as a former america and rocket owner, I'll throw in my 2 cents....I love my thunderbird storm - 2012. yes, the engine is a bit noisier than I'd like - but that is really my only complaint. it runs like a dream and has power to spare. when I sold my america (which I still miss, by the way....but I'm not a multi-bike person - if I'm getting a new bike, the old one has to go) - I picked up a great deal on a used 07 rocket. really fun bike - but not the bike for me. I moved from the america because I was doing more two-up riding and longer trips, and she just wasn't cutting it for that.
one day I stopped into my (then brand new) local dealer and they had a storm sitting out for test ride - so I took it for a spin. I was instantly sold. my immediate thought when I got out of the parking lot was "this is what I wanted!" - to me it felt like my america - just bigger - which is really what I was looking for.
my experience has been plenty of power, great handling, and, like with any other bike, once I got it set up for me (seating, feet, etc) - extremely comfortable.
