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Palatina-Rocket III print

The nuclear power plant

What happened to the palpitations? That feeling of positive panic that can be frightening but also addictive. We have it at the first kiss, the first time and maybe even when we turn down a thousand with over 150 hp for the first time. At some point, however, the first few times are exhausted. Around thirty, someone once said, you could actually die. After that, everything is somehow just repetition. Not correct!

ZTime and place: Tuesday, April 12, 2005, a meticulously tidy Triumph workshop in Landau, Palatinate. You could eat from the floor, the arrangement of the tools on the wall looks like a mosaic. A lanky man in jeans, shirt and sweater stands next to a Triumph Rocket III that is not quite appropriate to the species. It is shorter than the original. It is adorned with a lot of carbon parts. Its rear end with three exhaust pipes running underneath is so conspicuous that the driver will be whistled after, is almost guaranteed. The man in jeans is Triumph dealer Fritz Rebholz. He looks like someone you would have bet that he would do business studies after graduating from high school
educated. The Rocket is his prototype, his baby. "Be careful, don’t be frightened," he says, looking around, breathing meditatively and then pressing the button that activates the electric starter.
2.3 liter displacement. Three cylinders. Twelve valves. Five races. The starter has an incredible 1.5 HP. The crankshaft weighs 17, the whole engine 127 kilograms and pushes 200 Newton meters
at nonchalant 2500 / min and 140 hp at 5750 / min ?? in terms of torque
a milestone in series motorcycle construction. The British have their monsters
tamed as a precaution before it was let loose on humanity. Fritz Rebholz stripped it off, 40 kilos
slimmed down ?? and dethrottled. Even the wave of combustion from just one cylinder paralyzes the room.
Imagine the Serengeti. Midday glow. No movement. Shimmering air over the scarred floor, not the slightest sound. And then someone takes
a pointed stick and wake up with it
a sleeping lion. Wraaauuuuuuuuuuuuuuu! A stream of hot air sweeps
various parts of the workbench, the earth seems to be shaking. In Freiburg, about 160 kilometers away, the engine will probably start with a deflection of 2.3 on the Richter scale.
Of course, it is still a bit too loud, admits Rebholz and refers to the prototype stage of the exhaust. But he can do that. No question. He pushes the monster outside. It grumbles, growls and creaks in front of itself
down. Typical three-cylinder. Kind of offended, grumpy. Firing order: one, two, three. A mild breeze caresses the many deliciously prepared carbon parts, the rays of the sun break in them. Something is presented here that is otherwise only seen in Formula 1. Gaps, processing, brackets, design ?? functional, elegant, 100 percent perfect fit. “She has around 50 kilometers on the clock,” ponders Rebholz, “please be careful with her. It’s about more than just seven percent. "
Seven percent? To the value too
understand, you have to know the history of the rocket. Somebody hit the developers and technicians in Hinckley on the shoulder and said: Anything goes. It went 220 Newton meters and 170 hp. On the high-speed course in Idiada, Spain, the thickest cruiser in the world rushed through the light barrier at over 250 km / h. Strangely, before driving in the rain, all test drivers submitted sick notes, the 240 Metzeler Marathon lost its face after 200 kilometers of country road. And the homologation engineers their complexion. At Triumph, they finally agreed on the 140 hp and friendly 200 Newton meters already mentioned. In order to serve the "returners-friendly" and also digestible for people with gross motor skills, the torque in the first three gears is limited by seven percent. At 14 ridiculous Newton meters. Says triumph.
The Rocket disappears into the transporter. Fritz Rebholz looks at his baby one last time, blinks and says again: “The seven percent less is meaningless. The new map is brutal: no consideration for gentle performance, consumption or pollutant values. “Rebholz’s eyes are wet. They disappear in the rearview mirror of the van.
Volklingen, Saarland, 23 degrees, bright blue horizon. On the site of the Volklinger Hutte, an ironworks that was closed in 1986 and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994, the Rocket rolls off the aluminum rail. Photo op. Suit on, helmet on, push a button.
There it is finally again. Palpitations. Breathe faster, the stomach feels full without having eaten anything. Sweat drops. Memories of the first kiss. Reluctantly, the hand feels for the flat handlebars, the rear part swings reverently into the saddle. Single seat, six centimeters higher than the original, made entirely of carbon. The footrests are in line with the body. Rebholz put enormous effort into realizing this, because the standard footrest system had to be literally removed from the frame.
You sit slightly bent forward. The upper body is pretensioned by the long 25 liter tank. The LSL footrest system is four-way adjustable. But that’s a minor matter. Digital to shoot
the engine roars on the throttle. Leo, sure, an alpha male. First gear, klonk, disengage the clutch. It is the ultimate realization of the lightness of being, like when a gigantic electric locomotive pulls a children’s sleigh. For four hours they pose, accelerate slightly, illuminate and circle around closed blast furnaces. And sweat. Not just because of the 23 degrees. Because with every meter of travel, every megabyte of photo, the minute comes closer to the truth. When it breaks, the Rocket is standing outside the factory gate. Free wild. Red license plate. Welcome to the past. Welcome to a new first time.
Wraaauuuuuuuuuuuuuuu! And again, because it’s so sensual. There is a sticker from Harley-Davidson: Built for rebels. Who, please, is this for? The route is free, the end of the village is a stone’s throw away. Take a deep breath, catch the heartbeat. gas!
How do you describe it? Suddenly you are the golf ball that gets hit by the club. Tires whimper, forearms cramp, organs are pressed against the spine, someone invisible is propping your head against the direction of travel. No matter what speed, gas? and the lion roars, the golf club is there. This is what the world had expected from 2.3 liter displacement. A nuclear power plant.
The first corner is ahead of you faster than expected. Down to the right, 325 kilograms sail over the asphalt at a 35 degree incline. Vertex, actually you have to wind up now. Actually. A lot goes through your head. What if you sneeze and unintentionally
turns on the throttle? You see yourself in the hospital, legs in a cast, a sign on the bed: Highsided when sneezing. So be patient. Cornering, second gear, slightly erect, full of juice. Golf clubs. A 240 Metzeler marathon that is noticeably rasped off by the asphalt file. This enormous muscle between the legs, penetrated by oil ducts and hardened by a map that defines the
Mother of unreason could be.
Night has fallen like a slap in the face. The lights are still on in the Palatina Triumph workshop in Landau. Three men stand around a ticking motorcycle. One of them is wearing jeans and a sweater. "Of course it won’t go into series production like this, "says Fritz Rebholz. The man who used to work in the BMW Alpina racing department (see right) has precise plans for minimizing noise without losing sound. In July, the conversion kit should be homologated, ready for series production and available for purchase. The finished Palatina rocket costs 39,000 euros. A ridiculous sum when you consider that this grandiose mechanical epic preserves an addictive palpitation.

