New guy here. Prior bikes were Honda, Kawi and most recently a Ducati S4.
Been off bikes for 8 years. 61 years old. 5 ft 11. 250 pounds. Very active and fairly fit.
Looking for a new bike. Read about the R3 and looked at one. it is huge. When i sit on it my are seem a bit too far apart and the tank feels pretty massive. I suppose that is what to expect on a beast of this size. My other options are Ducati Diavel.
I have no interest in V rod !
Riding will be local on weekends and maybe a bit of commuting but no panniers makes that tough with laptop. No touring in my future.
I asked about a test ride and salesman said if i call ahead they will set up an appointment."We have a nice 6 mile loop we can take you on."
Never before have I been escorted on a test ride and certainly not limited to a 5-10 minute test ride. i'd like to keep it a bit longer and experience highway and some twisties.
Am i being unreasonable? Are they being unreasonable?
They are the only dealer within 100 miles so i am sort of stuck.
Any thoughts are appreciated.
Truthfully how does the R3 respond in the curves? I know it is heavy and will respond slower than a Diavel or Duc monster but I assume once I commit to a line it will hold it pretty well.
Lastly any of you folks sorry you got the R3 as opposed to something else.
While the Diavel, Vmax, and R3 get grouped together by all the review sites they are nothing like each other. Test ride all if you can, pick the one that suits. They are so close in power stock, it really is a riders race. I must admit, I was in the Ducati dealership last week eyeing a Diavel Carbon, they are sexy imo, and I do LOVE the sound of a furiously pissed off Vtwin, but when I gut check myself about getting rid of the R3.... nope, not unless it's for a newer R3.
Like you I felt the R3 was a bit too wide, a bit too heavy, and a bit too bulky. Once you have your first couple of minutes though, most people instantly commit to relearning to ride because the rocket is so fun. It does take a good bit of recalibration mentally compared to a sportbike, that's what I came from previously also.
Personally, I knew I was in love the very first time I got into second gear and spun it to redline, the immense pull of the rocket is like nothing else on two wheels, not even the mighty Vmax/H2/Busa/ZX14 will give the same arm wrenching feeling of torque!
At first, she'll feel a bit akward. Within a couple days you'll be flinging it around like a Monster laughing your ass off and all the while the back of your brain will say "This giant motorcycle has no business being this good or agile".
It's truly a bike in a class of its own, it has no peer. In my opinion neither does the Diavel or Vmax though, it's 3 VERY different approaches to "Muscle Cruising". That said, as an all around bike for comfort/agility/speed/touring, nothing on God's green earth can do everything to the same level as the rocket can without swapping out parts.
Forgot to add, the bike is a old design, a good thing in this case. Triumph have sorted out the vast majority of quirks that originally came free of charge, so buying a late model R3 gets a whole bunch of minor, unadvertised upgrades the original reviewers knew nothing about. It's also massively overbuilt from the factory, while any vehicle can have warranty issues, the R3s that do have them tend to be rare and usually have very minor issues that are easily remedied.
Then there's the community here. This forum is so full of R3 wizards it's rediculous. In all my days, I have never seen a forum where no matter what niche crazy thing I ask about, someone knows the right answer, and usually within a couple of hours of posting!
Then of course, there's the headroom when the power bug bites, not if, but when. Hands down, the rocket has the most headroom to grow for reasonable amounts of cash.
Want 210 who and 190ish tq? Cool, spend 4grand. Try and get 210 with a diavel...it's gona cost more than the price of the bike originally.
240 is another 3k. It keeps going till you get into the Warp 9.9 levels of power, where, let's be real, cash is secondary to the ability to bend space and time on a Bagger! He's somwhere here north of 400whp on a intentionally detuned motor from I recall...
