Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Other Bikes R III Touring

I went to Freedom Cycle in Reno, NV last Friday. They have a line of in-house test riders. I took the Classic RIII for a ride and WOW. It handled very well in corners, considering size and being unfamiliar with the bike. The power/torque is amazing. When I got back I talked with the owners about the new RIII Touring bike. Before I had left, I put a down payment on the RIII Touring. Jet Black/New England White arriving in Jan. I will have two bikes to enjoy now. One of them will be for my 4500-5000 mile rides along with just day rides, the other (BA) will still be my Bad Blue rider. Just had to post this, I am barely able to contain myself at this point.

You lucky dog!

I will echo Friarjohns sentiment! I have been lusting after a Rocket. I almost bought a crashed one that sold for about $3,000 but there was an oil leak that concerned me so I didn't.I was thinking of building a trike to pull a trailer.

I must admit, I do like the touring model, all I can say is go outside and shout really loud... " I am a lucky bugger"

John, Dog and Ray
I have to agree, I am one lucky son-of-a-gun-slinger!!! The anticipation is almost too much. I did talk to them about towing a trailer, and they said it should be no problem to get that setup. I know the Tour RIII will not have any trouble towing it

+1. Atta boy. First time I rode a R3 I almost hit the car in front my when I "rolled" the throttle to change lanes and pass. Additionally, I changed lanes in front of another car and almost got run over when I was back on my speedy! A LOT more happens when you twist the throttle of a RIII.

Pes
From what I read on the RIII sites, the current owners "for the most part" do not like the new Touring model. There are a lot of differences in looks and how it is tuned. I do not like the looks of the classic, but really like the looks of the new touring. It will handle different, from reviews it is much better in corners. I ride and live in the upper foothills of the Sierra, corners are a way of life here

I did do a lot of research on the new model with all the latest test rides. The dealer in Reno has one himself and rode the new one in FL. The only thing he did not like was the sacrifice of HP for Torque

They Americanized it.I personally like the twin headlights.If I got one I would have to put the twin headlights on it.I like the tank much better.Ought to have enough torque to tow your car yet alone a small trailer.Enjoy your new bike .Good luck.

A cruiser with that much torque and HP. There is absolutely no reason why I would ever need that much power...which is why I want one!

seen one today in the shop looks good is different than "old" rockets I like it for the look but it's just not for me ...too big

You should ride one, It doesn't feel as big as you would think when you are twisting the throttle. Big gets over ridden by POWER!It really is fairly nimble, you would be suprised,I know I was.

I have no need to ride it thought to take Street Triple for a spin to try again sport bike(daytona 600 was not comfy for me)

I get the feeling that most R3 owners don't like the touring version also. A recent article in Cruiser magazine said they re-did the whole thing to make it more comfortable on trips and appeal to the American touring market. I would like to get a used blue and white classic R-3 in the future. I saw a '05 Grey R-3 on e-bay for 10,000 dolars with some added accesories and about 9,000 miles. I'm just not sure I can wait to get the money or just sell my TBA for a down payment.(blasphemy)

you can get a "brand new" 06 models in chattanooga for $12,400 out the door!

Just back from the UK show and I want one as well, will have to wait a few years at least however, so you are stuck with me
Its £800 more than the standard Rocket, not so bad if it wasn't so expensive to start with over here.
I also noticed something, Its posted in customs forum

The guys on the R3 owners site are calling the R-3 touring model "The Cupcake" Sorry couldn't help myself. I think like anything new, it will take some time for acceptance. I remember when it was under development people on this site knocked it pretty good, including myself for being so big and complicated, unlike our twins.

The more pics I see of this bike the more I think of it as a Road King that can get out of this own way. I kind of like it, but the few times I've ridden the RocketIII, I've noticed a little more heat coming off those headers and onto my right boot, than I'd care for.

I still think(as Soren has expressed) that Triumph should also use(and in fact should have already used) this platform for a fully-faired GoldWing/LT BMW-like machine also.

(well, as those Cub fans say..."Wait 'till next year", huh?!)

Stephen, now that shot makes me even more excited! That is the right colors and all the add-ons I am going to be looking for. The dealer is giving me $1,000.00 of any thing I want with the bike and 10% off any service, parts or anything else they have/can get at the shop. Freedom Cycle is a customer first dealer.

