Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

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Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

23 photos

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

1/23
Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax. The displacement giants in the comparison test.

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

2/23
Yamaha Vmax – Martial appearance, posh workmanship, great details: at over 23,000 euros, the Vmax is an expensive but also very exclusive pleasure. And a classic of tomorrow today.

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

3/23
Yamaha Vmax.

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

4/23
Yamaha Vmax – The transverse driver: Whoever plays with the clutch reaps a spinning rear wheel and courageous drift angles. And thanks to the large speed reserve over a fairly long distance. open fire!

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

5/23
Triumph Rocket III – 2.3 liter displacement, 370 kilograms and everything a little bigger: With the Rocket you get a lot of motorcycle for the money for a good 17,000 euros. And a unique driving experience on top of that. Just try it out.

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

6/23
Triumph Rocket III – 2.3 liter displacement, 370 kilograms and everything a little bigger: With the Rocket you get a lot of motorcycle for the money for a good 17,000 euros. And a unique driving experience on top of that. Just try it out.

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

7/23
Triumph Rocket III – The torque giant: If the pad is not too grippy, a twist of the throttle is enough and the Rocket III Roadster rubs its rear tire on. In doing so, she remains calmly on track and storms forward with power.

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

8/23
Triumph Rocket III – The British Way: double headlights, a fat engine, fat wheels, lots of metal. And a seating position made for power cruising.

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

9/23
Yamaha Vmax – Nippon’s coolest piece: An assembled powerhouse in an extroverted form – actually too good to drive.

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

10/23
Triumph Rocket III.

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

11/23
Yamaha Vmax.

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

12/23

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

13/23

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

14/23
Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax. The displacement giants in the comparison test.

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

15/23
Heavy boxes: The right backdrop for two mighty motorcycles.

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

16/23
Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax. The displacement giants in the comparison test.

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

17/23
Yamaha Vmax – This is also unique in the motorcycle world: 1700 V4 with everything your heart desires, perfectly embedded in an aluminum bridge frame and beautifully finished.

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

18/23
Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax. The displacement giants in the comparison test.

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

19/23
Triumph Rocket III: There is only one – at least in the motorcycle world: in-line three-cylinder, installed lengthways, four valves per cylinder, with individual displacement of 765 cubic centimeters – now everything in black.

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

20/23
Triumph Rocket III.

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

21/23
Power plants: displacement giant and monster V4.

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

22/23
Yamaha Vmax – Martial appearance, posh workmanship, great details: at over 23,000 euros, the Vmax is an expensive but also very exclusive pleasure. And a classic of tomorrow today.

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

23/23

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Motorcycles with a large displacement in a comparison test

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax: That means brute force in perfect choreography and impressive staging. But also a hot fight with the forces that are pulling them away.

There are people who cannot do anything with these topics. They make motorcycles as big, strong and heavy as a Triumph R.ocket III Roadster or a Yamaha Vmax a wide arc.

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Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test
Motorcycles with a large displacement in a comparison test

First drive off, then strike


Triumph Rocket III – The torque giant: If the pad is not too grippy, a twist of the throttle is enough and the Rocket III Roadster rubs its rear tire on. In doing so, she remains calmly on track and storms forward with power.

“Friends”, one would like to call out to these contemporaries, “are you still with consolation! Can’t you imagine what these first-rate combustion engines would do with your fiddly lightweight devices? Do you think there is no reason for cardan shafts as thick as an arm and wheelbases between which a single family house has space? Folks, what pushes between front and rear wheel in these orgies of violence that have become metal has nothing to do with your hyperventilating barrel organs, but goes beyond all common motorcycle dimensions. Just take the Triumph once: 2.3 liter displacement, distributed over three cylinders, over 200 Newton meters at 2200 rpm – you only have a rough idea of ​​what that means?

One breath of this motor monument is probably enough to tear your fifty-five O-ring chains into 1000 pieces practically from a standing start and twist every eighty-fifteen cardan into a corkscrew. Or take the V4 of the Vmax: almost 1700 cubic centimeters, which not only push like hell at the bottom, but also really tear at the top. Nominal 200 hp! But not at 14,000 / min, just before the valves and pistons go into the final meltdown, but 5000 / min earlier, at a wholesome 9,000 / min. Any questions? Such a monster would immediately put your racer upright if it really starts at 4000 rpm. Or occupy yourself with the wheelie control of your high-tech racer while trying to sprint up to Saint Never’s Day without moving from the spot. Then such a lightweight superbike just twitches like mad cow, while the fat Vmax marches off under smoke and smoke and the smell of burnt rubber. “

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

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Second-hand advice Yamaha Vmax (1985 – 2010)


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Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

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Of these two boom, the Vmax is the arsonist


Yamaha Vmax – The transverse driver: Anyone who plays with the clutch reaps a spinning rear wheel and courageous drift angles. And thanks to the large speed reserve over a fairly long distance. open fire!

