2011 Models...

Idaho Red Rocket 3 said:

That would be my guess. Can the previous owner give you any info on it ?

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B--L--A--C--K said:

Previous owner has no knowledge of any motor swap occurring. No records of any accidents. Is it not possible that this bike came new with the silver motor in it?

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Ishrub said:

If your bike was a 2011 Roadster it would have a black engine unless replaced by an earlier Silver one. That data laser dot on the engine casting is only part of your complete 17 character VIN. The VIN is actually stamped into your steel frame at rear behind or beside rear shock top mount.
The order of the characters varies slightlyby region.

The USA system is a bit different to UK/Europe and Australia is slightly different in requiring a manufacturing and Australian Design Rule Compliance plate/holographic decal that includes the VIN.
The VIN itself is stamped on the frame at rear frame near but behind the top shock mounts from memory
There are 5 characters that precede your COOL45211123
the COOL is ROCKET III
4 - the 10th digit in USA VINs is Model year code for 2004, 1st series launch year, hence silver painted engine.

5
211123 The last 6 digits is used for part confirmation in Triumph parts listings. Sometimes called engine number.
Yours is a very early number and should have had an update kit put in a year or two later to fix known early issues. The kit was for before > Eng No 242554 and yours is 211123.
If yours has the update kit it should have a slightly different silver grey paint on the output shaft cover if everything was replaced.

It does vary by country.
In the USA the 10th # is model year code (not manufactured date which may be Sept on from previous year) but not in UK/Europe and Australia where the 11th digit is the model year code. USA/Canada use different standard VIN codes where 10th digit is model year code (the code is same for both though). USA/Canada also use a check digit code which the rest of the world does not.

This always becomes a major source of confusion due to different VIN code standards worldwide.
Vehicle identification number - Wikipedia

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CanberraR3 said:

A lot of “new comers” don’t understand that Roadsters came out in 2010 and were the first model to have ABS. If a bike is genuinely 2011 it will be or would have been a Roadster. As @Ishrub has pointed, if a Roadster has a silver engine it is not the original engine. ABS is also a give away.

A lot of people erroneously refer to anything that’s not a Touring as a Roadster. Prior to 2010 there was the (Standard) Rocket from ‘04, initially with a silver engine. In ‘06 the first Classic came out with black engines (and floor boards, two tone paint, pull back bars, one piece dual seat etc) and most Standards got black engines from that year, although there was some lag. BUT to offload left over silver engines Triumph released a limited edition Tourer in ‘07 - not to be confused with the Touring, which was released in ‘08. The Tourer was a Classic but loaded with some extras such as panniers, screen etc. The extras were offered on the Tourer to offset the inclusion (ie encourage the take up) of the older engine.
By far the best pre Roadster model was the 2009 Standard, preferably Burgundy colour. Come to think of it, that’s what I had . Seriously though, while early models did have some issues they pretty much sorted everything out by 2009, only to go backwards with the Roadster. Just kidding.
People also like to call the Touring a Tourer, which really infuriates those of us that know…

It’s all here (mostly accurate): Triumph Rocket III - Wikipedia

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CanberraR3 said:

A lot of “new comers” don’t understand that Roadsters came out in 2010 and were the first model to have ABS. If a bike is genuinely 2011 it will be or would have been a Roadster. As @Ishrub has pointed, if a Roadster has a silver engine it is not the original engine. ABS is also a give away.

A lot of people erroneously refer to anything that’s not a Touring as a Roadster. Prior to 2010 there was the (Standard) Rocket from ‘04, initially with a silver engine. In ‘06 the first Classic came out with black engines (and floor boards, two tone paint, pull back bars, one piece dual seat etc) and most Standards got black engines from that year, although there was some lag. BUT to offload left over silver engines Triumph released a limited edition Tourer in ‘07 - not to be confused with the Touring, which was released in ‘08. The Tourer was a Classic but loaded with some extras such as panniers, screen etc. The extras were offered on the Tourer to offset the inclusion (ie encourage the take up) of the older engine.
By far the best pre Roadster model was the 2009 Standard, preferably Burgundy colour. Come to think of it, that’s what I had . Seriously though, while early models did have some issues they pretty much sorted everything out by 2009, only to go backwards with the Roadster. Just kidding.
People also like to call the Touring a Tourer, which really infuriates those of us that know…

It’s all here (mostly accurate): Triumph Rocket III - Wikipedia

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1olbull said:

WOW, Richard!
You musta been a salesman!
Great explanation of the RIII history!
Now explain how to clean headers?

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