I posted a bit about my 2014 in another thread. I sold it as I never quite came to terms with it. Compared to some of my other bikes. It felt good, but never quite great, to me. The handling was mostly the issue for me and lack of top end pull on the 2300.
Then they came out with the 2020's I was very intrigued. I came this close >< to buying one but ultimately bought an H2 Kawi. Times change, I moved, and ended up in an area where the H2 isn't quite as fun. Just before moving I bought a HD LiveWire. It is an absolutely phenomenal bike. A huge plus it has over almost every other bike is it doesn't roast you on a hot day. The electric motor has awesome off the line acceleration and no heat. Midrange pull is excellent and runs up very nicely until it hits its speed limiter.
I moved to Texas and it is even better in the much hotter days than when I lived in Florida. It makes urban riding reasonably fun as it is quick, perfect launches, has plenty of range and awesome brakes. Where it starts to miss the mark for me is longer riding days. It will go about 140 miles in town or about 90 on the highway. By the time I get to better riding outside of where I live. I've used up about 70% of my charge and nothing left to play on and not a lot of fast chargers (L3 which it supports) in the areas I like to ride.
The H2 is phenomenally fast but very wheelie prone. Can you say roll on wheelies at triple digit speeds? Even sitting on the tank, you will have wheelie issues in the lower gears and traction control kicks in. Power is definitely impressive but not an incredibly amount of low end grunt.
My 1260 xDiavel S was similar to the R3 in some ways. Torque is decent down low and power is better on the top end. The vibes are pretty high at lower RPMs and the running costs were very high. I got tired of the very forward controls but it handled a lot like a sport bike. The limited travel rear suspension and inability to take the weight off my but meant some in town sharp bumps just traveled directly up my spine.
I was looking for something different again but wanted more of a roadster. I happened to ride a BMW R1250R with shiftcam about a year ago and thought that might be the way to go now. It handled nice, had good grunt and revved out very nicely. While looking for one of those, I stumbled across an R3 and got me thinking again, maybe time to reconsider.
So I started searching and debating between the GT and R. Love the colors of the GT (and heated grips and screen) but really didn't want the forward controls (knowing I could change them if I really hated them). For weeks I (almost) obsessively scoured Cycletrader, Craigslist, and setup an automated search on Search Tempest. I finally struck gold, or so I thought, and took a drive to look at one at a dealer a ways from my house. They'd just taken it in and hadn't even cleaned it up yet.
Since they just got it in, I thought I'd offer them what I was willing to pay and see if they wanted to flip it almost immediately. About 30 minutes later, a bit of haggling with the sales manager, I'd landed my R3R. They just needed to detail and change the oil, filter and a few other things as promised. I came back a few days later and road off with my Rocket.
Well, not exactly. I rode it around the parking lot, work got in the way and I ended up on calls for the next hour. I finally had to drive my car home so I could take calls on the road so my son got to make the extended ride back home on it. As luck would have it, some guy rolled up on a modded ZX10R. My son was following me and he wanted to run my son. I heard him rev the bike and drop a few gears. To my son's credit he didn't take the bait. Anyway mister ZX10R was WFO when he came along side my. Unfortunately I can't resist temptation and punched it even though the bike had a head start.
About a second later, I was pulling on him nicely and closing the gap, quickly ran him down quick enough I had to break and then off to Gapplebees. My son said the R3 seemed top out at about a buck fifty indicated, or at least that is when he rolled out. A lot of wind blast but very stable. He said I and the ZX were gone. Obviously some speed error on the Rocket.
After getting it home I finally got a chance to ride it enough to form some impressions. It really is a unique ride if slower than my other bikes or car. It is very smooth but still has character to the engine. It is worlds better than my old Rocket. I really enjoy the new gauges. Gear changes are generally smooth and no missed shift so far. Not a lot of driveline lash either that tends to haunt my BMWs. I wouldn't mind just a touch lower first gear (but might increase wheelspin). Suspension is pretty good, though still dialing it in a bit. Brakes are quite good. While not a nimble as a canyon carver, it does pretty well and has decent lean angles.
