Hello from Pennsylvania

[Steele Rocket]

TriumPhil:

About your thoughts - the dealer said they receive their Triumph bikes all assembled with one or two minor things to go on.
They do not have the assembly needed like the Japanese bikes that come in.

I wanted to follow up with your thoughts.

Thanks.

God bless!!

Michael

 

[Dennsell]

SR most owners will tell you this... after 20-30000 Kms less in miles the big heavy G/Box will smooth out, mine was difficult to get on with but at 35ks it very smooth and not clunky anymore..

The R3 needs a strong heavy G/Box to cope with the torque and power output
Little patience and TLC might work

 

[TriumPhil]

The dealer should road test the bikes they are preparing to be sold, Michael. It strikes me as a little odd that you and your Mrs. experienced these potentially life-threatening SNAFUS, but they did not.???

 

[Steele Rocket]

Still waiting to hear that the bike is road-worthy.

They called yesterday to say the shut-off of the engine that occurred was the result of "Vapor Lock."

A little later I talked with someone that stated vapor lock does not occur in a fuel injected bike.

It occurs in the bowl area of carburetors.

That it occurs generally after a hot engine is shut down.

The heat of the engine gets to the carburetor and the fuel in it then will separate in the bowl between liquid and gas causing vapor lock.

It sounds like a fuel flow problem and that they do not know what it is and they may not want to admit that.

We have not totally decided what to do yet.

We are still considering asking either for a large discount to take this bike or just cancel the deal all together.

Does anyone out there have a 2013 Rocket III Touring SE (or know someone that does) and if so how is the bike running?

Thanks everyone.

God bless!!

Michael

 

[Steele Rocket]

We have submitted our request to back out of the transaction for the Rocket III.
They have had the bike a second time now and this time it has been 8 days.
I did so by email so as to provide the reasons and a paper trail for both ourselves and Yamaha of Camp Hill.
I called Triumph USA and spoke with Lavon and advised her that we are backing out and that due to the unreliability of the Rocket we purchased and how Yamaha of Camp Hill has been handling it that in our region Triumph will need to do some major image reclamation.
At first she thought we were returning the bike to Triumph and she said they will not take it back.
Then I told her we are returning it to Yamaha of Camp Hill and that the call was a courtesy to advise her what we were doing so she would be made aware.
I really hoped this would have worked out but this certain bike has shown it has multiple flaws.
It has been since July 13th that this all started and in that time frame we have hardly had the bike(s) in our possession (and the current run is 8 days it has been in their possession as stated.)
In fact the first payment is coming due and we have hardly been on it or had it at our house.
I will monitor this post and if you want I will post how things are turning out.
We do not know if Yamaha of Camp Hill will graciously accept it back or if this will turn into a court case.

If you want to be kept informed, just say so, and I will maintain this post until an acceptable finish to all has been reached.

Lavon at Triumph USA was very good about everything.
I give her that thank you.

God bless!!

Michael

 

[CanberraR3]

Keep us posted Michael. Hope it all works out for you.

Like most of us on here I absolutely love owning a Rocket. I ride mine every day and have had over 2 years of trouble free riding. It's really disappointing, and no doubt frustrating for you, that you won't have a similar experience.

 

[Tripps]

Sorry to hear about your problems. (and welcome). Don't give up, I have a 2010 R3T with 16,000 trouble free miles, so they aren't all bad, hopefully yours will get sorted. The jumping out of first is only if you've shifted from neutral to first, seems endemic to the bike, but I've never had it happen when downshifting from second. I keep pressure on the pedal and double clutch, as I think someone said, and never have a problem, you get used to the bike. Good luck.

 

[Steele Rocket]

I want everyone here to know I really do appreciate you people being behind my wife and myself.

I would love to be a Triumph R3 owner with a dependable bike.

Thanks again!

God bless!!

Michael

 

[echoraven]

Welcome and I am absolutely dumbfounded by what your going through. To my knowledge there has not been significant changes between mine (2011) and yours. I've had mine a bit over a month, 1000+ miles and not a hint of a problem.

Compared to my Bonnie the transmission is quirky (the bonnie gearbox is the smoothest I've ever owned) but comparable to the VStar 1300 it replaced.

I don't really buy the whole "vapor lock" thing since it seems the tank has a "vent" near the gas cap.

There is another R3T owner in my area that has a 2013 and has ridden about 300 miles and no issues either.

Will be keeping tabs on this thread.

Good luck and god bless.

 

[Steele Rocket]

Hey everybody!

The dealer has made some replacements and feel the bike is like new.

I am calling today and going to tell them to get her up here - we want to ride.

After all, prime riding season for me is the fall time with the leaves changing.

So let's get this thing here and ready for prime time.

The dealer offered to work with Triumph and get us a new seat with a backrest for the driver (I have a broken bone in the base of my back which occasionally causes pain.)

What helped me was you people encouraging.

If not for you I doubt I would want to ride the bike.

So, please, continue to encourage those around you as you have me since you people are the "Patriarchs" of the R3 family.

One last question - on shocks.

I have shorter legs and I have seen posts how shocks can be had to shorten the bike.

How is handling after they are replaced and where can I find these shocks at?

Thanks everyone for your encouragement!!!!!!

I have that new bike feel again.

God bless!!

PPP