How the Rocket III is made

Yes Concours, it sure as hell was more exhilarating than riding an 850 Commando. The HP and torque made up for the weight gain. Gotta go, the fields ae not done, and I'm late for dinner.
 
NORTSTER1974 said:
I rode one the first year they came out, whenever that was. The dealer promo was "Ride the Rocket 3 and get a free T shirt". They said they were as fast as a Hyabusa from 0-60. Dealer wouldn't let you ride it too far, good for him, probably would have killed myself. It was the fastest bike I ever rode. All the weight just disappeared with a crack of the throttle. I did think of buying one, just so I could plow the fields quicker, and get home to dinner sooner. :) I still have the T shirt and I'm always late for dinner.
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There are bikes (albeit not too many) that are quicker 0-60 these days… on paper.

But at the lights, a R3 takes some beating.

The rider on a potentially quicker ‘normal’ bike has a huge battle with wheelies and traction in order to get the maximum traction to the tarmac that is required to achieve that theoretical best time.

The R3 has good power and huge torque. But it is also long, low, heavy and has a huge back tyre. It’s kinda like a drag bike ! So it’s just much easier to get (closer to) the best out of it.

You're either very unlucky, or a pretty unskilled rider, if you get left at the lights on a R3 !

And if you still want more, there are solutions available…

IMG_7634.webp
 
When I was a kid, a dealer offered to sell me a new Aprilia 250 production racer. I would not even look at it. We all wanted big motorcycles. I once rode an early Rocket 3. It stood up on it's rear wheel easier then any other bike I ever rode. However that does not mean it was fast. I suspect the weight distribution was wrong. I bike which is light in the front, is more difficult to ride fast. I suspect most of us when we ride a motorcycle probably believe the manufacturer knows how to design a motorcycle. So we just ride it and adapt to it. If it is not fast enough, we blame engine power - and NOT it's handling.
Theoretically, a Norvin should be very fast - best motor in the best frame ? - Bullshit !
There is a video on Youtube of a Rocket 3 racing on the IOM. It does not look good to me. I know what the rider must have been feeling. The motor only has to be half an inch further back from the optimum to stop it from being ridden fast. Losing the front is the biggest risk. If it feels light in the front, you will not speed. I do not know anything about the current Rocket 3.

 
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acotrel said:
When I was a kid, a dealer offered to sell me a new Aprilia 250 production racer. I would not even look at it. We all wanted big motorcycles. I once rode an early Rocket 3. It stood up on it's rear wheel easier then any other bike I ever rode. However that does not mean it was fast. I suspect the weight distribution was wrong. I bike which is light in the front, is more difficult to ride fast. I suspect most of us when we ride a motorcycle probably believe the manufacturer knows how to design a motorcycle. So we just ride it and adapt to it. If it is not fast enough, we blame engine power - and NOT it's handling.
Theoretically, a Norvin should be very fast - best motor in the best frame ? - Bullshit !
There is a video on Youtube of a Rocket 3 racing on the IOM. It does not look good to me. I know what the rider must have been feeling. The motor only has to be half an inch further back from the optimum to stop it from being ridden fast. Losing the front is the biggest risk. If it feels light in the front, you will not speed.
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Your right Al. Low power bikes are faster. 🤡
 
What was the comparison which was intended ? Modern Rocket 3 v modern Commando ? How could those two be compared - on what basis ? It would depend on where they were ridden.
 
concours said:
Your right Al. Low power bikes are faster. 🤡
Click to expand...
I have been blown to the weeds by experts, on less powerful bikes than my own. These days in Australia, we do not have graded races with capacity classes. There are no A-graders to teach us a lesson. I think I am a very mediocre rider. I have seen what the really good guys can do. They were not much faster, but much smoother. The top levels were A grade, then International. The International riders were faster again. When Victor Sousanne returned to Australia in the mid-70s, he was the length of the main straight at Sandown ahead of all the A grade riders. He had been second in MotoGP 250.
 
acotrel said:
I have been blown to the weeds by experts, on less powerful bikes than my own. These days in Australia, we do not have graded races with capacity classes. There are no A-graders to teach us a lesson. I think I am a very mediocre rider. I have seen what the really good guys can do. They were not much faster, but much smoother. The top levels were A grade, then International. The International riders were faster again. When Victor Sousanne returned to Australia in the mid-70s, he was the length of the main straight at Sandown ahead of all the A grade riders. He had been second in MotoGP 250.
Click to expand...
How the Rocket III is made
 
The video link in the first post does not work. From the second post I now presume it is mainly about the modern rocket 3. I think they would feel nice to ride - you would get the adrenalin rush without being booked for speeding. Harleys are a bit like that. I have only ridden one, and I can understand the urge to look at the reflection in shop windows.
'Getting necked' on a Harley is not about crashing.
 
Al there was no comparing of the R111 vs the Commando, to be honest the Commando wouldn't even come close to the new R111 and as I have said before what Triumph have done, the R111s are big heavy bike with the biggest motor thrown into it, big fat wide tyres and all, but when riding them they feel like a light weight bike, handle pretty good, there are 2 versions of the R111 the big cruiser and the sports model, the sports model has 3 modes road, sports and rain that controls the throttle bodies, my mate has the red sports model, its a few years old now but he still loves it and he does have a few bikes in his collection from race bikes to a Harley Soft tail and a few sports bikes, he knows how to ride as well, he throws his Soth Tail around like a sports bike scrapping the crap out of his foot boards, great following him, but on the R111 he is hard to beat no matter where we ride.

Ashley
 

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