Obviously the centerpiece of the bike is the big stonkin' motor. It impresses me and fails to deliver at the same time. The torque is very good. Super easy to launch the bike. Might not be as quick off the line as my LiveWire but pretty close and almost as consistent now that I'm getting it dialed in. On less than perfect surfaces, the LiveWire launches better as electric motors are easier to traction control than ICE. Where I keep looking for a bit more with the R3R is up top. I know this isn't the motor's real calling card but it never quite feels like 165HP on tap. Other than that issue, I really love the motor. Ok, maybe I don't like the vibes either that seem to only affect the right handlebar.
So to address the HP issue, I have ordered a muffler and will go with a tune. I will get the bike dyno tuned in a few weeks. That should wake it up a bit based on what read.
To personalized it a bit more I ordered heated handgrips, shift assist and JW Speaker headlights. Powerbronze has a windscreen and handguards that I might order. I also am looking for some aftermarket wheels but I'd prefer not go to carbon fiber. I've seen those catastrophically destruct. Magnesium or forged aluminum would be my preference.
I keep eyeng the TTS supercharger kit by Richard Albans but that might be a bridge to far for my wife if I drop the coin on it. If I could find somebody somewhat close to Texas who could build it for me, I'd probably just say eff it and do it when my wife wasn't looking. That kit is a thing of beauty.
At the end of the day, the R3R fits me better than a lot of bikes. I am not a tiny guy so when I set my butt on the Rocket, its already big and heavy, it doesn't impact the power to weight ratio much. It just feels rock solid and planted wherever it goes. It will never be the fastest bike on the street but it definitely quick enough to entertain.
My favorite daily ride has been my LiveWire, at least until now. The R3R reminds me a lot of if it with all the power it has at launch. I'll probably spilt between the two depending on how far I want to ride. Really hot days absolutely favor the LiveWire. Exploring backroads away from home will likely end up with me on the Rocket.
I've believed that is is more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow. The Rocket is one of the few fast bikes that I find fun to ride slow. At lower RPMs there aren't a lot of bikes that are fun like the Rocket. I can see this time it being a long term relationship. I can't really believe how much better it is for me than the previous one. Anyone on the fence about one should really get some seat time.
I didn't mean to write such a long post but quite happy to be part of the Rocket family again. It is a great all around bike.
Then they came out with the 2020's I was very intrigued. I came this close >< to buying one but ultimately bought an H2 Kawi. Times change, I moved, and ended up in an area where the H2 isn't quite as fun. Just before moving I bought a HD LiveWire. It is an absolutely phenomenal bike. A huge plus it has over almost every other bike is it doesn't roast you on a hot day. The electric motor has awesome off the line acceleration and no heat. Midrange pull is excellent and runs up very nicely until it hits its speed limiter.
I moved to Texas and it is even better in the much hotter days than when I lived in Florida. It makes urban riding reasonably fun as it is quick, perfect launches, has plenty of range and awesome brakes. Where it starts to miss the mark for me is longer riding days. It will go about 140 miles in town or about 90 on the highway. By the time I get to better riding outside of where I live. I've used up about 70% of my charge and nothing left to play on and not a lot of fast chargers (L3 which it supports) in the areas I like to ride.
The H2 is phenomenally fast but very wheelie prone. Can you say roll on wheelies at triple digit speeds? Even sitting on the tank, you will have wheelie issues in the lower gears and traction control kicks in. Power is definitely impressive but not an incredibly amount of low end grunt.
My 1260 xDiavel S was similar to the R3 in some ways. Torque is decent down low and power is better on the top end. The vibes are pretty high at lower RPMs and the running costs were very high. I got tired of the very forward controls but it handled a lot like a sport bike. The limited travel rear suspension and inability to take the weight off my but meant some in town sharp bumps just traveled directly up my spine.
I was looking for something different again but wanted more of a roadster. I happened to ride a BMW R1250R with shiftcam about a year ago and thought that might be the way to go now. It handled nice, had good grunt and revved out very nicely. While looking for one of those, I stumbled across an R3 and got me thinking again, maybe time to reconsider.
