependability it was going to take a lot more horsepower than the Rocket.  

I think he was being kind to you or just didn't want to WTFO.

[Wetrudgeon]

Daveman:
Forgive this long post, but we have insight that may be helpful here.  In 2010, we traded our '99 Standard for an '08 RIII.  

Very much enjoyed the Valk; and we need not explain to any Valk owner its virtues.  Alas, the bike was aging gracefully, but aging nonetheless.  Chrome goodies and even parts were increasingly hard to come by; and it seemed evident enough that the trend would continue every year since the last Valk rolled off the assembly.  At the time, we had put nearly 50K miles on her and she had  been 100% reliable.  However, we are no wrench, and an old bike (even a Honda) begins to have problems eventually.  We were increasingly concerned and decided to cast about for a possible replacement before age and mileage started to yield aggravating mechanical problems.

But what to do for a replacement?  We had no interest in any step downward.  After a Valk, what will satisfy?  We have no doubt we will receive an "amen" from most here when we observe that few cruisers can equal a copy of Honda's mighty F6 Valkyrie for power, ride and "wow factor;" and fewer still can hope to surpass it.  

We were intrigued by the big RIII.  Like Paxton, we are old enough to remember when Triumph motorbikes were not known for their reliability (and that is being as kind as we can), but the big ole motor looked promising.  After some pretty exhaustive research, we concluded that our impressions on Triumph reliability were dated, and that Triumph now manufactures bikes that one could actually ride instead of work on.  We repaired to a local dealer (there are three in the DFW area, which is a  plus for us) and rode the Beast.  It was impressive enough that we decided to take the plunge and sold the Valk to obtain a 2008 RIII Standard.  It was used with about 1800 miles when we got it.

We put 15K on the '08, crashed it in 2012, and replaced it with an '11 RIII Roadster.  Now approaching 20K on the '11. The bikes are not identical, but very close to it.

As Britman observed, the Beast is not perfection.  It lacks in the comfort realm, with considerable vibration in the bars and pegs.  Guess them three big ole cylinders are thrashing about violently enough down there that this is unavoidable.  There is also a lot of motor heat.  A LOT of motor heat.  Of course, the Valk is no great bargain when it comes to motor heat.  For the kind of riding we do (virtually all "day rides" and seldom more than 250 miles at a ride), we can put up with the lack of comfort.  Don't think we would care to strike out for California on it...

The power:  Mo Lee's experience is markedly different than our own.  We regularly ride with two Valk owners, one of which rides our former '99 (still going strong!).  The Valks are powerful bikes and will eat most cruisers for lunch.  But they cannot come close to the Beast in a straight line. Nothing will.  The power of the Beast is quite intoxicating and (for us, at least) covers a multitude of comfort sins.

Both our '08 and our '11 have had no service problems of any kind.  Service interval is 10K miles and includes valve check/adjustment.  For us, this is every two years or so and the cost is around $400.  We are told that any competent wrench can adjust the valves, but have no experience.  The Beast eats tires.  We have never been able to get more than 8K from a set of ME 880's.  Does this sound familiar to you Valk owners?  Many go dark side on the Beast to save $$$.  We are unwilling to do so.

We could go on, but don't care to bore you further.  We recommend you go ride a Beast and see what you think.  You can also go to r3owners.com; r3owners.net; and triumphrat.net for answers to any questions.  Lots of nice people and good info on those sites.

We think a Triumph RIII will not make you forget your Valk.  It is, however, a very fun bike with gobs of power, good handling, and very good reliability.

We trudge on.

[Chiefy]

A buddy of mine had a late model (under factory warranty) Triumph about a year/18 months ago.  He liked it, but something broke and it took something like 6 weeks to get the part from England.

I like the R3 and love the Thunderbird twin.  But I would do some reading on Triumph discussion boards, and on google before I considered buying one.

[9Ball]

A couple of years ago I was drooling over them as well. One day a couple of friends and I were doing a pre-run for an upcoming ride one on a Rocket III, and HD, and me on my stock 03 Standard. When we pulled on to a main road with a nice long straight stretch the R3 opened it up and I never could resist a challenge, he could not pull away from me and I could not catch him either however I was shocked how well the Valk did against all them CC's. Kinda felt sorry for the HD guy because by the time we let off he was just a speck in the mirror and I don't think he has rode with me since. I decided in order for me to give up the Valk's dependability it was going to take a lot more horsepower than the Rocket.  

I think he was being kind to you or just didn't want to WTFO.

you're absolutely right....

