Learner on a Triumph Rocket III

[ArtoDelFunko]

perfectly smooth and excellent slow speed control....

learner my hoooooooooooole!!

[RhinosoRoss]

@ArtoDelFunko I'd passed my test, had a month gap and then got the rocket. This film was about 2 weeks later. Low speed stability just happens when what you're sitting on weighs 1/3 tonne and has such a low centre of gravity :-) No skill required! The throttle has a snail cam to help with low speed control too.

[ArtoDelFunko]

@RhinosoRoss i remain unconvinced (-:

[RhinosoRoss]

@ArtoDelFunko Well I don't have any experience of learning to motorcycle other than my own, so I've no idea how wobbly I should be: if my sense of balance is better than usual, that may be because of years of surfing, rock-climbing and teaching martial arts teachers.... All balance-based. The fact that buying such an expensive and terrifying first bike makes the first rides something you take very seriously (hence the expensive and best-I-could-afford leathers) also point to me trying very hard!

[doable1]

I learned on an ElectraGlide. Maybe some people who have no clue about motorcycles should start with a 250cc,. Riding a motorcycle is like playing an instrument,....some people have it ,..some people don't.

[sokodad]

Apparently the British aren't allowed to have a lemon. Everybody has had a problem with a certain model of bike at one point or another. This is the first I've heard of all these problems with the Rocket. Not saying there aren't more, but point is you work out the kinks. After that there is a better bike.

[TheeKalaeJyl]

My brother and I went into a dealership and the dealer flat out said he would not sell the bike to us if we wanted to buy it, or anyone who didnt have AT LEAST 50,000 miles of riding experience because it is so dangerous for people who dont know how to handle it.

[RhinosoRoss]

@TheeKalaeJyl It's like owning a gun: it's as dangerous as you are (assuming they've started bolting it together properly now). The only danger I had was when things dropped off or when it stalled on slow corners because the engine management system was wrong (they recalled them all, two years after I'd sold mine). If you get one that doesn't disintegrate and it programmed properly, it's not dangerous - just annoying: don't park on soft ground tarmac or downhill into a curb! Try a KTM Superduke!

[purpleGoAhead]

omg... what an extreme contrast to the bike i started riding on: a 2001 derbi gpr 50 replica xD

but actually i'm glad i did, 'cause this way i didn't care when it broke down at just about 12000km on the clock, but i'd be VERY pissed if that happens on a rocket...

[RhinosoRoss]

@purpleGoAhead Yeah, the Rocket was a kinda catastrophic failure, left me feeling completely helpless, but without the Rocket, I wouldn't have ended up with the KTM Superduke, so it was all OK in the end :-) The Derbi looks pretty flash, but I bet it wasn't long before you were yearning for a bigger engine ;-)

[jtchivers]

Hey, what's that quality red bike next to your Rocket at the start of the video. Now that looks like a stunner! ;-)

[RhinosoRoss]

@jtchivers Cheeky Monkey ;-)

I wonder where it is now...

I hope the Rocket has been recycled into something safer, that doesn't disintegrate and have recalls, like that Yamaha!

[kaioxygen]

You swapped this for 2 Hondas????

[RhinosoRoss]

@kaioxygen LOL - 'fraid so: not as good as it looks. It got recalled 2 years after I swapped it because it would "stall when going slowly round corners". I'd found that out the hard way, watching £13,000 worth of beloved metal skidding down the road after the engine cut out while turning right at traffic lights. Bits kept falling off it, like the indicator into the steering so I couldn't turn left to pull over... I'd wanted it for ever, but learned to hate it quickly.

[philipdent12786]

i'm glad to see that someone else didn't go for learner 500's as a beginner, everybody told me a gsxr750 would be too much but for me as my first big bike it has been my favourite so far (only had 2 though)!! you are only as fast as you make the bike, not the other way round, if you ride like ya stole it you probably won't see first service but if you are careful and remember what they are you will be fine. Great vid, awesome bike, peace! x

[fullfunk]

You never buy a rocket for a first bike only if you want to die really fast, or buy 2 extra wheel to keep it up!

Welcome to darwin world!

[RhinosoRoss]

@fullfunk I've survived five years of riding ridiculously powerful motorbikes now :-) As others have commented here: the Rocket is good as a learner bike (if you have the cash, the strength, can remember to park so you don't need to reverse up hill, and are good with loctite) because of the stability, low centre of gravity and ability to get out of the way quickly. My KTM Superduke has all of the good, none of the bad: its lightness makes it infinitely more forgiving (but easier to steal).