So much for polemics. Now for the facts. What Triumph did was right. Out with this scourge called performance limitation, into full life. From now on, even in the first three gears, the full torrent of torque pours over the mighty crankshaft, practically from idle. With a small blemish, because on the MOTORRAD test bench it is not possible to demonstrate exactly what is actually accumulating deep in the crankcase or on the rear wheel of the Rocket, because this torque monster generates so much slip even in third gear on the test bench roller that the Values ​​deviate significantly downwards, while in gears four and five the speed cutter still engages and regulates moderately at higher speeds. At 193 km / h it is over.

Therefore, the assumption must remain that the three-cylinder of the test motorcycle is a bit far from what the British promise us in the brochure. 203 Newton meters instead of 221, 131 HP instead of the advised 148 horses, that’s all we can attest to in terms of objective measured values. But we can calm down. As irresistible as the 370 kilogram stretch pushes towards the horizon at 25 Newton meters less – that is a very this-worldly experience even without the guarantee of mountains of torque on the other side, because the difference to the previous engine, which was throttled in the first three gears, is also considerable . Around 25 Newton meters more are now attacking. In abstract terms, this makes the unusual relationship between hardly increasing engine speed and rapidly increasing speed even greater. Popularly speaking, the Rocket now walks even more like a pig. A slight turn of the thick throttle is enough. High speeds – i.e. anything beyond 3500 rpm – or even clutch gimmicks are not required for this.

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

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Your favorite discipline is called “full throttle”


Power plants: displacement giant and monster V4.

Seen in this way, the Vmax full steam ahead strategy is clearly more conventional, but by no means less violent. First drive off, then strike – that is the motto of one of the undoubtedly most fascinating drives in motorcycle history. If you look at the curve on the right, you will understand why. No other engine has ever approached the 200 hp barrier in such a linear and purposeful manner. And no high-performance engine has ever been packaged so martially. The four-valve engine is compact, almost concentrated, in the tight frame corset of the exquisitely processed aluminum bridge frame, where the mighty Triumph block hangs heavy and massive under the plain steel backbone of the Rocket. The Vmax provocatively sucks in cubic meters of air through obviously raised nostrils made of brushed aluminum, where the British triple snorkels cautiously under the wide tank fairing. And the four exhaust bags nestle boldly around the 200cc rear wheel, where the conventional, eternally long Triumph bags keep a respectable distance.

There is no question: of these two booming hums, the Vmax is the arsonist, and not just visually. If you want to know what that means: Just let the clutch slip at a little speed. Then it whistles, whimpers and smokes – and the Vmax draws the boldest black lines you can imagine. If need be, up to the horizon, because the powerful thrust of the V4 just doesn’t stop. In addition, there is a background noise that is addicting, because this mixture of deep displacement bass and high speed is not available anywhere in the world.

MOTORCYCLE market: Used Triumph Rocket III Roadster

MOTORCYCLE market: Used Yamaha Vmax

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test
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Pictures: Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

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Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

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Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

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Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

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Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

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Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Gargolov

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

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Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Gargolov

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Gargolov

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Gargolov

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Gargolov

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Gargolov

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Gargolov

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Gargolov

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Gargolov

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Gargolov

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Gargolov

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Gargolov

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Gargolov

At the top, however, the fat roadster noticeably runs out of air compared to the muscle man Vmax, but then the lack of power and the high weight become noticeable, while the Yamaha just keeps going. Up to 200 km / h you practically do not drive a superbike before the poor aerodynamics, but above all your speed cutter, set limits at 220 things. But such tempo orgies, despite their name, are by no means the determination of the Vmax, although such things can be endured much better behind the narrow and flat handlebars than behind the broad antlers of the Rocket III.

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

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Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

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Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test
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Pictures: Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

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Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

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Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

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Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Jahn

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Jahn

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Jahn

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Jahn

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Jahn

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Jahn

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Jahn

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Jahn

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Jahn

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Jahn

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Jahn

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Jahn

Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax in the test

Jahn

Torque


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Torque measurement: Diagram: measurements on the Dynojet roller test stand 250, corrected according to 95/1 / EC, maximum possible deviation ± 5.

How much is there – and especially where? These are the crucial questions when it comes to torque. The rocket threesome can now show what it’s made of in third gear.

