andy mack
.020 Over
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2013
- Messages
- 14
- Ride
- triumph rocket 3 roadster abs a2
Firstly I apologise if I have put this message in the wrong place..its all new to me but I thought other rocket 3 owners would like to know what I think of it.
My very first bike was a triumph..a tiger cub 200 to be exact , my father came to our house back in 1977 and asked my mum if it was ok for me to have it, it was two bikes in bits.. My step dad built me a fantastic workshop and i set about building one out of the two.
After hundreds of hours work I kicked it over a few times and up it chimed..happy days.
When I was old enough to have a bike on the road I got the very first DT50 yamaha.. To be honest right from the very first lawnmower engine I played with I was hooked.
I progressed through all of the yamaha rd family and my first four banger was a kawasaki 550 unitrak.
I have had about £160,000 worth of bikes, thats not because I'm in any way rich but rather because once you have a passion for motorcycles your hooked.
I've had pretty much every R1 right from the first carb model , I had its fat dad ..the thunderace , kawasaki zx10r..the good 05 model ..Ducati 996sps which I fell in love with as soon as I set eyes on it..it ate cam followers at £88 each (16 of them!)..still in every way as quick as an R1.
The passion is still in me at 50 , I have a good workshop which would put some dealers to shame and I would very reluctantly let someone else touch my bikes.
I had an fj1200 years ago , I took it to a dealer for a new back tyre.. when I got back home the rear spindle was not even done up hand tight!!.
Now I have a tyre machine with nylon heads , I replace tyres for my friends that also can't trust dealers with their precious wheels.
Although I spare no expense on my bikes they do get nailed hard when I ride them.. if any english lads read this and know of "on yer bike" in aylesbury and have seen the idiot pulling wheelies up and down the road outside...that was me.
I've had a few second bikes..smaller stuff to take it easy on.. when you fancy a nice gentle ride to a bike show etc..one of the best was the kawasaki w650..looked for like a triumph bonneville than the triumph did. Me and a friend bought one each and we loved them.
I have just got rid of an aprilia dorsoduro because I fancied an adventure bike , I got the 660 tenere which was good but needed a bit more grunt for motorway distance(my opinion ).
I bought the yamaha xtz 1200 tenere which was and is a fantastic bike.,grunty , well put together etc but then I have a soft spot for yamahas.
Then four weeks ago I started thinking about the rocket three , I don't like cruisers because I don't feel old or slow enough yet..no offense to you cruiser boys.
This rocket 3 was different , naked street fighter looking and de restricted in the first three gears!! I've had that feeling before and it usually costs money.
I got in touch with performance triumph cheltenham and they had the latest A2 abs model..phantom black with the two red stripes..He said he would take my bike in part exchange etc and that was that.
I had them put on the performance exhausts , tank rubbers as part of the deal.
I went down picked it up and did the 70 miles home nice and steady. On arriving back to my workshop I got it up on the ramp to wipe any speck of dust off it only to find the exhaust side panel half hanging off.
I also noticed the tank pads were coming away!..
I called the dealer and asked how he expected me to trust his mechanic to shim a valve or torque up a drain plug when he couldn't even do the simplest of tasks...not a good start
I tracked down a mechanic at bulldog triumph ,an ex hinckley factory bloke , we had a chat and we were obviously on the same wave length , he said he would carry out the first service to comply with the warranty and he did..last week.
Since then I've managed to get out on some dry days and steadily open it up.
The adverts don't lie..its pretty quick for a big bike , I found it good in the corners, enough to scrape the foot rests , I look forward to the summer when I can really nail it.
So where do my thoughts lay now?.
I like the rocket 3 , its obviously a million miles away from an R1 but I think it will embarrass a few sport bike riders when the summer comes .
As for triumph dealers.. well dealers are dealers , mechanics under time pressure etc etc..just try to find a good one if you don't do your own work .
Triumph the company..being english and ex grenadier guards I'm patriotic without a doubt but I wish triumph would speak to the customers.. please triumph don't slip into that same frame of mind from yesteryear.
I have decided to have the services done by a triumph dealer because I need that two year warranty.. Having read everything I can on the bike I just have this gut feeling that something is gonna go wrong..I really want it to be a good bike but I'm still not sure. we can hope eh!.