[Kunkies]

With maybe the exception of wow power, if you want to compare a Valk' with the new Moto Guzi  California 1400. 

[hubcapsc]

With maybe the exception of wow power, if you want to compare a Valk' with the new Moto Guzi  California 1400. 

Seems like a nice bike...



-Mike "I am prejudiced against boards..."

[R J]

Ya'l want vibration, go for a Guzzi.    Rode them on the CHP and hated it everytine I drew it.

Some of the guys would check it out, hit the road, and a couple of hours later would be back saying they had a rattle, a bad clunk or something so as to get a HD.

When I drew 1, I rode it all day except for the time I hit a chunk of metal on the I/S and blew a front tire.     That was a handful.   Worst part, I never even saw the article I hit until it was all over.    I had enough time to hit the red/blues before I tried to bring her to a stop.   The cars behind me, gave me it seemed like a 1/4 mile to keep that bike on 2 wheels.

[paul246]

What about the V-Max?

[Big Al of Tennessee]

What, I will give you the trade in price for the 98 Standard and you can operate the trade from a Cash Position.

Win, WIn.

[jdp]

You are just like everyone else,I want a new bike every time I see one,I almost got that rocket too, my buy got one and it's very nice but the old Valk beats them all,just hang in there and wait for Honda to make another one, go buy something for the old bike and spruce her up alittile

[Davemn]

You are just like everyone else,I want a new bike every time I see one,I almost got that rocket too, my buy got one and it's very nice but the old Valk beats them all,just hang in there and wait for Honda to make another one, go buy something for the old bike and spruce her up alittile

Beats them all in what way? Honda did come out with a new Valkyrie and its not something I want to own.

[Clark]

A couple of years ago I was drooling over them as well. One day a couple of friends and I were doing a pre-run for an upcoming ride one on a Rocket III, and HD, and me on my stock 03 Standard. When we pulled on to a main road with a nice long straight stretch the R3 opened it up and I never could resist a challenge, he could not pull away from me and I could not catch him either however I was shocked how well the Valk did against all them CC's. Kinda felt sorry for the HD guy because by the time we let off he was just a speck in the mirror and I don't think he has rode with me since. I decided in order for me to give up the Valk's dependability it was going to take a lot more horsepower than the Rocket. 

SORRY.. but I'M CALLIN B.S.  unless your valk is SUPERCHARGED.. I have owned both .. a supercharged valk with 10 lbs.of boost and a Rocket III.. unfortunately I didn't own both at the same time because I would have loved to have raced them.. that said..if I had to guess I would say the triumph woulda taken the valk.

[alph]

the local Triumph dealer had an Rocket 3 that looked like this;



I thought it was an awesome looking cycle, the one that they had here had saddle bags on it.  it was the "Tourer" model. 

as for whether or not you should buy a Triumph is up to you, but one thing I want you to consider is whether or not you're going to miss us?  if you're sick of this site, then you should get a Triumph.  if you like us, and you've got to realize we're a shrinking group, then keep the Valk!!

[R J]

Do ya like H-D's?

If so buy a R III.

They both vibrate at speed.

Not quite as bad as a Moto Guzzi however.

Just put your $$$$$ back in your pocket, keep the Valk and buy your wife a nice pair of diamond ear rings.    You both will be happy as hell if ya do.

[Disco]

To me, 2,300cc sounds great.  However, asymmetrical from one side to the other and three cylinders don't do it for me.  To me, the engine looks like it belongs in a tractor.  I know it must pull like one, but that's not enough to make me want one. 

[proimage1]

I own a 2000 Valyrie Stnd and an 04 Triumph Speedmaster - love them both ! Two completely different bikes !  I've had the Triumph for several years now !  Around a year ago I started looking at larger bikes for longer rides !  Test rode all the new Victorys - LOOKED at all the Harley's even though I already I wouldn't get one !  Of course since I love the Triumph I looked at the Thunderbird and R3 !  I opted for the Valkyrie for a lot if reasons ( this forum helped me decide more than anything else )
Even though I'm sure the R3 is one heck of a machine I decided it was way more than I needed !

[Lyn-Del]

I bought my RIII in November of 2004.  Went through the recalls on the rear end and the engine mapping issues, after several years finally was able to take it on a road trip.  There are very few Triumph dealers out there if you have a problem.

Hung up in major Houston rush hour traffic one day, ended up with 2nd degree burns on my left thigh from the engine heat -- no way to get away from it.   The Valk, under similar conditions, is designed so that putting your feet down on the pavement gets you away from most of the heat, not so on the RIII.