The current motorcycle world does not offer anything comparable again, and you stand in awe in front of the mountain of torque that the three-cylinder piles up practically from idle. Indeed, in this regard, the V4 has nothing to report to the Vmax. On the contrary: it starts rather cautiously, even allowing itself a little hitch between 3000 and 4000 rpm before it really gets down to business. Subjectively, this performance characteristic can also be experienced, the displacement giant the Triumph develops noticeably more pressure. Adjusted for the translation, however (see pull-through table below), the Vmax gets going even more powerfully than the Rocket III and, the higher the pace, the more meters it decreases. The English triplet counteracts this with its marine diesel character – and hums quite calmly.

 triumph  Yamaha
50-100 km / h  2.8 sec  2.3 sec
100-150 km / h  3.6 sec  2.3 sec

Clear point victory for the Vmax. Despite the torque disadvantage, it pulls through significantly better in third gear than the Rocket III Roadster.

Power on the crankshaft


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Power measurement (crankshaft): The Rocket pushes enormously from the very bottom, but only unwillingly turns over 5000 rpm, the Vmax delivers power anytime and anywhere and turns easily up to the five-digit range. Measurements on the Dynojet roller test stand 250, corrected according to 95/1 / EG, maximum possible deviation ± 5.

The power on the crankshaft (measured in third gear) reflects what the engine is capable of, in relation to the speed.

Aha, the displacement advantage, one would like to say. And he is right, because logically the large three-cylinder rocket also draws more power from its 500 cubic centimeter larger displacement at the same speed. However, this advantage is not very big, because the liter output of the triple is at 57 hp in a manageable range. For comparison: the liter output of the Yamaha V4 is almost twice as high with 110 hp. So it’s no wonder that from a good 6000 rpm the Vmax engine pulls away unassailable, while the fat Triumph chunk has reached the end of its revving power.

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Performance on the rear wheel


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Diagram: performance on the rear wheel. Measurements on the Dynojet roller test stand 250, corrected according to 95/1 / EG, maximum possible deviation ± 5%.

The decisive factor when it comes to driving performance, because the ratio (third gear) is also included here. Therefore, the curves here sometimes shift considerably.

It is always exciting to compare the “common” performance curves, which represent the performance of the engine on the crankshaft, with the performance curves on the rear wheel. In the case of the Rocket III Roadster and Yamaha Vmax, this means: The considerable lead that the British triple had up to almost 6000 rpm on the crankshaft is or is eaten up by the longer ratio of the Rocket (in order to achieve a corresponding top speed at a much lower speed) turns into the opposite.

In plain language this means: up to 80 km / h, roughly the same amount of power arrives at the rear wheel, after which the Vmax pulls away unreachable. If you add the additional weight of the Triumph, the better driving performance of the Yamaha is almost self-explanatory. But the fact is: the Vmax has to turn significantly higher.

 

 triumph  Yamaha
0-100 km / h  3.5 sec  2.7 sec
0-140 km / h  6.3 sec  4.4 sec
0-200 km / h  –  8.3 sec

The domain of the Vmax is its brute acceleration. It beats the Rocket III Roadster in all respects and easily reaches the 200 km / h mark.

Technical specifications


Heavy boxes: The right backdrop for two mighty motorcycles.

Triumph Rocket III Yamaha Vmax
Type of engine Three-cylinder four-stroke in-line engine,
two overhead,
chain driven camshafts,
four valves per cylinder,
Bucket tappets, dry sump lubrication
Four cylinder four stroke 65 degree V engine,
two overhead,
gear / chain driven camshafts,
four valves per cylinder,
Bucket tappets, wet sump lubrication
Mixture preparation Injection, Ø 52 mm Injection, Ø 48 mm
coupling Multi-disc oil bath clutch  Multi-disc oil bath clutch (anti-hopping)
transmission Five-speed Five-speed
Secondary drive Cardan Cardan
Bore x stroke 101.6 x 94.3 mm 90.0 x 66.0 mm
Displacement 2294 cm3 1680 cm3
compression 8.7: 1 11.3: 1
power 108.8 kW (148 hp) at 5750 rpm 147.2 kW (200 PS) at 9000 rpm
Torque 221 Nm at 3250 rpm 167 Nm at 6500 rpm
Weight with a full tank 370 kg 315 kg
Front / rear wheel load distribution 169/201 kg 157/158 kg
Top speed 193 km / h 220 km / h
consumption 7.0 liters 8.0 liters
Range 343 188 km
Price without additional costs 17 390 euros 23 495 euros

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