So thats me and my bikes..regards..andy mack
My very first bike was a triumph..a tiger cub 200 to be exact , my father came to our house back in 1977 and asked my mum if it was ok for me to have it, it was two bikes in bits.. My step dad built me a fantastic workshop and i set about building one out of the two.
After hundreds of hours work I kicked it over a few times and up it chimed..happy days.
When I was old enough to have a bike on the road I got the very first DT50 yamaha.. To be honest right from the very first lawnmower engine I played with I was hooked.
I progressed through all of the yamaha rd family and my first four banger was a kawasaki 550 unitrak.
I have had about £160,000 worth of bikes, thats not because I'm in any way rich but rather because once you have a passion for motorcycles your hooked.
I've had pretty much every R1 right from the first carb model , I had its fat dad ..the thunderace , kawasaki zx10r..the good 05 model ..Ducati 996sps which I fell in love with as soon as I set eyes on it..it ate cam followers at £88 each (16 of them!)..still in every way as quick as an R1.
The passion is still in me at 50 , I have a good workshop which would put some dealers to shame and I would very reluctantly let someone else touch my bikes.
I had an fj1200 years ago , I took it to a dealer for a new back tyre.. when I got back home the rear spindle was not even done up hand tight!!.
Now I have a tyre machine with nylon heads , I replace tyres for my friends that also can't trust dealers with their precious wheels.
Although I spare no expense on my bikes they do get nailed hard when I ride them.. if any english lads read this and know of "on yer bike" in aylesbury and have seen the idiot pulling wheelies up and down the road outside...that was me.
I've had a few second bikes..smaller stuff to take it easy on.. when you fancy a nice gentle ride to a bike show etc..one of the best was the kawasaki w650..looked for like a triumph bonneville than the triumph did. Me and a friend bought one each and we loved them.
I have just got rid of an aprilia dorsoduro because I fancied an adventure bike , I got the 660 tenere which was good but needed a bit more grunt for motorway distance(my opinion ).
I bought the yamaha xtz 1200 tenere which was and is a fantastic bike.,grunty , well put together etc but then I have a soft spot for yamahas.
Then four weeks ago I started thinking about the rocket three , I don't like cruisers because I don't feel old or slow enough yet..no offense to you cruiser boys.
This rocket 3 was different , naked street fighter looking and de restricted in the first three gears!! I've had that feeling before and it usually costs money.
I got in touch with performance triumph cheltenham and they had the latest A2 abs model..phantom black with the two red stripes..He said he would take my bike in part exchange etc and that was that.
I had them put on the performance exhausts , tank rubbers as part of the deal.
I went down picked it up and did the 70 miles home nice and steady. On arriving back to my workshop I got it up on the ramp to wipe any speck of dust off it only to find the exhaust side panel half hanging off.
I also noticed the tank pads were coming away!..
I called the dealer and asked how he expected me to trust his mechanic to shim a valve or torque up a drain plug when he couldn't even do the simplest of tasks...not a good start
I tracked down a mechanic at bulldog triumph ,an ex hinckley factory bloke , we had a chat and we were obviously on the same wave length , he said he would carry out the first service to comply with the warranty and he did..last week.
Since then I've managed to get out on some dry days and steadily open it up.
The adverts don't lie..its pretty quick for a big bike , I found it good in the corners, enough to scrape the foot rests , I look forward to the summer when I can really nail it.
So where do my thoughts lay now?.
I like the rocket 3 , its obviously a million miles away from an R1 but I think it will embarrass a few sport bike riders when the summer comes .
As for triumph dealers.. well dealers are dealers , mechanics under time pressure etc etc..just try to find a good one if you don't do your own work .
Triumph the company..being english and ex grenadier guards I'm patriotic without a doubt but I wish triumph would speak to the customers.. please triumph don't slip into that same frame of mind from yesteryear.
I have decided to have the services done by a triumph dealer because I need that two year warranty.. Having read everything I can on the bike I just have this gut feeling that something is gonna go wrong..I really want it to be a good bike but I'm still not sure. we can hope eh!.
So thats me and my bikes..regards..andy mack
