Triumph Rocket III Roadster motorcycle test

Menus

• Have the biggest
• If it is rewarding to ride a coach with a machine that we know has no equivalent, it remains to know how to use it. With the Rocket III Roadster, we navigate in orbit around the most torquey engine of production. Not that easy.
• Discovery
• Conclusion

Have the biggest

If it is rewarding to ride a coach with a machine that we know has no equivalent, it remains to know how to use it. With the Rocket III Roadster, we navigate in orbit around the most torquey engine of production. Not that easy.

Nothing to do. Even after having driven with an 1800 Goldwing and its 400 kg, the new Triumph Rocket III ultimate roadster version, still imposes some. Not so much by its weight of 373 kg all full facts as by its size. The universe of the biggest engine ever built for a production motorcycle appears to be that of humans on a scale of 1.5.

Discovery

Wide, firm and welcoming saddle, the generous curves especially draw the tank for the drivable part of a fairly stripped motorcycle. A front fender, a rear fender, a huge 240mm tire and asymmetry on either side of the tank flanked by the Triumph logo. On the left side, an injection housing emphasizes the presence of the three legs by its undulations of chrome. On the right in foundry crude, it is the same identity, more mechanical, which is underlined by the output of the exhaust manifolds (3 in 1 in 2) of the new 2.294 cm3 engine. Once the boiler is driven by the starter, that’s what it is: the sound is both velvety and mechanical. Klonck Behemian style.

Licked, the tachometer indicates both the capacity of the tank by an electronic gauge that the gear engaged and the kilometers remaining to be traveled before the failure.

And there, everything depends on what we do with the following reports. Knowing that at a moderate pace and a smooth style, you can reach 300 km without getting bored. The test average was 8.6 l / 100 km for a total tank capacity of 24 liters. The first pulls the almost 400 kg of the beast without difficulty. The second, then the other speeds follow in the same happiness. Easy, the biggest mill on the market! Only low-speed maneuvers require getting used to the fairly wide handlebars (970 mm) fall on the side where you steer.

Roadster or custom ?

This lever arm necessary to multiply the physical weakness of the pilot will be both the strength of the machine and his Achile heel. In tight traffic, Parisian peripheral type, it represents a handicap in the game of rising queues at a standstill. As soon as the flow stretches a little more, it allows the machine to easily swing from one lane to another, almost effortlessly. It is that at the rear as at the front, the ground surface of the tires is unparalleled. Respectively that of 150 mm and 240 mm tires.

The first kilometers are done at the rhythm of discovery, a period when we tame the template as the gearbox. And we quickly perceive that the Dantesque torque of almost 23 mKg is not only theoretical. On the fifth and last report (one or two more would go unnoticed) as on the intermediates, the force of inertia of this engine propels the whole with the smoothness of a three-legged and the power inherent in such a displacement, giving the impression that the machine lifts at the slightest rotation with the right wrist, a bit like a scooter if you exaggerate the sensation.

At 2,300 rpm, we then cross at 100 km / h, finding this machine more custom than roadster. The position with the arms stretched out by this very wide handlebar indicates it, as this roadster seems light years away from the increasingly sporty orientation of this family of motorcycles. At the first turns, this impression needs to be put to the test of reality. Flanked by ABS, the Rocket then calms its pilot, inclined to brake late without the fear linked to the weight of the crew. First turn and first surprise. Despite its ultra wide tire, the Rocket takes an angle without having to force the movement, fits in a healthy curve while the weight always present on the front axle allows you to consider the exercise with serenity..

Brake

As you turn, you gain confidence while the weight is forgotten thanks in part to the presence of the engine which allows both to get out of a tight curve and to raise the machine to present it on the other side, ready to swallow the next arabesque of the roadway. It is this type of volutes that the Rocket encourages to take, at a sustained pace but without getting caught up in the game of outright attack. For this, the motorcycle production catalog is full of references. The philosophy of the machine allows you to have fun before being overtaken by the ground clearance. That’s good. More quickly, it would have taken a little more incisive braking to better measure the effort. If the front element is efficient and enduring, we do not find the specific bite of the brand from across the Channel. Above all, we learn, as on a custom, to use the rear brake to first break the inertia of an engine whose moving parts continue to push the assembly via the cardan shaft, even after the throttle has been cut. This is to make sure the machine is in line before squeezing the lever and seating the bike on a curve, or even licking the rear disc to tighten a somewhat upbeat turn. No fear of being at a standstill at the exit of a curve, it will suffice to give a slight gas boost to extract with the honors of any pin. And enjoy the mechanical sound of the three-legged. Raucous what it takes.

Painful

Far from this playground where the Rocket is at ease with the pilot, some boring asphalt strips are to be avoided. The motorway first, then the straight and monotonous secondary roads. More roadster than custom, finally. On the highway rail, the wide handlebars force the pilot into a not very anatomical position. The arms slightly raised to the point of having the feeling of having the head buried between the two shoulders, the trapezoids suffer, even at the moderate pace of 130 km / h authorized. An ordeal in the long run, that a windshield or a windshield would relieve a little. Arms outstretched, it is the turn of the knees to show some signs of fatigue. The asymmetry of the reservoir, while it gives the machine personality, is not a gift for the inner muscles of the joints. Impossible to consider knee flu. The accessory would find its place on the right but would make the line of the machine unsightly. As on the old Buells and their asymmetrical and extravagant airbox, we resolve to suffer for the Rocket to be beautiful. And shut up.

Conclusion

This is a bit like the Rocket. An ultimate machine in both its displacement and its performance, the torque of which is not castrated by the law of 100 hp (148 hp in free version and 106 hp for the Hexagon at 5,750 rpm). In use, this rare object which can be exchanged for € 16,900 will never be the most practical or the most effective. Even less utilitarian. Just like an MV Agusta is useless to get bread, the Rocket only serves to have fun by standing out on the handlebars of the largest machine in production. And having the biggest is no more useless than having the fastest.

Strong points

• Little mass transfer when braking
• Very reassuring ABS
• Dantesque covers
• Sound

Weak points

• Comfort / position / wide handlebars
• Disabling weight at very low speeds
• High price

Competitors: Kawasaki VN 2000, Triumph Rocket Touring, Yamaha XV Warrior
1700

Datasheet

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