Learner on a Triumph Rocket III

"Do something every day that scares you", they say: so I bought the largest motorcycle I could as soon as I passed my test. It made sure that my first crash would be low-speed!

In the end I had the dealer swap it for two Hondas, because bits don't fall off them every time you ride :-\
This is me getting the feel of it in a car park. Note the very padded leathers, ready for the first crash!

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Triumph
• Rocket
• III
• RocketIII
• Rocket3
• first
• motorcycle
• car
• park

[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!

[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!

[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....!!!

[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!

[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.

[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 ;-)

[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...