An American Muscle Car...On Two Wheels

[Boog]

@Chance Wirey Civil War? Never heard of it. Just checked the brand new history books and can't find it. However, I asked my uncle in Tennessee and he says you might be talking about the War of Northern Aggression. He seems to remember something about that when he was in School. OK, sorry for getting political there. Here is a link and I am sure there are many more that shows Virginia Battlefields: http://www.virginiadot.org/travel/resources/scenic_war_map_final_1.pdf

If you head East from the Drive, there are several down in the low lands like Manassas, Bull Run and Fredericksburg. Historical markers are all over the place and if you stop to read them all, plan on adding a week of time to your ride.

 

[Clay]

Welcome from another Aussie Chance, glad you are enjoying your bike.

 

[Robm422]

Welcome from socal, I agree with you, its like a sweet 69' camaro! I almost bought a diavel, but this thing has so much more character, I couldn't say no!

 

[Chance Wirey]

@TOMCAT shame you missed the 80’s, man…so much to make fun of now!

@Boog I grew up in Indiana, but spent my summers in TN (watching my grandpa express his southern pride by flying Lee’s battle flag). My wife is from Georgia, and so I’m well aware of “the war of northern aggression”. At the end of it, that war gave us one good thing (the end of slavery) and a whole mess of other problems to have to deal with.

@Robm422 I, too, took a look at the Diavel. I’m actually a fan of the Diavel’s esthetic, but I agree with you that the Rocket has more character. In the end, the thing that caused me to choose the Rocket over the Diavel was it’s ability to ride two-up. I actually put my wife on the back of a Diavel, and it was laughable. There is simply no space on that tiny rear seat for her—so I think the Diavel is just a really cool bar-hopper. The Rocket, on the other hand, has a lot more utility to it—and that’s huge for me.

Getting the wife on this bike has been a breeze--which has made having this bike really easy.

 

[Dr Ofsereb]

I just purchased a matte-black, white striped, 2014 Rocket Roadster about two months ago, and I'm absolutely stoked!

I'm not sure this is going to make sense to anybody, but the styling of this bike...it's like the guys at Triumph said, "We want to make an old American muscle car...but on two wheels." I mean, this is a big, beefy bike...huge wheels, monster engine (the engine reminds me of the old straight-six's in a lot of old muscle cars), with outrageous pipes. Performance even reminds me of an old muscle car. At 800lbs, you're not going to flick this thing in and out of corners...but it's not bad! But light to light--it's an absolute monster. And the roll-on power........!

As far as character, this bike has it in spades. In a sea of Harley's and Harley-wanna-be's, this bike stands out! Everywhere I go with it--even on the interstate--people turn their heads to look at it.

There's so much awesome here, it's hard to find a fault. For me, I need this bike to be a daily driver...I want it to be the big, brash, bruiser that it is. At the same time, I want to do some long-range cruising with it as well. This September, I want to take this bike the full length of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and Skyline Drive--camping along the way. (That's 550 miles, one way...not counting any detours I might take.)

I think in order to add to the overall esthetic of the bike, I'm going to add the paint matched fly screen. And in order to give me occasional long range cruising/camping capability, I'm going to pursue a pull-behind trailer. Beyond that, I don't know--but I'm really excited to see where it all goes.

I'm with you there buddy.... see avatar

 

[coop]

Welcome to the world of size matters. Crack that throttle and it's the gift that keeps on giving. You will also get alot of looks when you get where you're going because when you take off your lid you have a big goofy-assed grin all over your face.

 

[ElAyRocket]

I had to make sure your post wasn't written by me on Ambien, so similiar! I have a 2014 with white stripes, wanting the fly screen too. this is my daily driver but will get all the bags and gear for cruising, camping even the beach (still in LA). Appeal no HD ever had and that's saying a lot on Mulholland Hwy!

 

[vanguard138]

Welcome to the horde from Northern Michigan.

"Your not going to flick it in and out of corners "? Apparently you have not seen a couple of the guys in this forum ride. I can name a few

 

[Chance Wirey]

Welcome to the world of size matters. Crack that throttle and it's the gift that keeps on giving. You will also get a lot of looks when you get where you're going because when you take off your lid you have a big goofy-assed grin all over your face.

I notice I'm catching the looks even on the interstate--which is pretty cool. One guy was nodding and signaling me to open her up. I obliged, and watched his car get tiny in the mirror. When I slowed down and he finally caught up, you'd have thought I'd given the man some sort of christmas present.

Another guy saw me park the bike at the local grocery store. By virtue of the vest he was wearing, he was a Harley rider. He asked me all kinds of questions about the bike, and I spent probably 10 minutes with the guy before I went inside. By the end of the conversation, he was reminiscing about his Bonneville he had when he was a kid. Don't know what it is about Triumph, but something about them is very endearing to people--in ways that Yamaha, Suzuki or the others simply aren't.

 

[Lostride]

Welcome to the madhouse, you can check out but you can never leave..
The Rocket is the end of the road as far as motorcycles are concerned.. it's all downhill from there, everything else is ho hum.