[afgr173]

my first motorcycle cost 5 bucks and I had to rebuild it, enjoy being rich 

[RhinosoRoss]

@afgr173 Yeah, I had it easy: just waited forty years, then went through hell with two houses for five hears of misery, finally making enough profit when I sold one to cover my costs and have enough for a Rocket left over. If the house had sold a month earlier, I would have made enough for a sports car or some proper savings :-( I enjoyed the Rocket for a month before it started going wrong. They recalled it two years later, just as I was made redundant. So I guess I was rich for a month :-/

[afgr173]

@RhinosoRoss I apologize for being an ignorant prick and overlooking the fact that you are a fellow biker, I am sorry jealousy got in my way

[RhinosoRoss]

@afgr173 No problem, I'm always catching myself assuming too much about others: it's natural. Few would be big enough to apologise: thanks for that.

[PhrozenPhlanges]

are you serious? that would scare the shit out of me jumpin on a bike this big as my first to the point where id be too nervous to just ride naturally

[lotuselanplus2s]

Lol,you keep your Hondas,i'd rather the Rocket III..

[RhinosoRoss]

@lotuselanplus2s :-) I didn't keep them: I swapped them for a KTM Superduke = awesome!

[Bobeo]

@RhinosoRoss fair trade.

[LedZeppelin13k7]

anybody have a rocket 3 they'll trade for a 2008 ducati monster?

[myrryxmas]

i wasn't a total novice when i got my rocket iii 2 years ago, but it is my first motorcycle.

it handles exceptionally well at low speeds, but unless you're a self-disciplined middle-aged man like me, i wouldn't recommend it as a first bike. to handle it safely, you have to be frightened of your own stupidity.

that's why i ride very sedately. i bought it for long hauls through the mountains, where i can put the torque to use without scaring myself to death.

keep the shiny side up!

[Davetts92]

There's nothing like a too heavy bike or so. If you can handle it, its ok. And if people tell you that a lot of Horse Power is nothing for learners...well, it depends on how far you open the throttle. Nice choice with the bike. Have fun...i envy you xD

[MrTriumphBMW]

heavy bike is a problem only in some specific situations, for example you break in stress and if you stop with blocked back wheel you are in lean angle and thats a problem for youre leg (especially on wet road), or you drive in mountains uphill on very narrow road and u find out you are wrong and you need to turn back, etc...

[Luke1337]

lol why dont you full throttle

[greenangryman]

Nice bike! Congrats that you bought what you wanted. I think there's nothing wrong with buying a big bike as long as your educated and considerate on using it.

[Hirmis]

rich learner !!! break a leg :>

[RhinosoRoss]

LOL - I sold my house: was supposed to get enough profit to buy a sports car, ended up with just enough to buy a demonstrator Rocket - and very nearly did break a leg! It had low idle issues that couldn't be resolved and would stall when going round slow corners: I keep getting recall notices now that I've swapped it!

[kuhlka]

Oh, and the Rocket III is a stupidly easy bike to learn on considering you can do burnouts with zero throttle. The bike is a torque monster. Just ease out the clutch and it goes. I bet you never even got it up to 140. Now THAT is scary considering you feel like your arms will be ripped off from all the wind. Makes 170 on a 1098 seem easy. Dragging footpegs on a Rocket at 80+mph on freeway interchanges is pretty exciting too.

[kuhlka]

So for your first motorcycle, you buy a bike with an engine larger than most automobiles and you expect things to not vibrate loose? Any smart motorcyclist knows they need to check their bike from time-to-time to make sure everything is bolted down, lubed up, and operating right. Good luck with the reliability of your Hondas if you think they're 'maintenance free'.

[RhinosoRoss]

The Hondas didn't like the winter salt at all, particularly the cheaper one: I swapped both for a KTM Superduke and have been riding that for a couple of years now with no corrosion at all and nothing even being a little loose. The Rocket arrived with loose nuts (one only one by two turns) and two years after I sold it I got a letter recalling it because it 'stalls at low revs': i.e. when you're cornering round traffic lights: nice that they admit it eventually, better that it didn't kill me.

[RhinosoRoss]

kuhlka wrote:

Excellent choice switching to the Superduke! Thats a phenomenal bike and stupid-fun even for all experience levels.

Don't count the Rocket out though if you ever get back into cruisers. My father's has 150rwhp/150ft lbs and he dropped about 50lbs of crap off it. Beautifully handling bike at highway speed and very comfortable for longer trips.

[RhinosoRoss]

I'm loving the Superduke: even commuting in the icy weather: the sliding about is fun!

[zice39]

nice rumble through my subwoofer right about now. it sets off car alarms too, i hear!

[daytonadave955]

Nicely handled!I also bought a terrifying triumph (Daytona 955i)right after passing my test but decided I needed more scaring so now I have a zx12r.There is no reason for "noobs"not to have these sort of machines as long as you respect them and the road!Thumbs up!

[albymangled]

sorry mate, my mistake.

I thought the bloody great yellow thing on the back of your bike was an L plate....

you seem to handle the big girl very well, goodonya....

keep it shiny side up and on the black stuff between the trees.

