Steel
Resident Coonass
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2012
- Messages
- 7,849
- Location
- Cut Off, Louisiana USA
- Ride
- 2012 Roadster & 2006 Classic
Isn't that a country song "you look like I need a drink"?
Triple Trouble
The Duk of death
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2005
- Messages
- 2,465
- Ride
- '05 Rocket III '73 Norton Commando 65 Norton Atlas
1olbull
Riding Motor Since 1950
I ride my Rocket a fair bit when the weather warrants it and it hasn't worn out or gotten stinky yet. I think you might be getting your bike confused with your women?
GOODUN there, DUK!!!
Please tell me you be comin' to RAA XI???
IMFASTTOO
Living Legend
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2008
- Messages
- 4,394
Ive had many trouble free riding seasons with a lot of different bikes but each bike is a different design and you need to educate yourself ahead of time to make sure you know how to maintain each bike correctly
LAS VEGAS DAVE
Turbocharged
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2015
- Messages
- 710
- Location
- LAS VEGAS
- Ride
- V8 CHOPPER, BOSS HOSS, 2015 ROCKET 3 TOURING
I don't have enough miles on my 2015 Touring to speak about its long term reliability but I can easily tell the bike is no piece of junk. I initially bought mine because my Boss Hoss was going to be down due to an accident for several months and I wanted a bike to ride for me and the wife during that time. i was impressed with the bike from the first time I rode it and as time and miles increased I became even more impressed. My Boss Hoss was repaired and I don't need two touring bikes but I like the Rocket so much that I decided to keep it. We rotate between the two bikes on rides. Couple of week ago we took it on a 900 mile jaunt and as usual it was a blast. It definitely is not a piece of junk and in my opinion its exactly the opposite.
Nogrey
.040 Over
- Joined
- May 5, 2016
- Messages
- 77
- Location
- Nampa, Idaho
- Ride
- 2012 Triumph Rocket III Roadster, 1997 Valk Tourer
Hello all. Great thread, great forum, I'm pretty new and happy to be here. Perhaps I can offer a different perspective on the original question: First, I have been a Valkyrie owner since I got back into riding several years back. I've been riding various machines since I was 9. I have aged a fair bit since then (born in '58) and have ridden a few different bikes over the years and a few miles. The Honda Valkyrie is the finest machine I've ever ridden. It really is an incredible performer and the six cylinders are so smooth that travel is extremely comfortable and performance is exceptional. A few months ago my brother (who's owned a rocket III roadster) for about 4 years asked if I would move it from his place up north to his place down south. About 400 miles of the most beautiful, hilly, curvy roads Idaho has to offer. I fell in love with the bike, and now I own a '12 R3 roadster myself. I've put about 4k miles on it in the last 30 days. I do all my own maintenance. Admittedly, I am no expert on the Rocket. I've owned so many Valks I literally can't tell you how many I've had in and out of my garage over the years. I let my "baby" go to buy the Rocket. So, here's what my thoughts are at this juncture:
Compared to the Valkyrie, the Rocket seems a little less refined. Shifting is a bit clunky (and I run castrol racing 4T 10W-50) compared to the Valk. Cornering is not nearly as sporty as the Valk and really takes more input than the Valk. That being said, the torque.......OMG the torque the Rocket has! I love the torque! I can also manage the cornering quite well (the tires are brand new). So after I've riddent the R3 a few thousand miles, and I jump onto my other Valk, I immediately notice how much sportier and smoother the handling on the Valk is, and how much I miss the torque and immediate response the R3 provides.
As far as quality, I think they are both great machines. I guess that's why I own both. I doubt I'll ever get rid of the Valkyrie (I had 2 that I kept, an Interstate which I sold, and a tourer that I kept). My R3 had 8K miles when I purchased it. The original owner road it with his wife on longer trips. It looks and runs like new so I'm as interested as anyone in the longevity of the machine. The Valks will go to 250K pretty easy without much more than routine maintenance. I've not heard this about the R3 but will give her a go.
My brother's '06 R3 developed a bad vibration on our last long trip that we've yet to discover the reason for. He says it stops when he brings in the clutch and is so bad at 70mph he can't ride it that fast. His bike only has about 50K miles on it so not sure what that's about.
Valks have final drive issues ONLY if they have not been properly maintained, and I am sure this bike is the same. Valks have an issue with the ignition switches burning out because all but the IS model run the full current through the switch. This is also easily correctible with a little wiring mod. Of course, the Valks are all normally aspirated carburetors and require care in that regard. That being said, if properly ridden and stored, the carbs need 0 maintenance.
Compared to the Valkyrie, the Rocket seems a little less refined. Shifting is a bit clunky (and I run castrol racing 4T 10W-50) compared to the Valk. Cornering is not nearly as sporty as the Valk and really takes more input than the Valk. That being said, the torque.......OMG the torque the Rocket has! I love the torque! I can also manage the cornering quite well (the tires are brand new). So after I've riddent the R3 a few thousand miles, and I jump onto my other Valk, I immediately notice how much sportier and smoother the handling on the Valk is, and how much I miss the torque and immediate response the R3 provides.
As far as quality, I think they are both great machines. I guess that's why I own both. I doubt I'll ever get rid of the Valkyrie (I had 2 that I kept, an Interstate which I sold, and a tourer that I kept). My R3 had 8K miles when I purchased it. The original owner road it with his wife on longer trips. It looks and runs like new so I'm as interested as anyone in the longevity of the machine. The Valks will go to 250K pretty easy without much more than routine maintenance. I've not heard this about the R3 but will give her a go.
My brother's '06 R3 developed a bad vibration on our last long trip that we've yet to discover the reason for. He says it stops when he brings in the clutch and is so bad at 70mph he can't ride it that fast. His bike only has about 50K miles on it so not sure what that's about.
Valks have final drive issues ONLY if they have not been properly maintained, and I am sure this bike is the same. Valks have an issue with the ignition switches burning out because all but the IS model run the full current through the switch. This is also easily correctible with a little wiring mod. Of course, the Valks are all normally aspirated carburetors and require care in that regard. That being said, if properly ridden and stored, the carbs need 0 maintenance.
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cusso ken
Living Legend
A nice expressions of your opinion, yes the 6 cylinder Honda Motor is smooth as silk and the longevity of all the big Honda's is exceptional, The Rocket IMHO is not without faults but with proper maintenance a reliable bike, the power particularly the torque is the endearing factor that most of the owners find hard to pass over for another bike, also it has bragging rights over all in engine size (except the bosses) I have been looking at the new Yamaha FJR1300 as a future replacement for the Touring, Electric screen cruise, heated grips huge panniers , good wind protection and also legendary reliability),normally I only keep my bikes for 4 years or so but the Rocket Touring has been so good (5years) I may wait to see what Mr triumph comes up with as far as the Rocket model.
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