Of my three bikes, the Rocket gets the most interest and the most comments - from other riders and non-riders alike. Non-riders ask the daftest questions, but I don't mind, in fact it's kind of nice. It's a bit like having a very big and very friendly dog: everyone wants to come and talk to you.
Non-riders can't believe they've just clocked a motorcycle with a bigger engine than their car (taking pics of the 2500cc panel on the intake cover is very common). Riders are just intrigued to know what it's like to ride - how fast is it, isn't it really heavy, does it go round corners, how do you hang on to it etc. Rocket 3 demo bikes are not that common so very few people other than owners and journalists have ever ridden one.
I have been parked at a bike meet wandering up and down with a coffee and overheard a couple of riders looking at my bike and saying "it's basically just a car engine". Sometimes I like to engage and have that conversation and explain that it really isn't just a two-wheeled car.
In fact, I've had some thought-provoking conversations thanks to the Rocket that have made me wonder about a few things myself, such as why don't more manufacturers mount in-line engines longitudinally? To me it's a winning format. A 1000 cc in-line triple would be incredibly slim with a low centre of gravity and if the engine is a stressed member it would be extremely easy to work on. LIkewise, when I had my Harley I thought why don't more manufacturers use belt drive? These are the conversations I like having with attention-drawing bikes.
I've never encountered any snobbery. Famously aloof Harley riders are generally interested, especially when I tell them that I traded a Harley to buy my Rocket. The only type of rider who rarely make conversation are the weekend squeaky leather sports bike riders. But they won't speak to anyone who isn't wearing knee sliders anyway. There is a sub-set of sports bike riders who think if it hasn't got 200 bhp it isn't a proper bike and if you haven't got such a bike it means you can't ride one. They're the riders you overtake on the way home.
The only time I've had any disrespect was at Devils Bridge in Kirkby Lonsdale. The Rocket was parked up and I was sitting on the wall having a brew. A group of blokes clustered round the bike and started discusssing it, which was fine - happens all the time. Then they started touching it, putting their feet on the pegs and turning the bars. One of them who must have weighed twenty stone rested his forearms on the tank and leant his weight on it like it was a shopping trolley. That narked me so I put helmet on, walked up to the bike and shewed them away and rode off without speaking to tham.