People haven't really touched on the handling so far. I had the previous generation, and that is the main reason I got rid of it. The new one is so much better. Compared to the best muscle cruiser in the class, the Diavel, it falls behind but is a lot closer than I would have guessed given its size. With my ex-Diavel, I could pester the heck out of sport bikes on a lot of back roads and have a comfy ride getting there.
I would say my R3R is about 90% as good on the back roads as my Diavel was. Biggest issue is lean angle. So you just have to hang off the bike a bit more or you'll start scraping stuff. Brakes are generally quite good, especially given the size of the bike. Rear brake isn't mushy since the recall.
It isn't the quickest bike I own. That would my modded H2. Stupid quick and fast, but I can only really enjoy it in a certain context (an area where I can really open it up and let it eat). The Rocket makes even short little trips fun. It is pretty good on the highway. Fuel economy is about the same as a 2008 Nissan Sentra (pretty close in motor size). I like that I don't see them everywhere I go as well. It is one heck of a conversation starter.
I have a several bikes and the R3R is one of favorites. There is really nothing else like it out there. It won't be the fastest/quickest bike on the road but as long as the motor is running, you have the hand of God pushing you whenever you open the throttle. It is very much like my electric Harley LiveWire in that respect. The Rocket doesn't really care what gear you are in, when you open the throttle, you are going to have some serious shove.