Welcome! Whoa...are you sure we are not related in some way. I have been riding again since about 1994 but I had numerous bike into my late 20's. My last bike was a Harley Fatboy which I bought new in 2009. I owned it for 5 years and enjoyed it immensely, but I wanted a change. Before that it was a new 1996 Valkyrie, which I also loved. I had it for over 10 years, before I decided to try a Harley again. I had my eye on the Rocket III for several years, so I traded my Harley in last fall and bought my Rocket 3 Touring. Never had a Triumph before, but I did have an Ariel, Norton, BSA, two Harley Sportsters, and a Kawasaki. So far I love the bike, but I'll know more after a full season of riding. I don't see my feelings changing! The Roadster is really cool, but I wanted floorboards, hard bags and a lot of the things that come standard on the touring model. It would have cost a fortune (in spite of its appeal to my inner self) to bring the roadster up to what I wanted. I especially like being able to carry all the gear I want in my bags on a ride....I wanted something big for touring. My wife doesn't like to ride at all...seems she is afraid of being hit and injured. The Triumph dealer (where I bought my bike) is over 95 miles away, but I will probably switch to a dealer who is 50 miles away for some of my service. I just turned 68 and I also am in good health. I workout everyday, so I don't worry about handling the bikes mass for at least a few years yet. So do you see any similarities here? Go for the Rocket and enjoy the ride...worry about all the other crap later.
One note....I did buy an extended warranty/insurance, because a major repair could be expensive and although I could do much of the work, it just doesn't appeal to me like it did when I was a kid. Back then, I had practically every bike I owned tore down to nothing and then put back together again a one time or another.