PES, yeah yeah yeah I know the cupcake thing pretty well now after looking at several RIII sites but what the heck, it's what I want so it's all

Dwight, I took it for a good ride, more than a half hour in the corners, up and down the hills and some straights. I was impressed by the handling. The heat issue seems to have been fixed with the touring model, or at least that is what is in the reviews I have read. I am glad they did not go like the gold wing. If they did I would hope they leave an option for a model more like this one

What do they mean by cupcake?

Down on horsepower to 106 and just a bump in torque. They are all talking about how to retune it to get back the hp.

Yeah it seemed like a really drastic drop in HP for a very minor bump in torque on something that already had a TON of torque! Weird.... If you could retune it easily, like say with a flash tuner, that would be a SWEET ride.

Rocket, Rocket Classic
140bhp @ 6000rpm, 147ft,lbf @ 2500rpm
704lbs dry weight.

Rocket Touring
106bhp @ 5400rpm, 154ft,lbf @ 2025rpm
788lbs dry weight.

Makes less power and a little more torque, but it comes in earlier.

Interesting the Touring holds .4 gallon less fuel.
Still like it.

As for the tuning thing, I will be happy with less HP and more torque for now. I am sure that Tune Boy will have it figured out real soon for anyone that may want to "re-tune"

I think it is beautiful, at least in above photo. The only thing that I don't like is the left side with the chrome pipe organ. Ever notice how you hardly ever see a photo of the left side?

you canflash it with a tuneboy. thats what we used to tune my old mans rocket and boy does that thing wake the bike up. easy to use to. can also use a diagnostic program it comes with

Frank

I mean I just wonder if that is all they did to "retune it" or if there are actual mechanical changes too.

The more I come back to this thread, the more this bike reminds me of what Yamaha did a few years back to their Royal Star V-4. They took the renowned V-Max motor they would use in it and then they detuned it to such a degree that it took most the fun and novelty of possibly owning one of the most balls-out monster of a crusier/tourer out of it.

Now, I never rode one of those Yamahas, but I do remember all the magazines at the time decrying this, and I wonder how many possible sales of it those reviewer's words kept people from owning one.

As I mentioned above, I have ridden the RocketIII a couple of times, and trust me, that bike didn't need any more torque.(found that out by pulling cleanly from a red light in 3rd gear on it without having to slip the clutch one bit)

And so I ask, why would Triumph think dropping the HP figures on it that much(what is it, about 32?!) and then slightly increasing the torque figures would be a good idea as a sales promotion for the touring derivative of the Rocket?

(I'm stumped!)

I'm with you on this Dwight (mark your calenders...). Someone mentioned a flatter torque curve, but like I said before, I challange anyone to tell the difference! It's such a mind bottling amount to begin with!!

I too like the dual headlights, but I like the bags and the exhaust and the tank better on the touring. Still a few years away from something like this anyway.

Still counting on one hand...

I think Triumph is doing what they wanted in the beginning. I read somewhere this model, "RIII Touring", has been in the making since 2004 same as the classic was. They just took more time and got the touring model right for touring, not crotch rocket go 130 before life begins. And heaven forbid they have options for different styles within the same model.

The more powerful "classic" or "standard" Rocket III was better for publicity. Makes sense to me.

Quote:

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And heaven forbid they have options for different styles within the same model

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I agree with you, I just don't see how the power of the original motor detracts from anyone's style. I found the power quite controlable on the short test ride I had. I guess it is all about perception. Some people must think that since there is that much power that there is ALWAYS that much power. It's YOUR wrist doing the twisting! You get to control it

That being said Jack I'm salivating pretty hard myself!

There is so much put on the HP/Torque with something that already has PLENTY that it boggles my mind why anyone makes a big deal of it. I am sure for those (including myself) that wants to tune it back to the original that it can be done given a short amount of time. After talking with the dealer(s) at Freedom Cycle it is only a tuning thing, not mechanical induced. I plan on keeping this bike for a LONG time. When the time comes that I need to not ride two wheels this will be an easy convert to a three wheeler. I do not plan to quit riding until I can not get a drivers license any longer

My 84 year old senile grandmother who we don't even let her touch her keys managed to renew her licence a few weeks ago. You should be fine.

Interesting video on the Touring Rocket, shows some of the features (weird song..).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd5g9yyTDOQ&feature=related

Bike definitely sounds odd, but looks great, imo. If my daughter didn't have three more years of college...