Accessories:
You won't find a lot in the way of after market accessories, not compared to what is available for Harleys for example. I don't know what the after market availability for Japanese bikes so can't really give you a comparison there. I'd recommend doing a search of the usual suspects to see what's out there. Triumph has a bit of bling/accessories for the Rocket, no where near what they have for the Thunderbird, however. There are over a 100 Triumph accessories for the T-Bird including 2 different TOR slip-on pipes, lots of bling, etc... They really only missed the boat with the horrid looking sissybar. They basically used the same design (MASSIVE) as the R3T unit. It looks fine on the R3T, but the R3T is a "touring" bike. That big honking thing looks hideous on the T-Bird, IMO. At a minimum, Triumph should've at least offered one smaller (more slendor) unit for guys that don't need/want the large touring unit. The R3T stuff from Triumph is again, limited, IMO. There are 2 different shields, one TOR slip-on pipe (not much louder than stock) a couple of different seats, one sissy bar. The engine guards, light bar, taller shield and sissy bar now come on the bike (didn't when I bought mine). There are a couple of different mirrors and a few other bit of chrome bits/bling here and there, but that's about it.
Maintenance:
This is *my* experience. You won't need to worry about maintenance because the bike will be in the shop for warranty repairs so often that the dealer will likely feel sorry for you and get Triumph to authorize maintenance work while they have it. Here are the issues I had with mine within the first year of ownership.
- Loose (poor design, IMO) mirrors from day one (useless due to blur)
- Blown Head gasket replaced under warranty at 5000 miles (this problem is WELL documented on this forum)
- Tires replaced under recall at around 5500 miles
- Gear Position Sensor replaced under recall at same time as tires (another well documented issue)
- Shift lifter shaft snapped in half and replaced under warranty at around 6000 miles
- Valves suffered from "bucket stacking" from day one. Nothing done by Triumph as it wasn't considered harmful to the engine, just an annoying noise/rattle. My dealer confirmed that it wasn't harmful, just an annoying sound
- Clunky transmission from day one. This got better after the first oil change, but it still shifted like a log wagon compared to any other bike I've owned.
Those are the things that I can think of off the top of my head. Frankly, I probably forgot some. A common issue with the Rocket that, fortunately, I did NOT encounter with mine is the high idle. And of course, there's the dreaded "paint can rattle" that was supposedly fixed on later model Rockets, but I still hear of guys with later model bikes that have that issue. I've owned probably 25-30 bikes in my life including MANY Triumphs and the 08 R3T I had was by FAR the most "issue" prone. The head scratcher is this is supposedly Triumph's "flagship" bike. I've never had an issue with any my other modern Triumphs. Of course, everyone had issues with the Lucas Prince of Darkness Triumphs of old.
That said, having the "issues" is not the main reason I got rid of it, although it certainly made my decision much easier. I got rid of it mainly because I could never get comfortable on it. I'm probably smaller than the average guy at a 150 lbs, but my height is average at 5'10". I could never ride the R3T for than 40-50 miles without getting neck and shoulder pain. I bet I re-positioned the bars 10 times if I did it once. I installed new risers. I tried different seats including adding a rider backrest with 6 different adjustable positions. Nothing worked. I got tired of fighting it and bought a Thunderbird. That bike fit me like a right out of the box. I wouldn't dream of changing anything to do with ergos on my T-Bird. That's just food for thought. It is a MASSIVE motorcycle and the seat, bars, etc... are all wider than anything else you'll get on except perhaps a Boss Hoss.
Anyway, just food for thought. You need to really pay attention to the ergos and do not fool yourself into thinking a 5 mile demo ride is going to tell you much in that regard. I'd highly recommend trying to secure a 40-50 mile ride on one if possible.
On the good side, the beast will pull a freight train as long as it has traction. It handles pretty good for such a large bike. And, gas mileage isn't too shabby for such a large engine. I got a pretty consistent 38 mpg on mine. Of course, if you twist the throttle hard and frequent, you can expect that number to drop dramatically.
Good luck with your decision!
