Ok, I get it: We buy toys, own them for a while and sell them again. I used to do that with the bikes I owned: Bought a shiny new ride, rode it for a year or two and then sold it again. Because a new, more shiny toy came along. The Rocket, I thought, is a different thing altogether. Certainly nor a toy. For me, it represents the pinnacle of my 35 year motorcylcle career and - approaching the age of 60 - probably is the last bike I bought. Afer all: What could possibly surpass a Rocket?
I was surprised to learn that quite a few owners of the new Rocket 3 are selling their bikes after a short while. Some just after a few weeks of ownership. Why is that?
When you buy a Rocket, you know what your are about to get yourself into, don't you? It should be a well-known fact that the bike is very heavy, very powerful and very demanding as far as the rider and his/her skills are concerned. It is not that this bike pretends to be a docile Honda CB500.
When I was waiting for my rocket 3R to arrive, I watched every single YT video from early owners. One could feel the prospective owners anticipation for the machine and the impatience in the waiting time. But after taking delivery, some owners seemed to be disappointed quickly. The reasons seemed to be excuses: The design did not appeal, the fuel consumption seemed too high. Not very credible, if you ask me. Even my T dealer tells me that he sees a pattern. He is guessing the bike is just too much for some.
I have ridden my R3r a lot this fall, a couple of longer trips of 250 to 400+ kms, mostly mountain roads and a few alpine passes. The whole time I am either (a) super chilled, (b) giggling like a lunatic or (c) going "****, yeah!" I have yet to discover a flaw. What did I miss?