[albymangled]

putting a learner plate on the bike proves nothing....

[RhinosoRoss]

???? What learner plate?

I've just passed! You're limited to teeeny bikes with learner plates (in the UK).

[XANF2]

Surprisingly decent riding for begginer on a beast like that, seeing as it ways somthing like 320kg's, must be difficult picking it back up lol.

[RhinosoRoss]

Thanks! It's easier than people think because of the low centre of gravity - until things go wrong: then it's all over too fast to remember!

To pick it up was easy (adrenaline helps) just put your back to it, bum against the saddle, stand up holding a handle-bar and the sissy bar (and don't get too vertical or it'll fall the other way)!

[InfiniteMushroom]

That's impressive how docile the Rocket is in the parking lot. There's no way a noob could manage a top-heavy beast like a Harley Electra-Glide like that.

[steady2wheels]

ha the first bike i got after passing my test was an fzr600 and i thought that was a pretty crazy move, but i agree if a bike cant scare you... well not too much in it

[naillcr125]

i take it you swapped it for your FMX 650 and your CB

[RhinosoRoss]

Yup - and then figured I wanted something in between those: light but 1000cc, so ended up with a 2007 SuperDuke, which is flawless as long as you can afford it and don't want luggage racks!

[naillcr125]

i love the super duke when im ready i might buy a lc4 a little more in my budget!!! but you cant beat a honda lol :)

[devkamal]

Nice bike..

[MESTREVIPER]

keep up the good work, i disrespected mine and broke my femur. check the paint it had on my vids....

[RhinosoRoss]

So two years after I bought the Rocket, Triumph send me a letter explaining why I dropped it twice and ended up crashing it: the ECU stalls on returning to idle (like I didn't know). Better late than never? Well, I only got a broken elbow out of it: could have been worse, I might have wasted £13000...

[puka59]

Nice Triumph, good deal

[Nox979]

I'm Italian...And i buy a triumph...Thriumph thruxton 900...We are a big family...!!! I love this bike...I love triumph...U have my respect....!!!

[GerardHD]

Most other bikes have? The only one which has a reverse original from the factory is a Honda Goldwing.

[RhinosoRoss]

I thought Harleys did too? Boss Hog certainly has.

[RhinosoRoss]

BMW K1200LT has reverse as standard. Harley have loads of options to add reverse gears in different ways from different companies: clearly there is a demand.

[GerardHD]

If the drive goes downhill, you can't move a honda cbr 600 with 180 kg neither. So it is about driver skills. You have to move it backwards downhill. So if you want to drive away it is only a matter of starting the rocket and drive uphill away.

[RhinosoRoss]

I could reverse down the drive, if I could get it backwards over the uphill pavement before the drive. I couldn't, and, therefore, the vast majority of other humans couldn't either. Most other bikes of this mass have a reverse, Triumph are probably cost-cutting, like they did on the suspension, indicators etc.

[GerardHD]

Maybe it is heavy, but you don't need a reargear. I am only a small person,but I can move my rocket everywhere, even with a lot of stuff on it. But I know how to handle the bike. I drove a lot of bikes so I can say I am an experienced driver. But no other bike was so impressive as the rocket 3. My brother has a magna 1100 and it is absolute NOT comparable with the rocket3.

My opinion is, get driverskills and than ride the Rocket :)

[RhinosoRoss]

No, you can't "move your rocket everywhere": don't be silly. Many British homes have drives that are down-hill. Drive a Rocket down the slope and put it in the garage and it's going to be there forever! I had enough space to do a five-point turn at the end of my drive, so I could ride out. I'm 6'1" and very strong.

None of my issues with the Rocket are related to driver skills.

[GerardHD]

@RhinosoRoss

I don't know how much motorbikeexpeirience you have, but as far as I read, it is better for you to practice a lot on a "normal" bike. A Rocket 3 is not a bike for unexpeirienced motorbikers. I own a R3 now for 2 months and drove 12000 km, I can tell you it is a superbike. I drove with it on high passes, autobahn etc. Full speed, slow touring. Even the quality of the bike is verry good.

[RhinosoRoss]

I disagree: a Rocket is fine for a new rider: its low centre of gravity and usability are wonderful. Experienced riders are frequently victims of their own reflexes on a Rocket: the rear brake works! Most other bikes have less potent brakes; lots of experienced riders end up in hedges on rockets after locking the rear wheel on bends that went slightly wrong. I too rode the Rocket on all road-types. Now I own a KTM Superduke and have even more fun on all road-types...

[micrometragem]

Nice!!!!!!

