Is the R3T really a piece of junk?

[ZoneIII]

Before anyone gets mad at me, know that I don't think the R3T is a piece of junk. I'm asking this question because I'd like to hear your opinions. I received the comment below from TRIIICK in a thread where I asked about fixing flat tires on trips. I did a lot of research before choosing a R3T and what I found was contrary to the comment below. Has your experience owning a R3T been as bad as TRIIICK's pparently has been The post below was a response to a thread started by me when I mentioned that I will be riding my new R3T on long range trips. Heck! That's what I bought it for! It's a touring bike!

BTW, what is "eastern beavers"?

I don't mean to start a food fight here but I really would like to hear from owners of R3T's on this subject.

STW, of course you "need to maintain it." (See below.) That goes without saying.



"I felt the same way until i joined this forum and read about final drives..eastern beavers....seized brake calipers....dead batteries etc etc.. Every dealer I've dealt with has been a financial horror show. Like someone said on this forum finding a qualified Triumph dealer is an oxymoron. This bike isn't for the faint of heart you need to maintain it or she'll leave you stranded.."

 

[Jeff Cameron]

Every bike has issues....on internet forums those negative issues are magnified. Rarely do you see somebody post that they had another trouble free riding season. If you think a particular bike or brand does not have its own issues just join a forum related to that bike and we will see what its common issues are. The trick is to learn what the work around or the improved fix that you can do to your bike to eliminate the weak spot.

 

[ZoneIII]

Every bike has issues....on internet forums those negative issues are magnified. Rarely do you see somebody post that they had another trouble free riding season. If you think a particular bike or brand does not have its own issues just join a forum related to that bike and we will see what its common issues are. The trick is to learn what the work around or the improved fix that you can do to your bike to eliminate the weak spot.

Good answer. In fact, that's basically my response to the original post I've quoted. As I mentioned in that thread, you can get a distorted view of a product in forums like these because people will tend to post questions about problems they may be having but are less likely to post about how wonderful their bike has been. That said, the comment got me curious and I want to here from other R3T owners about their experiences and if they are happy with their machines. Thanks for your reply.

 

[IMFASTTOO]

Before anyone gets mad at me, know that I don't think the R3T is a piece of junk. I'm asking this question because I'd like to hear your opinions. I received the comment below from TRIIICK in a thread where I asked about fixing flat tires on trips. I did a lot of research before choosing a R3T and what I found was contrary to the comment below. Has your experience owning a R3T been as bad as TRIIICK's pparently has been The post below was a response to a thread started by me when I mentioned that I will be riding my new R3T on long range trips. Heck! That's what I bought it for! It's a touring bike!

BTW, what is "eastern beavers"?

I don't mean to start a food fight here but I really would like to hear from owners of R3T's on this subject.

STW, of course you "need to maintain it." (See below.) That goes without saying.



"I felt the same way until i joined this forum and read about final drives..eastern beavers....seized brake calipers....dead batteries etc etc.. Every dealer I've dealt with has been a financial horror show. Like someone said on this forum finding a qualified Triumph dealer is an oxymoron. This bike isn't for the faint of heart you need to maintain it or she'll leave you stranded.."

THE R3T is a great bike so dont listen to the idiots its a cool cruiser that can be retuned to make almost 200 HP at the crank and thats stock with just a Pipe and air intake

 

[Ygransom]

Eastern Beaver makes headlight relay kits to save the ignition switch on early Rockets.

 

[ZoneIII]

Eastern Beaver makes headlight relay kits to save the ignition switch on early Rockets.

I learn something new every day! Thanks!

 

[Tripps]

Other than the tranny, I've never had an issue. Agree on the dealers, everyone at mine are great guys, but the work was always shoddy, I go to an independent where my buddy works, a very good lifetime bike mechanic.

My buddy applied at my dealer, they offered him $15/hour, now I know why they have no good mechanics. Their rate is $90/hr.

 

[IMFASTTOO]

Other than the tranny, I've never had an issue. Agree on the dealers, everyone at mine are great guys, but the work was always shoddy, I go to an independent where my buddy works, a very good lifetime bike mechanic.

My buddy applied at my dealer, they offered him $15/hour, now I know why they have no good mechanics. Their rate is $90/hr.

THE ROCKET is a great design and will last forever as long as you service it correctly and it has more potential than any other bike on the market as it is restricted from the factory and can be derestricted to unleash the beast and produce another 50 HP

 

[cusso ken]

My R3T now has over 40,000 Ks on the clock and has been maintained in a sensible manner not fanatical but well within the scheduled services that I do myself ,it has been trouble free so far except a slight leak this week in the water pump ,one factor IMHO is I do not abuse any of my Bikes and use Quality oils and filters, I equate the way I ride the Rocket as like using a sledge hammer to drive a nail it does everything so easy
this philosophy has served me well in our Business in the choice of Prime movers(Macks) for our haulage business when a lesser unit would suffice, the R3T is also massive for the task in hand and used as a Touring bike not a racing machine it should last for many thousands of Klms,don't worry about the few negative posts just ride the bike and enjoy the thing

 

[cr0ft]

That tears it. Ok guys, break out the pitchforks and the tar and the feathers. GET HIM!

Eastern Beaver makes headlight relay kits to save the ignition switch on early Rockets.

The headlight bypass relay kit is actually to minimize voltage drop between the battery and the headlight bulb, primarily. After making its way through a bike's original harness you can, on some bikes, see a not negligible amount of voltage drop due to resistance. Every 0.1 of a volt measurably increased the brightness of a Halogen bulb. They also helped early Rockets by lowering the general current flowing through the keyswitch (instead of the full power to the headlight you now have a trickle that's all that's required to activate the relay that then allows power to flow through cables connected directly between the battery and the headlight.)

But no, the R3T is not a piece of junk. The engine and transmission are fine designs that I'd rate far, far above your Harleys for example. People just casually talk about "carpenterizing" their bikes, ie taking the 106 HP and just doing no changes at all to either the gearbox or final drive and taking the power to 290 HP. Think about that for a second. If you took a Harley and raised its horsepower to 290 HP (not that you can), it would probably rip the rear wheel loose and beat you around the head with it the first time you gave it the beans, as the saying goes.

Sure, some parts are bargain basement, like the hand controls. This is the stuff Triumph wants to sell you nicer versions off. Some design choices are debatable. The standard shocks are kind of blah, but again, nothing shocking there as all OEM's are hunting cost savings, that's why there is a vibrant aftermarket for bike shocks.

I for one have taken my bike on multiple long runs, including an 8-day ride through three separate nations, and the only issue I had was that my rear brake stopped working because I was unconsciously panic braking all the way down a mountainside and caused the brake fluid to boil... once it cooled it was fine.

In the US, there is one big downside from what I gather and that is the lack of dealerships, relative to Harley at least. You can find a Harley dealer on every street corner. So if the bike does break, you need to have a plan for that beforehand.