So I started searching and debating between the GT and R. Love the colors of the GT (and heated grips and screen) but really didn't want the forward controls (knowing I could change them if I really hated them). For weeks I (almost) obsessively scoured Cycletrader, Craigslist, and setup an automated search on Search Tempest. I finally struck gold, or so I thought, and took a drive to look at one at a dealer a ways from my house. They'd just taken it in and hadn't even cleaned it up yet.
Since they just got it in, I thought I'd offer them what I was willing to pay and see if they wanted to flip it almost immediately. About 30 minutes later, a bit of haggling with the sales manager, I'd landed my R3R. They just needed to detail and change the oil, filter and a few other things as promised. I came back a few days later and road off with my Rocket.
Well, not exactly. I rode it around the parking lot, work got in the way and I ended up on calls for the next hour. I finally had to drive my car home so I could take calls on the road so my son got to make the extended ride back home on it. As luck would have it, some guy rolled up on a modded ZX10R. My son was following me and he wanted to run my son. I heard him rev the bike and drop a few gears. To my son's credit he didn't take the bait. Anyway mister ZX10R was WFO when he came along side my. Unfortunately I can't resist temptation and punched it even though the bike had a head start.
About a second later, I was pulling on him nicely and closing the gap, quickly ran him down quick enough I had to break and then off to Gapplebees. My son said the R3 seemed top out at about a buck fifty indicated, or at least that is when he rolled out. A lot of wind blast but very stable. He said I and the ZX were gone. Obviously some speed error on the Rocket.
After getting it home I finally got a chance to ride it enough to form some impressions. It really is a unique ride if slower than my other bikes or car. It is very smooth but still has character to the engine. It is worlds better than my old Rocket. I really enjoy the new gauges. Gear changes are generally smooth and no missed shift so far. Not a lot of driveline lash either that tends to haunt my BMWs. I wouldn't mind just a touch lower first gear (but might increase wheelspin). Suspension is pretty good, though still dialing it in a bit. Brakes are quite good. While not a nimble as a canyon carver, it does pretty well and has decent lean angles.
Obviously the centerpiece of the bike is the big stonkin' motor. It impresses me and fails to deliver at the same time. The torque is very good. Super easy to launch the bike. Might not be as quick off the line as my LiveWire but pretty close and almost as consistent now that I'm getting it dialed in. On less than perfect surfaces, the LiveWire launches better as electric motors are easier to traction control than ICE. Where I keep looking for a bit more with the R3R is up top. I know this isn't the motor's real calling card but it never quite feels like 165HP on tap. Other than that issue, I really love the motor. Ok, maybe I don't like the vibes either that seem to only affect the right handlebar.
So to address the HP issue, I have ordered a muffler and will go with a tune. I will get the bike dyno tuned in a few weeks. That should wake it up a bit based on what read.
To personalized it a bit more I ordered heated handgrips, shift assist and JW Speaker headlights. Powerbronze has a windscreen and handguards that I might order. I also am looking for some aftermarket wheels but I'd prefer not go to carbon fiber. I've seen those catastrophically destruct. Magnesium or forged aluminum would be my preference.
I keep eyeng the TTS supercharger kit by Richard Albans but that might be a bridge to far for my wife if I drop the coin on it. If I could find somebody somewhat close to Texas who could build it for me, I'd probably just say eff it and do it when my wife wasn't looking. That kit is a thing of beauty.
At the end of the day, the R3R fits me better than a lot of bikes. I am not a tiny guy so when I set my butt on the Rocket, its already big and heavy, it doesn't impact the power to weight ratio much. It just feels rock solid and planted wherever it goes. It will never be the fastest bike on the street but it definitely quick enough to entertain.
My favorite daily ride has been my LiveWire, at least until now. The R3R reminds me a lot of if it with all the power it has at launch. I'll probably spilt between the two depending on how far I want to ride. Really hot days absolutely favor the LiveWire. Exploring backroads away from home will likely end up with me on the Rocket.
I've believed that is is more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow. The Rocket is one of the few fast bikes that I find fun to ride slow. At lower RPMs there aren't a lot of bikes that are fun like the Rocket. I can see this time it being a long term relationship. I can't really believe how much better it is for me than the previous one. Anyone on the fence about one should really get some seat time.
I didn't mean to write such a long post but quite happy to be part of the Rocket family again. It is a great all around bike.