[tapir750]

I've just been to nearby motorcycle concentration and spoke with a guy that owns Rocket III- he's done over 20 000 kilos without any failure. So next year I'm getting one :D

[tapir750]

it appeared that the guy who previously owned this bike didn't set the valve clearance properly (in Magnas you have to block camshaft with a special tool), because he didn't know that the camshafts require blocking. Result- all bolt and nuts went loose, rocker arm slightly scratched the surface of camshaft. Now everything is ok, cause I've done it in proper way. I've done 7000 kilos on this bike and everything's ok- rides like hell ]:->

[RhinosoRoss]

I've never seen a Honda Magna before you mentioned it: Its surprisingly similar to the Rocket in looks with the swept spokes and length etc! Since you're happy to do things like valve clearance checks, I'm sure you'll cope with a Rocket: you know what to look out for now.

[tapir750]

Maybe it's the case of being lucky? To the contrary of you I got myself REALLY INFAMOUS bike- The Honda Magna. Well- I heard legends about its "camshaft consumption", my buddy was the best "Hey, If you want to buy Magna first check if the camshafts aren't square shaped". Bike was in perfect condition- rode well, engine ran fine and everything was ok. After having done 600 km I noticed persistent knocking in the rear set of cylinders-

[tapir750]

I've got a friend in Poland, who used to work in Triumph- he was finishing the paint. Allthough Triumph is "Proud to be British" 3/4 of their factories workers origin from eastern europe.

[tapir750]

Oh sweet Satan, sounds scary! Especially the one about transmission. Imagine blocking the transmission whilst doing 100mph :/

[tapir750]

But what did actually happen? What are "the bits falling" from your motorcycle? I think of getting Triumph Rocket III - the machine looks very sturdy.

[RhinosoRoss]

Upon arrival, four screws were loose holding chrome heat-guards onto exhaust header; one screw only on by two turns.

[RhinosoRoss]

Left indicator fell off into the steering: I couldn't get round a set of traffic-lights.

[RhinosoRoss]

Something fell off inside the fuel-tank, the "fuel empty" light stayed on permanently.

[RhinosoRoss]

The idle-timing went too low, so I had to keep some revs up while waiting at junctions or it would stall. Other Forum folk couldn't get this fixed even when they took the bike to the dealer.

[RhinosoRoss]

The rear number-plate fell off.

[RhinosoRoss]

The rear wheel started to corrode. Several forum folk were having these replaced under warranty, which is inconvenient until the warranty runs out - after that it is very expensive too! I've had my Jeep 8 years and never washed it, with no corrosion at all...

[RhinosoRoss]

I fell off turning right from traffic-lights (not sure why: the idle problem may have stalled it), and the dealer clearly had no idea how to repair it. Three months later I got the bike back with wires hanging out of the throttle body, handle-bars misaligned etc.

[RhinosoRoss]

Some Rocket III Forum folk had their exhausts fall off, a couple had a screw come loose inside the gearbox and lock it up. One had the indicator drop off while on the outside lane of a 6 lane highway at night and it fused his lights!

[RhinosoRoss]

When something goes wrong on a bike that heavy, you have no time or strength to react: it goes down fast. At the very top end of the bike market, three times the price of an ordinary bike, the thing should be totally reliable and last for ever. I wanted to have the Rocket as my first and last bike, to slowly customise it and make it my own. I was really disappointed.

[RhinosoRoss]

On the bright side, some Forum folk had done thousands of miles with none of these problems. Many others were mechanics or had grown up with old bikes and were happy to remove and Thread-Lock all the screws. At that price it should be done at the factory!

[RhinosoRoss]

On the bright side, some Forum folk had done thousands of miles with none of these problems. Many others were mechanics or had grown up with old bikes and were happy to remove and Thread-Lock all the screws. At that price it should be done at the factory!

[RhinosoRoss]

It also needs a reverse gear. I'm pleased to see the have a back-rest on the new seats: that should have been there from day one!

[RhinosoRoss]

The engine and overall idea are wonderful - presumably the money ran out there. I only live half an hour from the Triumph factory - I wanted to be patriotic and love the Rocket. Come on Triumph, pay attention! Don't cut corners at your customers' expense!

[RhinosoRoss]

If you're after a long distance tourer for American highways etc. be aware that the Rocket's seat is surprisingly uncomfortable for a lot of people (according to Forum polls). Its armchair position and awesome acceleration mean that you can't stick to the bike by pushing on your feet (the pegs are in front of you) so you hold onto the handle bars (and thus can't steer quickly any more) so your lower back and neck are constantly being strained.

[RhinosoRoss]

The dealer agreed to swap it for a Honda CBF1000 and a Honda FMX650. Both OK bikes but not a Rocket!

Last week I swapped the Hondas for a new KTM Superduke and am completely amazed with it: The build quality is far ahead of all my other bikes, the thing has been designed perfectly and the performance is outstanding. The KTM Forum folk mostly talk about customisation, not flaws - it unlocks the road: you can overtake anything easily and safely: Highly recommended for would-be Rocketeers!