Build questions for my '12 R3R Street Fighter

[Martin W.]

Hey all,

I bought Natalie, my 2012 Rocket III Roadster, on October 25th 2013, and after putting a couple thousand miles on her through various parts of Texas it's time to begin messing with her.

Here she is at the Battleship Texas, near Houston. Guards chased me off just after I managed to snatch this shot; they were actually well cool about me walking the bike up the pathway (boy is she a heavy girl...).

Anyway, I'm finding myself wanting to change her looks a little, and the riding position a lot. Prior to the Rocket I've only been riding ****** rockets, and I'm finding that the backwards lean on this bike f***s up my tailbone something fierce. Here's the plan to change that.

1. New handlebars
Going for a straighter, lower bar on stock risers. Currently in the process of fabricating some mock ups using wood dowels to figure out what combination of width, pullback, and angles will work.

2. Footpegs
To make the forward lean of the new handlebars manageable I'll have to relocate the footpegs, and the only clean solution I've seen for this is on the Palatina RS. I'm not willing to spend 15k on their mods, however, and as they won't sell me the pegs alone I'll need to get someone to fabricate the peg mounts, similar to how these are mounted:

3. Exhaust
In order to fit the footpegs (notice a trend here? ), I'll need to do something about those big ole pipes I've got. I'd prefer to get something like the Palatina RS system, but it's not exactly cheap. The Zard Penta (what I would call shorty) is my next choice, but unfortunately these are Rocket III Classic only.

So, my question is this; does anyone know where I can get a set of pipes like the Zard Penta system?

Furthermore, I'm presuming the cat has to go for something like this to fit; anyone from the US (Texas in particular) care to comment on the legality of running a cat-less bike on the streets?

Cheers,
Martin

 

[R3Tex]

Where are you at in Houston?

Opinions:
1.) Stay away from shorty exhaust...they look cool but sound like $hit and rob your power.
2.) Try raersk rear sets...they might be cheaper for pegs
3.) No cats required in Texas. If you have a problem getting an inspection sticker let me know and I will hook you up

 

[Martin W.]

R3Tex
A fellow rocketeer in Houston, who'd have thought! I've never seen another Rocket on the roads here at all, actually.

As for location, I live in the Westchase area, just a couple minutes south off of I-10 and right off of Sam Houston / 8.

Comments:
1. My concern about the short pipes were mostly in terms of the heat affecting the rear tire and/or my feet, actually.

While videos certainly can't convey sound as it is experienced in real life, my impression was that they didn't sound all that bad; honestly, for this project I'm really struggling with the size of the pipes if I'm going to get my feet further back. I'm still looking at options, but going by my measurements so far anything other than short pipes will be a tight fit for peg relocations.

2. As for the rear sets; are you thinking of the Raask set that bolts onto the engine? If so, those won't go far enough back, unfortunately, at least not with the length of my arms and the much straighter bar I'm looking to put on. I'd need something mounted behind the engine to get my position right.

EDIT: I hadn't seen their other sets before (or indeed some of their other offerings), and these might actually work. If nothing else, it would keep me from having to have custom mounting brackets created. Thanks!

3. Awesome, good to know. Thanks again! Out of curiosity, if you wouldn't mind indulging me; what exhaust system are you running, do you still have the cat, and why?

Thanks again, man, appreciate it! If you're nearby, let's hit the road sometime. I was just down south to Victoria yesterday; headed out at 6am down 59, jumped on some farm roads back north, nice ride all in all.

 

[R3Tex]

There will be at least four other Rockets at the Lone Star Rally Nov 6-9 if you are interested (Me, Steel, Stripes and Nolton). I doubt we do much riding, but the bikes will be there for sure. Might give you some ideas for yours. I run a CES exhaust system with triple K&N filters. You can see pics here http://www.r3owners.net/threads/ces-exhaust-install-pics.19869/

The Raask stuff was what I had in mind for rear sets but my spelling sux.

I live on the west side out in Waller county. I ride most days unless the weather is REALLY $hitty and my office is in the Westchase district (Sam H & Briar Forest). I have three other bikes that need exercise so I'm not always on my Rocket, but I'm usually on two wheels.

If you are just now getting into waking your beast up a little bit you may want to do some research on here. There are some pretty serious HP fiends on here that may be able to save you some time, money and heart ache.

 

[Steel]

It looks like their exhaust works with their rear sets. You might have to make adjustments for the ABS on the Roadster though.

 

[motolink]

I would love to see what you can't see, any chance of speaking a photo of the full bike, what I see looks great.

 

[ROCKETHEAD]

Raask rearsets on R3, in motion, 6"1' with 32 inseam to give you an idea...

 

[Jeff Cameron]

That Rocket looks small....the bobbed rear fender and a bigger rider.

 

[R3Tex]

I would love to see what you can't see, any chance of speaking a photo of the full bike, what I see looks great.

Which bike are you referring to?

 

[xhdskip]

not into the street fighter look myself,
more into the old school cruiser look,
so afraid I can't be of much help,
but I did bob my fender and gave it a flip at the end,
photos are in my album I think..