A Sheep In Wolf's Clothing or Vice Versa?

Different strokes for different folks. The wife and I rode our Rocket 3 touring to Lake Elizabeth California over the week end. Bike ran perfect and handled great on the twisty road going there. We rode with two Boss Hoss bikes and 9 Harleys, half the riders had a passenger. No bikes broke and it was perfect weather, about 75 to 80 degrees. It wasn't a long ride but it was fun. We are going to ride to Torrey Utah next, I don't know which bike we'll take. My wife says the Boss Hoss is the most comfortable for her but it doesn't have bags. She says the Triumph is almost as comfortable and it has bags. She likes both. There is some nice twisty roads for the last hundred miles going to Torrey out of only a three hundred mile trip. If we take the Boss it goes slower on the mountain roads which makes it nice for sight seeing but the Triumph is more fun on the same roads and has better brakes. The BH is better on the freeway but not by much. The Triumph is a lot hotter on my legs in traffic unless its moving. I been trying to just alternate between them on road trips.

LAS VEGAS DAVE said:

Different strokes for different folks. The wife and I rode our Rocket 3 touring to Lake Elizabeth California over the week end. Bike ran perfect and handled great on the twisty road going there. We rode with two Boss Hoss bikes and 9 Harleys, half the riders had a passenger. No bikes broke and it was perfect weather, about 75 to 80 degrees. It wasn't a long ride but it was fun. We are going to ride to Torrey Utah next, I don't know which bike we'll take. My wife says the Boss Hoss is the most comfortable for her but it doesn't have bags. She says the Triumph is almost as comfortable and it has bags. She likes both. There is some nice twisty roads for the last hundred miles going to Torrey out of only a three hundred mile trip. If we take the Boss it goes slower on the mountain roads which makes it nice for sight seeing but the Triumph is more fun on the same roads and has better brakes. The BH is better on the freeway but not by much. The Triumph is a lot hotter on my legs in traffic unless its moving. I been trying to just alternate between them on road trips.

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GOOD for you DAVE as long as your having fun next youll be telling us you won a road race with the BIG BOSS HOSS HAVE FUN and be careful

Dave do you have foot-pegs they make a big difference of course not if your standing still.

Fingers said:

Dave do you have foot-pegs they make a big difference of course not if your standing still.

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The BH has footpegs, they are all I've ever had until I bought the RT3. The footboards on it are great as far as comfort goes. Whats also been great is the RT3 leans over much further than I would have imagined before it drags the footboards. It also has some replaceable footboard parts that wear when dragged, its a nice touch. The BH drags easily, maybe even sooner than a Harley but at least the pegs fold so its no big deal. Its just not a canyon carver but its not so bad as to be annoying. If its on sweepers it does pretty good just not the tight stuff.

IMFASTTOO said:

GOOD for you DAVE as long as your having fun next youll be telling us you won a road race with the BIG BOSS HOSS HAVE FUN and be careful

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I have a friend that lives in North Carolina near the road they call the Tail Of The Dragon. There are lots of twisty mountain roads around those parts and since he lives there he is familiar with many. One year we had a downhill race with six V8 guys while spending a week visiting our friend. On a downhill race you turn off the motor and put the bike in neutral and coast to the bottom. The big heavy V8 bikes really start to gather momentum and start to haul a-- but the road is twisty, if you use the brakes it takes a while to build speed again since all you got going for you is gravity so the key is to use the breaks as little as possible. Everybody is pretty equal in a down hill race since we al have only gravity for power. It is a riders skill only. If you get behind its hard to catch up unless the leader over use's his brakes. Its fun and also dangerous because there is lots of foot dragging if you want to win and the hill is steep enough to get going faster than its possible to go without some braking. The race was about 3 miles long all down hill. I won that race so I'm telling you now that I won a road race on a BH.

LAS VEGAS DAVE said:

I have a friend that lives in North Carolina near the road they call the Tail Of The Dragon. There are lots of twisty mountain roads around those parts and since he lives there he is familiar with many. One year we had a downhill race with six V8 guys while spending a week visiting our friend. On a downhill race you turn off the motor and put the bike in neutral and coast to the bottom. The big heavy V8 bikes really start to gather momentum and start to haul a-- but the road is twisty, if you use the brakes it takes a while to build speed again since all you got going for you is gravity so the key is to use the breaks as little as possible. Everybody is pretty equal in a down hill race since we al have only gravity for power. It is a riders skill only. If you get behind its hard to catch up unless the leader over use's his brakes. Its fun and also dangerous because there is lots of foot dragging if you want to win and the hill is steep enough to get going faster than its possible to go without some braking. The race was about 3 miles long all down hill. I won that race so I'm telling you now that I won a road race on a BH.

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SEE I knew you would win did you bump them off the road

IMFASTTOO said:

SEE I knew you would win did you bump them off the road

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The main thing is to win at all costs!

Dave oops meant to say hi-way pegs on your crash bars my bad

Fingers said:

Dave oops meant to say hi-way pegs on your crash bars my bad

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I have hi way pegs on both bikes. On multiple hour trips its always nice to have options of where to put your legs.

It's really a shame Triumph hasn't stepped up and made a true, fully equipped, touring motorcycle on the R3 platform. The R3T is a great bike, but all it has is hard bags and a windshield. No cruise (correct me if i'm wrong on that). No heated grips/seats. No trunk. But the powerplant is such an awesome foundation for a touring bike. I went on a 4000 mile road trip a few weeks ago on the R3R. While a very capable platform for such a ride, 600-800 mile days had me thinking about things like cruise. Better wind protection. Large, secure storage. Heated grips and seat on a day when I rode in the rain for several hundred miles. And maybe some floorboards rather than pegs. And a nice sound system rather than a headset and phone. I also have a 100 mile round trip commute and am also thinking some of the same features would be nice there as well.

I've been test riding several "touring cruisers" the last few weeks. So far I'm pretty impressed by the Roadmaster. Tons of luxury features. Amazingly nice handling for a bike even bigger than a R3R-it actually feels lighter. The engine power is no comparison for the R3, but-it's wrong to compare them. Two different bikes for different purposes. The Roadmaster is no muscle cruiser, but it's not terrible either. The power windshield is quite nice-run it down for hot days on slower roads. But with it up, on the highway it makes a nice, quiet bubble of air. And with the quick release trunk and fairing lowers, you can turn in into a "bagger" in about 10 minutes. I'm still vacillating-I love my R3R and would miss the performance...but as I get older and do longer rides (not to mention riding in below freezing weather) all those touring features of the RM are calling me. I'm thinking long days might end more relaxed and rested. And much like the R3, it is a unique bike that you don't see 30 of on a day of riding.