Palatina-Rocket III print

The nuclear power plant

Technical data and measurements – Palatina-rocket III

Engine: water-cooled three-cylinder four-stroke in-line engine, crankshaft lying lengthways, dry sump lubrication, injection, Ø 52 mm, mechanically operated multi-plate oil bath clutch, five-speed gearbox, cardan shaft, bore x stroke 101.6 x 94.3 mm, displacement 2294 cm3, compression ratio 8, 7: 1, about 145 hp at 5800 rpm, 200 Nm at 2500 rpm.

Chassis: bridge frame made of steel, engine load-bearing,
Upside-down fork, Ø 43 mm, two-arm swing arm made of steel, two fully adjustable struts, disc brake at the front,
Ø 320 mm, fixed calliper four-piston, rear disc brakes,
Ø 316 mm, double-piston floating calipers, carbon-spoke wheel front 3.50 x 17, cast aluminum wheel rear 7.50 x 16, tires 150/80 R 17; 240/50 R 16.

Dimensions and weights: wheelbase 1695 mm, steering head angle 58 degrees, caster 152 mm, spring travel f / h 120/105 mm, tank capacity 25 liters, weight with a full tank about 325 kilograms, seat height 795 mm.

Special features: software modification, stereo struts and fork springs from Wilbers, SB tubular steel handlebars from LSL, steel flex brake line front and rear, modified clutch cable, footrest base plate custom-made, four-way adjustable LSL footrest system, DYMAG front wheel with carbon rim well and stainless steel spokes, polished Aluminum hub, custom-made brake disc mount, stainless steel exhaust system (prototype) with laser end pieces. Radiator cladding with integrated indicators, seat console, rear, side cover, front fender, cladding, intake tract as well as various panels and cladding exclusively in carbon fiber, partly interspersed with blue polyamide fibers.

Palatina-Triumph Rocket III: Impression – Have the sales expectations of the Rocket III been fulfilled?

Have the sales expectations for the Rocket III been fulfilled??
More than that. Around 300 copies were ordered in Germany,
With 6000 units sold worldwide, the Rocket is currently the most successful Triumph motorcycle. The interest and demand are still enormous. Your readers’ choice of "Motorcycle of the Year" shows impressively how popular and popular the Rocket has become in a very short time.
Why is the torque limited in the lower three gears?
To increase usability even for riders with less experience on powerful motorcycles. Nobody should feel overwhelmed on our rocket. Since the Rocket offers an oversupply of power and torque in all speed ranges when driving, this limitation is practically hardly noticeable.
How much power and torque would the Rocket have without this measure?
Power and torque are reduced in the lower gears by around
seven percent withdrawn. In fourth and fifth gear, in which the performance is determined on a dynamometer, there is no limit
available. In our experience, measuring the power in the first three gears on a roller dynamometer is hardly possible because the enormous torque in the small gears does not allow reliable measurement.
If such a brutally aggressive roadster like the Palatina Rocket III would also be in series-
moderately imaginable?
Maybe in the future. After the Rocket platform has firmly established itself in the market and we can develop further derivatives on this basis. As I said, the immediate acceptance in Europe surprised us, the vehicle obviously hits a nerve with European customers.

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