RIII gets her exercise in the cooler months, I don't even dream of taking her out for any distance in the summer.  [

[MP]

A member we rode with had a Rocket for a number of years.  NO WAY could a VALK attempt to keep up if he rolled the throttle on!  Not even close.

He did sell the Triumph, and bought another IS. He had the tranny go out, and fixed under warranty.  LOTS of them having the tranny problem.  He sold it before the warranty ran out, as he said he would be unable to foot the bill for another tranny!

MP

[saab9k]

Thanks.
Interested reading.

Thought I wanted a R3. love my Interstate. Will be a trike soon.
Have Roadsmith kit, just not installed it yet.

[art]

  I am going to try and go over to the triumph dealership that is owned by our member art's son near me and give one of those big bikes a ride (if he will let me).  i like the way they look and they seem very powerful.  will post after.

 and get well art, with your fractured clavicle.  

Thank Don , I'll heal but I think the valk is hurting.  I  do believe there is something wrong with the engine and I can't even check it out yet.It is stuck in the corner of the garage and I am hurting too much to even go out there.My son and I agreed on my selling the valk and getting a small sports car. He said there is always a Triumph available for riding when I go to socal. Just hitting the ground at 5mph was a disaster for me and I don't want to chance another one. My wife was supposed to be with me on that ride.

[Davemn]

A Triumph mechanic told me that in some earlier models, some bearing in the transmission was put in backwards by mistake on some bikes. Also there were some kits to upgrade/fix some cam chain issues. All resolved in later years. I don't think there is a question that reliability is less than our flat six. But our bikes have issues too as we all know.

[Tropic traveler]

Been there, done that concerning the R3.
First word of advice before I tell you my Rocket 3 story..... DO NOT GET RID OF YOUR VALKYRIE, SOONER OR LATER YOU WILL WANT IT BACK.
There, that is out of the way. 
Back in 2007 I bought this 2005 R3 as a possible replacement for my 75,000 mile Valkyrie.
As you can see it was already decked out in equivalent fashion to a Valk Tourer, exactly like I wanted it. Some {my HD friends} called it ugly, I disagree.


Power beyond your wildest dreams, will outperform the Valkyrie in EVERY category, acceleration & braking, even fuel mileage.
Mine had a short time left on the factory warranty & it was a damn good thing it did.
I had several trips to the Triumph dealer {Daytona 60 miles away} for losing it's idle & after several tries the TPS turned out to be the culprit. Also had the dreaded "paint can rattle" which was the timing chain slapping about due to a faulty crankshaft key way {!!!} getting loose. That one could have been a disaster! The clear coat was checking in numerous places & they did warranty a new set of triple trees for me but would not replace the wheels. Also had a low fuel light problem that never got fixed despite numerous tries. All the problems I had were fixed within the first couple thousand miles that I owned it {bought it with 8K on the clock, sold it with 19K} & not a problem after that. I chalk up those problems I had to being a new design only in it's 2nd year.
Despite all these problems the bike was an absolute hoot to ride, handled great, very Valk like especially after I retro-fitted Valkyrie handle bars on it.
The reason I sold it was not the problems I had & certainly not it's performance  but.........
The biggest reason that prompted the R3 go bye-bye & second Valk added to our stable was this trip to the Keys.


Four hundred mile plus day trip to Marathon, me on the Rocket & Kim on my 1997 Tourer.
When we got there I was beat & Kim was fresh & ready to go. The vibration while not horrible as in most two cylinder bikes was bad enough for me to realize for the kind of riding we do the Valkyrie is king. I guess if you didn't know of the flat 6 & came off a lesser 2 cylinder powered bike you might find the R3 vibes acceptable. I'm just Valkyrie spoiled I guess.
Anyhow I knew two things after that trip, 1- I was not getting my Valkyrie back unless I bought Kim her own Valk, & 2- I was wrong about the R3 being a Valk replacement for me. There was a voice in my head that kept telling me that eventually the Triumph would let me down big & I just didn't trust it. Maybe the voice is wrong.
R3 going away... ironically back to a buyer in England.


And what replaced the Rocket at our house.


To be perfectly fair I am not opposed to buying an R3 Roadster in the future but I was fortunate enough to been able to buy the R3 without selling my Valkyrie. Also to be fair the selling of the R3 was at a time {late 2008} when I downsized our fleet of cars, trucks, & bikes to pay off some bills to get completely out of debt.
Hope my first hand experiences help.... I'll say it again-DO NOT SELL YOUR VALKYRIE FOR THIS OR ANY OTHER BIKE. {except another F6 powered bike}.