Where oh where are all the Rockets?

[1olbull]

Sportster weight....... Rocket 3 weight......... BIG difference

Amigo,
If weight equaled fun, we'd all be riding Honda 50s?
I think motorcycle fun is power, acceleration, speed, and hooning the twisties. Sport bikes do this best. When an aged body can no longer wrap around a sport bike for many miles, compromises become necessary.
Comfort without pain, room to carry a pharmacy and extra gear along with your new belly. This adds size, weight, with a bigger engine having more ponies. Then required is more skill necessary to maintain performance that still falls short of what you could do on the sport bike!
Age ruins us ALL - live with it, ride with it, but never give up!

 

[Gimlet]

Amigo,
If weight equaled fun, we'd all be riding Honda 50s?
I think motorcycle fun is power, acceleration, speed, and hooning the twisties. Sport bikes do this best. When an aged body can no longer wrap around a sport bike for many miles, compromises become necessary.
Comfort without pain, room to carry a pharmacy and extra gear along with your new belly. This adds size, weight, with a bigger engine having more ponies. Then required is more skill necessary to maintain performance that still falls short of what you could do on the sport bike!
Age ruins us ALL - live with it, ride with it, but never give up!

You can always keep a sports bike or supernaked just for track riding, to scratch that itch when you feel the need. I know a few older guys who do that. They moved over to big adventure bikes/ cruisers etc on the road but keep a screamer for the odd track day.

However, small and light doesn't have to mean low power. Supermotos are tremendous fun on the road at any age and power to weight ratios can be enormous. 75 bhp on a pared down single that you can practically pick up and carry away makes for an absolute snorter. But they're never going to be everyday bikes.

 

[Bedifferent]

If I was rich enough I'd still have a Harley as well as my Rocket. I traded my 117 LRS to buy the Rocket because the LRS was just too uncomfortable. Other than the riding position I loved the bike and there were some things about it I prefered to the R3GT.
But there was no other bike in the Harley range that I wanted and which had the 117 engine. My ideal Harley would have been a blacked-out 117 Sportglide with the LRS's suspension and brakes, but they don't make one. I might have bought a Road King Special if it had the 117 engine but it doesn't and they're more expensive to start with.

I wanted a cruiser to go with my other bikes and a Harley seemed the real deal. Having switched to the Triumph, while I love the (very considerable) performance boost I still kind of miss the feel of a big thudding V-twin. And I loved the fact that the LRS was made almost entirely of metal with very little plastic anywhere. With the deep gloss paint finish it had a feel-good pride of ownership about it which I've never got from any other bike in quite the same way. But once you've experienced the power and handling of the Rocket it's hard to go back. I may one day buy an old 1200 Sportster just as a fun bike.

A man with a plan!

 

[jackrotten]

I’m 62, and get asked why now a Triumph Rocket. I simply say I’m no longer a follower.
I have been riding one in Phoenix for 3.5 years, haven’t seen one yet..
I keep thinking if I do, I will chase him down to chat.
Im very fond of my old Harley V-twins, the Rocket is just pure FUN…….

I'm also in Phoenix with a Rocket 3 GT. I've seen two other Rockets around the West Valley. Two different colors, one black and one the silver. One I've seen near Buckeye, the other I see more up in the Surprise area.

 

[Bedifferent]

I'm going to be seeing just one new GT for sure. One of the guys I ride with just bought the Evil Knievel GT. I may have encouraged a trend...if you lead they will follow. Now there will be two rockets in our small town. I have mixed feelings, as now I won't be the exclusive rocket owner around.

 

[A1A Rider]

I have seen like 4 Rockets where I live in the last 2 months (when I started watching for them). All different riders. Also, often enough I see the old III model too.

 

[2023R3GT]

I’m in South Africa and have seen 1 in 8months…